**1. Introduction**

One of the most important factors contributing to the development of tourism in natural value destinations in remote areas is the improvement of mobility and accessibility. Among the many problems of these areas, there are shortcomings in the transport sector. The lack or limited access to means of transport is essential to limit access to tourist attractions. We may describe this situation as "transport poverty". Poor transport accessibility is often the result of dispersed settlement structures, which makes it difficult to ensure an efficient public transport system. Mobility in remote natural areas, therefore, depends mainly on owning a private car (Soder and Peer 2018), which contributes to the degradation of valuable natural resources. On the other hand, investments in public transport infrastructure are aimed at limiting the negative impact on the natural environment and reducing spatial and social inequalities by improving tourists' access to these attractions, and residents to workplaces and other forms of activity (Oviedo et al. 2019).

The paper describes the current mobility situation in the Zaoneshye Region and the Hajnówka Poviat, and subsequently points out the associated mobility needs of tourists. Following that, there is a description of possible disparities between the current situation and newly revealed needs. The research will provide some recommendations on how to progress with work on mobility in both regions, complemented by a brief summary at the end. The Zaoneshye Region and the Hajnówka Poviat are partners in an EU project that aims to shed light on and improve mobility and accessibility in sparsely populated areas. The project is financed by the Interreg Baltic Sea Region programme. The project was launched in January 2019 and continued until September 2021. The project involves twelve partners from nine countries. The project aims to elucidate the challenges related to

**Citation:** Szymanska, Elzbieta. 2022. Problems of Tourist Mobility in Remote Areas of Natural Value—The Case of the Hajnowka Poviat in Poland and the Zaoneshye Region in Russia. *Economies* 10: 212. https:// doi.org/10.3390/economies10090212

Academic Editor: Wadim Strielkowski

Received: 25 April 2022 Accepted: 29 August 2022 Published: 5 September 2022

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mobility and ease of transport in sparsely populated areas and to investigate to what extent changes in these factors will affect settlement patterns and tourism attractiveness. The study provides a basis towards a better understanding of the current mobility situation in order to identify potential areas of improvement within the current provision. The totality of the survey is emphasised in the analysis, discussion and conclusion.

The main objective of the research is to identify the problems of tourism destination mobility in remote areas of natural value on the basis of research carried out in Zaoneshye District and Hajnówka Poviat.
