2011-03-01
SWOT analysis
Strengths:
- Ample recreation recourses (lakes, rivers, forests, the cost line).
- Ample natural curative resources.
- Rural landscape which is little urbanized.
- Ample cultural and historic resources (ethic culture, architecture, museums, old towns).
- Four tourism objects listed on the UNESC world heritage list.
- Hospitable residents.
- Relatively new tourism region.
- Comparatively low (if compared to Western Europe) tourism service prices (food, public transport).
- Quite dense road network.
- Historic, cultural and ethnic relations between Lithuania and other countries (Poland, Latvia, Russia, Germany, Israel, USA).
- Convenient geographic location – close to the huge tourism markets – Germany, Scandinavia, Finland, Russia, Poland.
- Two main EU transport corridors (East – West, North – South) cross Lithuania.
Weaknesses:
- Insufficient shaping of Lithuanian image as a state.
- It is difficult for tourists from non-EU countries to enter the country because of the visa regime.
- Passenger railway transport services are of not sufficient quality.
- Undeveloped internal water transport as well as berth infrastructure.
- Public institutions do not pay sufficient attention to tourism development.
- Poor tourism information system (the lack of information on different languages, difficulty getting information on holidays, information is not relevant).
- Insufficient choice in entertainment and leisure activities.
- Insufficiently developed conference tourism infrastructure.
- Insufficient focus on local tourism planning and marketing.
- Undeveloped off-season tourism.
- Difficulties to get into Lithuania by sea and land (insufficient quality of Polish roads).
- No railway tracks in the South – North direction.
Opportunities:
- Possibilities to use the EU structural funds in implementing different tourism service, infrastructure, marketing projects.
- Development of resort tourism.
- Development of wellness and recreation tourism.
- Development of interregional importance tourism roads.
- The need for tourism products expanding the business areas (conference, cruise, rural tourism, ecological tourism, active tourism, cultural cognitive tourism).
- Improved investment climate, attractiveness.
- Development of common international routes with the neighboring countries.
Threats:
- Insufficient funding to promote tourism sector development opportunities.
- Incapacity to establish the image of Lithuania as a sea state.
- Irrational use of investment in tourism.
- The competition of close tourism markets.
- Incapacity to use EU structural funds and other foreign support.
- Increasing migration of youth.
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