~] UTTE RWORTH El N E M A N N 0261-5177(95)00070--4 TourismManagement, Vol. 16, No. 7, pp. 525-532, 1995 Copyright ~ 1995 Elsevier Science Ltd Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved 0261-5177/95 $10.00 + 0.00 Political boundaries and tourism: borders as tourist attractions Dallen J Timothy Department of Geography, Faculty of Environmental Studies, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada Although formalities commonly associated with international boundaries are sometimes consi- dered bothersome and often add a perceived distance to certain tourist destinations, borders do, in many cases, function as tourist attractions. This paper discusses the nature of political boundaries in the context of tourism and examines the tendency of various types of international frontiers and their associated environments to attract significant tourist numbers. Situations considered are relict boundaries, boundary parks and monuments, and natural wonders located at international borders. Subnational boundaries are also examined in a similar fashion. Since tourism is also important in areas adjacent to boundaries (borderlands), the last part of the paper focuses on some of the dimensions of cross-border shopping, bordertown gambling, welcome centers, and international enclaves - all border-related phenomena which are not in fact part of a precisely established political boundary but which owe their existence to their borderlands location. Keywords: tourism, borders, attractions The most commonly accepted definitions of a tourist include elements of distance travelled and time spent away from home. When operationalized in this way, tourist travel usually entails the crossing of some political boundary, whether it be municipal, township, county, provincial, state or international. Although subnational borders do not greatly affect tourist flows, travellers are often bothered by the 'hassle' of crossing an international boundary. Ow- ing to the negative perceptions often associated with frontier formalities (even at friendly borders), many people may avoid certain interesting and desirable destinations just because they lie within the limits of another country. 1 For some people the inconveni- ence of having to go through customs, having to deal with a foreign language, and having to spend foreign currency can add a perceived distance to nearby, over-the-border attractions. This perceived distance may deter many would-be tourists from actually visiting a neighbouring country. Other tourists, however, consider border crossing part of the excite- ment of a trip. 2 Recent research has confirmed the importance of tourism in borderlands areas. 3--9 However, although some writers have, in passing, toyed with the notion of boundaries functioning to attract tourists, aa° few, if any, have demonstrated how borders themselves and border-related environments can act as signifi- cant tourist attractions. Furthermore, except for a few notable exceptions, ~'11-x3 there is little informa- tion present in the literature to offer a conceptual basis for studying the relationships between political boundaries and tourism. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to address these gaps by examining some of the basic relationships between tourism and political boundaries, including a discussion on the role of international and intranational borders them- selves and their associated environments as tourist attractions. The nature of political boundaries International boundaries are invisible, vertical planes that transect the airspace, the soil and the subsoil between adjoining states, and they mark the limit of territory in which a state can exercise its sovereign authority. Borders often limit contact be- tween people and can function as lines of economic containment and military defence. 14 In many cases they act as filters or barriers against influences considered negative or unwelcome by a national 13 15 government. Reynolds and McNulty have sug- 525