Classification of South-Eastern Baltics cross-border recreational mesoregions

Experience in assessing the COVID-19 pandemic impact on international tourism indicates insufficient attention to changes in geography and volume of international tourist flows. In particular, studies aimed at assessing the value of tourist exchange in cross-border tourist and recreational regions are becoming relevant. The purpose of the article is to classify cross-border tourist and recreational mesoregions in the south-eastern part of the Baltic region by the size of cross-border tourist exchange. As a result of the study, six cross-border tourist and recreational mesoregions were identified with the participation of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The boundaries of these mesoregions were determined and the value of cross-border tourist exchange within them was estimated. According to the latter indicator, it is proposed to divide mesoregions into three categories: 1) with a high level of formation (tourist exchange of more than 500 thousand people per year); 2) with a level of formation «above average» (from 100 to 500 thousand people per year); 3) with an average level of formation (from 50 to 100 thousand people per year). Cross-border tourist and recreational regions with a low level of formation (with a tourist exchange of fewer than 50 thousand people per year) are classified as microregions. The first category included the Estonian-Finnish mesoregion, the second – three mesoregions (Russian- Estonian, Russian-Polish-Lithuanian, and Polish-Lithuanian-Belarusian), the third – Russian-Estonian- Latvian and Estonian-Latvian.