Международный туристский оборот и его влияние на платежный баланс в странах Центральной и Восточной Европы

Abstract

The article explores the economic aspects of the development of international tourism in the countries with transition economies through the analysis of its functions in the economy and also through the study of the influence of tourist earnings and expenditures on national balances of payments. The study revealed that the economic significance of tourism in many countries of Central and Eastern Europe at the end of the 1990s grew as the result of the increase of the share of tourism earnings in the GNP and export volume. The tourism functions rank was upgraded from the attendant branch of economy to the leading one. Besides, in the period of social and economic crisis tourism in the majority of Central and Eastern European countries acted as an stimulus for development of other branches of national economies and tourist earnings allowed to reduce the balance of payment deficit. As a result tourism has become the important factor of improvement of balance of payment in many countries of the region. At the same time, there is a small group of countries (including the Republic of Belarus) which are in red in tourist balance where this increases the total deficit of balance of payments. In this connection, the topicality of the study of positive experience in tourism industry formation in the countries in the region with the aim of elaboration of a strategy in the international tourism sphere in the Republic of Belarus has increased.