The development of cross-border sport tourism

The objective of this thesis was to develop the cross - border sport tourism project involving the key stakeholders from business, governmental and sport organizations of both countries, in order to obtain the grant for further intensive and long-term cooperation in the declared regions. The work was commissioned by the lead partner organization that was Etela-Savon Liikunta. The project proposal that constituted the case study of the thesis was evaluated by Managing Authority of the Program and selected for the grant contract. The case study project was developed in accordance to logical framework methodology designed for developmental projects. Data for this thesis was collected during the work on project proposal for the case company through the series of program trainings, in collaboration with exerts, project team discussions, observations, from relevant literature review and existing academic research findings. The result of the thesis was the constituted case of project proposal on cross- border sport tourism cooperation that was successfully submitted for the evaluation and was awarded with required funding. Such result demonstrated the practical relevance of sport tourism as an activity of cross-border cooperation. It also confirmed that sport tourism could have a significant influence on social and economic development of border regions and create certain conditions for lively, active and competitive economy. The constituted case can be used as a reference for practitioners for further implementation of sport tourism projects and initiatives for SMEs and regional development. A further study is required to evaluate the results of the proposed project and its effectiveness in respect to the program regions