inter regional travel examples

15 Internal Migration Examples (Interregional and Intraregional)

Internal migration is the process of people migrating within their own country or region. Internal migration examples include the 1930s dustbowl exodus and seasonal migration for work.

In human geography , internal migration is often split up into two types: intraregional (movement within a region) and interregional (movement across regions of the same country).

• Intraregional migration generally involves the migration of people from rural and satellite areas near a city into the urban areas.
• Interregional migration generally involves migration across states or provinces.

In both cases, internal migration usually happens when there is not enough jobs or resources in certain areas of a country and people are forced to move to a new area in search of better opportunities. Internal migration can also be caused by natural disasters or political unrest.

Internal Migration Examples

1. rural to urban migration.

Type: Intraregional migration

This is the most common type of internal migration and usually happens when people move to cities in search of better opportunities.

For example, young adults often move into cities to go to prestigious city universities, then stay there to pursue careers in inner-city companies.

Similarly, many people move to big cities in search of better-paying jobs, especially as rural towns start to enter into periods of decline following the exodus of extraction industries that have completed the extraction of localized resources.

We call this process “ urbanization .”

2. Urban to Rural Migration

This occurs when people who live in cities move to rural areas in search of a better quality of life.

For example, many recently married couples move to rural areas to start families, since there is more space, cheaper housing, a slower pace of life.

During the 2019-2022 pandemic, where people were forced to work online, there was increasing interest in urban to rural migration. The decoupling of ‘where you live’ from ‘where you work’ allowed people to think about where they wanted to set up their lives for the best quality of life.

3. Seasonal Migration

Type: Interregional migration

Seasonal migration occurs when people migrate to different parts of the country based on the season. For example, they may move to the coast during the summer and to the mountains during the winter.

For example, there is a cohort of American and Canadian retirees called Snowbirds who have two residences: one in the south and one in the north. Many of them head south to escape harsh winters and north to escape harsh summers.

4. Internally Displaced Persons

Type: Usually, interregional migration

This occurs when people are forced to flee their homes due to conflict or natural disasters. They may become refugees or internally displaced persons (IDPs).

For example, during Hurricane Katrina, many people were displaced from their homes in New Orleans and had to move to other parts of the United States.

Similarly, during the Russia-Ukraine war of 2022, many Ukrainian refugees fled the east of the country to take refuge in the relatively safe city of Lviv near the Polish border.

5. Circular Migration

Circular migration is a type of migration in which people or animals move around in a circle, returning to their original location after a certain amount of time.

Circular migration can be used for a variety of reasons, including seasonal work, escaping danger, or maintaining cultural traditions. It is particularly common among pastoralists, who move their herds of animals around in search of better pastures.

For example, the Maasai people of Kenya and Tanzania are well-known for their annual cattle migration, which takes them from the lowlands to the highlands and back again each year. This allows them to take advantage of different resources depending on the season.

Real-Life Examples of Intraregional Migration

6. dust bowl exodus.

The dust bowl exodus happened in the 1930s, when tens of thousands of people left the Great Plains states in search of better opportunities. The drought and soil erosion of the 1930s caused a massive Dust Bowl, which made it nearly impossible to farm or live in the region.

As a result, many people left for California and other parts of the West Coast in search of jobs and a better life. When they arrived, they faced discrimination and poor working conditions, which formed the setting of John Steinbeck’s great American novel, The Grapes of Wrath .

7. The Great Migration

The Great Migration was a period of mass migration of African Americans from the South to the North, Midwest, and West Coast of the United States between 1916 and 1970. This was a response to racial violence, segregation , and poverty in the South.

African Americans moved to cities such as Chicago, Detroit, and New York City in search of better opportunities. The Great Migration was a major contributor to the growth of African American communities in these cities. To this day, there are many descendants of African American migrants that moved north during this time.

8. Migration during Italy’s Economic Miracle

Migration during Italy’s Economic Miracle refers to the period of mass migration from rural to urban areas in Italy between the end of World War II and the early 1970s. This was a result of the economic boom that Italy experienced after the war.

People moved to cities such as Milan, Rome, and Turin in search of jobs and a better life. The migration caused a major population increase in these cities, and it led to the development of new urban areas. Today, many of these migrants’ descendants still live in these cities.

9. Roma Migration around Europe

Roma are a migratory and semi-nomadic ethnic group that have lived in Europe for centuries. They are often called Gypsies, and they are one of the largest minority groups in Europe.

Roma migration has often been a response to discrimination and poverty. They move around Europe in search of better opportunities, but they often face racism and violence from locals.

In recent years, there has been a large wave of Roma migration from Central and Eastern Europe to Western Europe. This has caused tensions between Roma and the host population in many countries.

Some families may move every few months in order to find better work or living conditions, while others may only move a couple of times a year. In general, however, Roma tend to migrate more frequently than non-Roma Europeans.

10. Irish Travelers

The Irish Travelers are a nomadic ethnic group who have lived in Ireland for centuries.

Irish Travelers have a tradition of traveling around Ireland in search of work. They often do seasonal work, such as fruit picking or construction. They also travel to other parts of Europe in search of work.

Irish travelers are a famously colorful and vibrant bunch. They are known for their flamboyany dress, boisterous behavior, and love of singing and storytelling. They are one of the oldest continuous traveling groups in the world. They began traveling in the 18th century, and they are still traveling today.

Like Roma, Irish Travelers often face discrimination and racism from locals.

11. The Bedouin People

The Bedouin are a nomadic ethnic group who live in the deserts of North Africa and the Middle East.

Bedouin migration has often been a response to drought and poverty. They move around the desert in search of better opportunities, including jobs and water resources.

The Bedouin are a famously hardy people. They are used to living in harsh conditions, and they have a strong tradition of hospitality. They are also known for their skill in desert survival.

Bedouin traditions include camel riding, poetry, and music. They have a strong oral tradition, and much of their culture is passed down through storytelling.

12. American Snowbirds

Snowbirds are a term used to describe Americans who migrate to warmer climates in the winter.

Most snowbirds head to places like Florida, Arizona, and California during the winter months.

According to the Arizona Office of Tourism , nearly 1.5 million snowbirds travel to Arizona each year to escape the cold winters in their home states. Many of these visitors stay in the Phoenix area, making it one of the most popular tourist destinations in the country.

Snowbirds typically have retired or semi-retired from their regular jobs. They have the time and money to travel.

The term “snowbird” is also used to describe Canadians who migrate to the U.S.

13. The Maasai People

The Maasai are a nomadic ethnic group who live in Kenya and Tanzania.

Maasai migration has often been a response to drought and poverty. They move around the African savannah throughout the year in a process of cyclical internal migration.

Maasai tend to work in cattle herding and they move around the landscape to pursue greener pastures for their cattle. Their movements do, however, cause difficulties for healthcare authorities to provide them with the care and check-ups they need.

You may recognize Maasai for their ‘jumping dance’, a traditional dance that involves jumping very high into the air.

14. Hurricane Katrina

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast region of the United States.

The hurricane led to the internal displacement of over 1 million people, many of whom were forced to migrate to other parts of the country.

Most eventually returned to New Oreleans, although it’s estimated that 200,000 people left permanently.

Many Katrina refugees settled in Houston, Texas. Katrina led to a number of changes in Houston, including an increase in crime and a decline in housing prices. It also gave rise to a new wave of hip-hop music known as ‘Houston rap’.

15. Syrian Civil War

Since 2011, the Syrian Civil War has displaced over 11 million people.

Over 6 million people have fled Syria altogether, making it one of the largest forced migrations in world history. Another 6.7 million were internally displaced people within Syria. These are the interregional migrants from the war.

The Syrian Civil War was caused by the uprising of the Syrian people against the Bashar al-Assad regime. The war has since become a proxy war between regional powers, with Iran, Russia, and Hezbollah supporting Assad, and Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey supporting the rebels.

Related Articles:

• Step Migration Examples

Migration is a widespread phenomenon that affects millions of people every year. There are many reasons why people migrate, including poverty, war, and climate change.

Internal migration is a type of migration where people move from one part of their country to another. These internally displaced people often stay within their own country for cultural and social reasons, or, because they are not welcomed elsewhere.

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Interregional Travel: A New Perspective for Policy Making (2016)

Chapter: 2 interregional travel behavior and patterns.

2 Interregional Travel Behavior and Patterns

This chapter provides a snapshot of interregional travel in the United States as revealed by the 1995 American Travel Survey (ATS), which is the most recent data source of sufficient detail to describe long-distance travel by people living in the United States. 1 Developed from interviews of individuals from more than 80,000 households, the ATS concentrates on trips with one-way distances of 100 miles or more from the respondent’s home. 2 The chapter’s focus is on ATS trips having distances up to 500 miles, which are defined as “interregional” in this report. Interregional trips dominate long-distance travel. More than three-quarters of all long-distance trips in the ATS were for distances of 500 miles or less. 3

An examination of the ATS indicates a number of relationships among interregional trip making, mode choice, trip length, trip purpose, and household characteristics. Many of these relationships are similar to those of long-distance trips generally. For example, people from higher-income households tend to make more long-distance trips for all purposes (e.g., leisure, personal, and business) and across all trip lengths than do people from lower-income households. 4 Because of their shorter lengths, interregional trips are better suited to the surface modes than

________________

1 The survey was conducted for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportation Statistics by the U.S. Bureau of the Census as a component of the Census of Transportation.

2 The survey consisted of four detailed telephone interviews conducted approximately every 3 months from April 1995 to March 1996. In most cases, one adult member of the household provided information for all members. Respondents were asked to report each round-trip taken during a quarter in 1995 in which one direction was at least 100 miles (i.e., each time a person in the household visited a place at least 100 miles away from home and returned). Because of the household-based structure of the survey, trips by visitors to the United States were not recorded.

3 ATS (see subsequent discussion and figures in this chapter).

4 ATS (see subsequent discussion and figures in this chapter).

are longer-distance trips, which are more often made by airline when the one-way distance exceeds 500 or 600 miles. 5 While travel distance is a key determinant of mode use, the ATS shows the effect of other factors, including the purpose of the trip and whether the trip involves people traveling together. An understanding of these factors is important in planning transportation systems for long-distance travel, particularly for interregional travelers, who may be served in a comparable fashion by more than one type of interregional mode.

For 20 years, the ATS has been the only detailed source of information on long-distance travel in the United States. The relationships derived from it continue to be used by government transportation planners, transportation companies, and the tourism industry. However, many circumstances have changed since it was completed in 1995, and the survey’s relevance has likely diminished. Since 1995, the U.S. population has increased by more than 20 percent, grown older (the median age was 34.3 years in 1995 and 37.6 years in 2013), become more concentrated in metropolitan areas, and continued to shift further to the South and West. 6 Average household size has declined as the number of households with children has grown at a slower rate than households consisting of couples and individuals living alone. 7

Transportation technologies have also changed, in some cases dramatically. Advances in in-vehicle electronics have made travel by automobile more reliable and comfortable for longer-distance trips, not only by assisting with driving functions (e.g., adaptive cruise control, lane-keeping systems) but also by providing onboard entertainment and navigation assistance. 8 The commercialization of the Internet and the introduction of the smartphone and other electronic and tele-

5 ATS (see subsequent discussion and figures in this chapter).

6 For 1995 population and median age, see https://www.census.gov/popest/data/national/totals/1990s/tables/nat-agesex.txt ; for 2013 population and median age, see http://factfinder.census.gov/faces/tableservices/jsf/pages/productview.xhtml?src=bkmk ; for other demographic trends, see USDOT 2015 , 12–31.

7 https://www.census.gov/hhes/families/files/graphics/HH-4.pdf .

8 The individual modes and their supply characteristics are examined in Chapter 3 , which discusses a number of these developments.

communications devices have created new means of marketing and shopping for airline, train, and bus fares (e.g., travel agency websites and online ticketing). Mobile computer and communications technologies have also allowed more productive use of time spent traveling. These technologies may be influencing travelers’ choice of modes (e.g., travelers may prefer modes that allow their portable devices to be used) and even their overall demand for travel because of the growing number of options for working remotely and staying connected to friends and family. 9 Accordingly, an ATS-like snapshot of long-distance travel taken today would likely reveal distinct differences in where, why, and how people travel compared with circumstances a generation ago.

The 1995 ATS remains the most recent comprehensive source of information on long-distance travel in the United States. Some of the basic relationships it reveals, such as the ways in which trip purpose, party size, and household income affect mode use and trip-making propensity, have been observed in other travel surveys, such as the Census of Transportation from 1977 and the 2001 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), which focused on local travel. 10 Because there is no obvious reason to believe that these most basic relationships have changed markedly since 1995, they are summarized below for background purposes on the basis of the ATS. Nevertheless, the applicability of the ATS data is increasingly questionable for more detailed analyses of long-distance travel behaviors and activity. From the standpoint of public officials who are considering investments in long-lived transportation systems, which require forecasts of travel decades into the future, the lack of more recent data can be especially problematic.

9 For example, Connolly et al. (2009) present the results of a survey conducted on Irish Rail to observe how the value of travel time may change if individuals are able to engage in another activity during travel.

10 The NHTS combined the surveys for long-distance and daily travel into one sample. Although the NHTS is more recent than the ATS, the NHTS sample was too small for detailed analyses of long-distance trips.

FIGURE 2-1 Factors contributing to increases in long-distance person miles of travel (PMT), 1977–1995. (Derived from Pisarski 2013 .)

INSIGHTS INTO LONG-DISTANCE TRAVEL FROM THE 1995 ATS

Historical Growth in Long-Distance Travel

Historically, between 15 and 20 percent of all person miles of travel, including local travel, are from trips of 100 miles or longer. 11 During 1995, Americans averaged about four long-distance trips per person by all modes ( BTS 1997 , 1, 11, Table 1). The average one-way distance for a trip was 413 miles ( BTS 1997 , 11, Table 1), and total annual miles traveled averaged 3,075 per person ( McGuckin 2013 ). People living in about one-third of U.S. households did not make any long-distance trips that year ( BTS 1997 ).

In the years between the 1977 Census of Transportation and the 1995 ATS, the average number of long-distance trips per capita increased by more than two-thirds, while total person miles of long-distance travel more than doubled. The increase in person miles had several sources, as shown in Figure 2-1 . First, more people took long-distance trips in 1995. This growth was caused both by a 20 percent increase in U.S. population and by a higher percentage of the population making at least one trip. Second, the share of the population that did travel took more

11 As indicated by the 1995 ATS and 1977 Census of Transportation and by ATS analyses undertaken for this study by McGuckin (2013) .

trips in 1995 than in 1977. Finally, the average trip length increased. About 40 percent of the increase in person miles was due to population growth; most of the increase was caused by the combination of long-distance trips becoming longer on average, a larger share of the population taking trips, and travelers taking more trips on average.

Mode Use and Trip Length

Figure 2-2 shows the share of person trips of varying lengths made by automobile, airplane, train, and bus according to the 1995 ATS. A relationship between trip length and mode use is apparent: automobiles dominated the shortest trips, and airlines dominated the longest ones. Because trips of 100 to 500 miles account for nearly 80 percent of all long-distance trips ( Figure 2-3 ), the automobile is the most heavily used mode of transportation for long-distance travel.

Examination of Interregional Trips in the ATS

As indicated in Figure 2-3 , nearly 80 percent of long-distance trips are for interregional distances of 100 to 500 miles. The following sections

FIGURE 2-2 Percentage of person trips by mode and one-way trip distance, 1995 ATS. (POV = privately owned vehicle.) (S OURCE : McGuckin 2013 .)

FIGURE 2-3 Percentage share of long-distance person trips and person miles by one-way trip length, 1995 ATS. (S OURCE : McGuckin 2013 .)

examine these trips by trip purpose, travel party type and size, and household income and composition.

Trip Purpose and Travel Party Type and Size

For some activities such as participation in an out-of-town sales conference, client meeting, or family wedding, there may be no good substitutes for long-distance travel. For other activities such as vacationing, acceptable substitutes for a long-distance trip may exist. For example, a vacationer may drive to a nearby beach rather than fly to a distant resort. The person traveling for leisure tends to have more discretion about whether and where to travel. For a person traveling on business, decisions about the time, place, and even mode of travel are likely to be made or heavily influenced by the business itself, because it incurs most of the costs and benefits of the trip. People traveling for leisure and other nonbusiness purposes tend to pay their own way and are generally more concerned about the price of the trip, which they may try to minimize by adjusting the trip’s timing and transportation mode. As a result of these fundamental differences in the decision-making process, the elasticity of demand can be different for

FIGURE 2-4 Percentage of interregional trips by trip purpose, 1995 ATS. (S OURCE : McGuckin 2013 .)

trips made for business and nonbusiness purposes, and they are usually treated separately in analyses of travel data. 12

According to the ATS, nearly one-quarter of interregional trips in 1995 were made for business reasons (including business combined with pleasure); about three-quarters were made for nonbusiness reasons, such as to visit family and friends, participate in leisure activities (e.g., sightseeing, shopping, entertainment, outdoor recreation), and conduct personal business (e.g., attend school, seek medical treatment) ( Figure 2-4 ).

12 In surveying price elasticity of demand estimates in the literature from the 1970s and 1980s, Oum et al. (1990 , 170, Table 2) found that the range of price elasticities for vacation and leisure travel by intercity rail and airline was 1.1 to 2.7. The range for business travel was more price-inelastic: 0.4 to 1.2. Gillen et al. (2002) surveyed price elasticity estimates in the literature for air travel only. They separated the values by travel distance and purpose. The estimates are directionally consistent with those of Oum et al. They indicate that short-haul leisure travelers had a price elasticity range of 1.3 to 1.7, while short-haul business travelers had a range of 0.6 to 0.8. A full review of the literature on air travel price elasticity values can be found at https://www.iata.org/whatwedo/Documents/economics/Intervistas_Elasticity_Study_2007.pdf .

TABLE 2-1 Percentage of Interregional Trips by Travel Party Type and Trip Purpose

S OURCE : McGuckin 2013 .

Because many business trips are made by individuals traveling alone and many nonbusiness trips are made by people traveling together, such as vacationing families, knowledge of a trip’s purpose and travel party type can be helpful in explaining mode choice. Of the roughly 25 percent of interregional trips made for business purposes recorded in the 1995 ATS, 76 percent were made by a single adult traveling alone, 19 percent by two or more adults traveling together, and 5 percent by a travel party involving at least one child ( Table 2-1 ). In comparison, of the nearly 75 percent of interregional trips for nonbusiness purposes, only about one-third were made by a person traveling alone; adults traveling together and travel parties involving at least one child accounted for 41 percent and 25 percent of trips, respectively.

Mode Use and Travel Party Type

A strong relationship between mode use and travel party type can be seen in the ATS for interregional trips. Mode shares for travel parties consisting of a single person, two or more adults, and one or more adults traveling with at least one child are shown in Figure 2-5 . The data points represent the mode shares for each party type when they are indexed to the mode share for all interregional travelers. For example, the bus mode share for single travelers is 50 percent higher than the bus mode share for all interregional travelers and three times higher than the bus mode share for people traveling with children. The comparison indicates that two

FIGURE 2-5 Interregional travel mode share for three travel party types indexed to the mode share overall, 1995 ATS. (S OURCE : McGuckin 2013 .)

or more adults traveling together behave much like adults traveling with children in that both party types are far less likely than single travelers to travel by air, bus, or train.

Single travelers, as noted above, are more likely to be traveling for business than are people traveling in a group. Business travelers place a high value on time and can therefore accrue large benefits from modes having faster travel speeds or offering the ability to conduct work en route. Traveling long distances alone by private automobile does not offer these benefits, because the business traveler must concentrate on driving tasks. Conversely, because they are more likely to be traveling in groups and paying their own travel expenses, nonbusiness travelers may find the automobile mode, with its low cost per additional traveler, advantageous.

Variability in Interregional Mode Use by Region

The automobile dominates interregional trips when such trips are aggregated at the national level. However, the mode share for the automobile is generally lower for trips in which the origin or the destination consists of a large metropolitan area in the Northeast Corridor (NEC), which spans Boston, Massachusetts, to Washington, D.C. The ATS data

TABLE 2-2 Interregional Trip Mode Shares Nationally and in Selected Metropolitan Areas in the NEC and California, 1995 ATS

N OTE : N.Y.-N.J. = New York–New Jersey; D.C.-Va.-Md. = Washington, D.C.–Virginia–Maryland; Pa. = Pennsylvania; Calif. = California. S OURCE : McGuckin 2013 .

in Table 2-2 indicate that trains and buses have a significant role for the nonautomobile travel originating along this 400-mile corridor. The pattern is different for interregional travel originating in California, where air transportation plays a much larger role. The long distances between cities in California may favor flying, while the generally shorter distances between cities in the Northeast may favor buses and trains. Since travelers using buses and trains depend on public transit or walking to access stations, the more compact and transit-oriented Northeastern cities may be conducive to the use of these surface modes. Furthermore, as discussed in more depth later in this report, the NEC has a tradition of travel by train and bus and levels of train and bus service that are unmatched by other regions.

Household Income and Composition

Rates of interregional trip making are strongly associated with a number of socioeconomic factors including household income and composition. Figure 2-6 shows the impact of income on interregional trip rates per capita. The 1995 ATS data show a positive relationship between income and annual trips per capita. People in the lowest income quartile averaged about half as many interregional trips per year as people in the highest

FIGURE 2-6 Annual interregional trips, 100 to 500 miles, per capita by household income quartile, 1995 ATS. (S OURCE : McGuckin 2014 .)

income quartile. 13 The positive effect of income on interregional trips in the ATS is not surprising, since most studies of long-distance travel have estimated that as income increases, the number of long-distance trips increases at a faster rate (i.e., real household income growth of 1 percent leads to a 1 to 2 percent growth in trips made). 14

The ATS data also indicate that household income is associated with the use of specific transportation modes. Figure 2-7 shows the share of trips made by automobile for lower- and higher-income households when the main purpose of traveling is to engage in recreational activities. Regardless of trip distance, travelers from lower-income households use automobiles for a higher share of their recreational trips. Even when round-trip distances reach 800 miles, travelers from lower-income households ( < $25,000 annually in 1995 dollars) drive more than three-quarters of the time, whereas travelers from higher-income households ( > $100,000) drive only about

13 More information on these patterns is given by Mallett (2001) .

14 A comprehensive review of the literature by Gillen et al. (2002) suggests that the income elasticity for intercity travel is on the order of 1.5. Virtually all estimates of income elasticities for long-distance travel demand in the literature are above 1 and generally are between 1 and 2. See, for example, Gillen et al. 2002 (value of 1.5), Oum et al. 1986 (value of 1.5), Alperovich and Machnes 1994 (range of 1.6 to 2.1), and Njegovan 2006 (value of 1.5).

FIGURE 2-7 Percentage of all recreational trips by automobile for lower- and higher-income households (income in 1995 dollars), 1995 ATS. (Adapted from Mallett and McGuckin 2000 , Figure 1.)

30 percent of the time. However, more than one-quarter of the low-income population surveyed in the ATS lived in a household without a vehicle. According to a review of the survey data by Mallett (2001) , all households lacking a vehicle traveled less than households in the same income group with one or more vehicles, while trip making by low-income households was less than one-third of that of low-income households with one or more vehicles. 15

Income is one of several household-related factors affecting the propensity to take interregional trips. According to the 1995 ATS, travelers from two-adult “couple” households average more trips per year than other households, particularly nonbusiness trips ( Figure 2-8 ). People living in family households with children accounted for the next highest rates, with the variability affected by the age of the children. Family households tend to make fewer leisure trips than couple households, but they average more business trips. Single households average the fewest trips for both business and nonbusiness purposes, probably because they are more likely to contain retirees. Figure 2-9 indicates the effect of the

15 More information on these patterns is given by Mallett (2001) .

FIGURE 2-8 Average number of interregional trips per year by people who traveled for business and nonbusiness purposes, by household composition, 1995 ATS. (S OURCE : McGuckin 2013 .)

FIGURE 2-9 Annual interregional trips per capita, by years of age, 1995 ATS. (S OURCE : McGuckin 2013 .)

age of the traveler on the number of interregional trips. People between the ages of 30 and 64 averaged the most annual trips.

Long-distance trips recorded in the 1995 ATS are examined in this chapter to illustrate some basic interregional travel behaviors and patterns. Although they are now 20 years old, the ATS data remain helpful for general characterizations of the effect of factors such as household income, trip purpose, and trip length on the likelihood of people making an interregional trip and using particular modes for the line-haul portion of transportation.

The data indicate that trips made for business and nonbusiness purposes differ in fundamental ways that affect a traveler’s choice of modes. They reveal how trip making varies according to household size and age composition. The data indicate that people traveling as families and in other groups for nonbusiness purposes have a strong tendency to use private automobiles for interregional trips under 500 miles; trips by bus, train, and airline are made disproportionately by people traveling alone or on business. Time-sensitive business travelers account for many of the interregional trips made by airline when market distances approach about 200 miles.

Despite the utility of the 1995 ATS for demonstrating such basic tripmaking relationships, its contribution to understanding current travel behavior and activity is diminishing as transportation service options, socioeconomic conditions, and technologies continue to change. Transportation planners and public officials need up-to-date and detailed data on long-distance travel to inform their decisions. For example, reliable forecasts of demand for the long-lasting infrastructure used for interregional transportation are necessary. The chapters that follow make the importance of such information evident.

Abbreviations

Alperovich, G., and Y. Machnes. 1994. The Role of Wealth in the Demand for International Air Travel. Journal of Transport Economics and Policy , Vol. 28, No. 2, May, pp. 163–173.

BTS. 1997. 1995 American Travel Survey: Profile. Report BTS/ATS95-US. Oct.

Connolly, D., B. Caulfield, and M. O’Mahony. 2009. Rail Passengers’ Preferences for Onboard Wi-Fi Internet Access. Presented at 88th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board, Washington, D.C.

Gillen, D., W. G. Morrison, and C. Stewart. 2002. Air Travel Demand Elasticities: Concepts, Issues and Management. Department of Finance Canada. http://www.fin.gc.ca/consultresp/airtravel/airtravstdy_-eng.asp .

Mallett, W. J. 2001. Long-Distance Travel by Low-Income Households. In Transportation Research Circular E-C026: Personal Travel: The Long and Short of It , Transportation Research Board, National Research Council, Washington, D.C., pp. 169–177. http://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/circulars/ec026/04_mallet.pdf .

Mallett, W. J., and N. McGuckin. 2000. Driving to Distractions. http://www.travelbehavior.us/Nancy-pdfs/Driving%20to%20Distractions--Long%20Distance%20 Leisure%20Travel.pdf.

McGuckin, N. 2013. Intercity Travel Market Analysis. Prepared for Committee for a Study of Intercity Passenger Travel Issues and Opportunities in Short-Haul Markets. http://www.travelbehavior.us/Nancy--ppt/Intercity%20Travel%20Market%20Analysis.pdf .

McGuckin, N. 2014. Homebodies and Road Warriors. http://www.travelbehavior.us/Nancy-pdfs/Homebodies%20and%20Road%20Warriors.pdf .

Njegovan, N. 2006. Elasticities of Demand for Leisure Air Travel: A System Modelling Approach. Journal of Air Transport Management , Vol. 12, No. 1, pp. 33–39.

Oum, T., D. Gillen, and Y. Noble. 1986. Demands for Fare Class and Pricing in Airline Markets. Logistics and Transportation Review , Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 195–222.

Oum, T. H., W. G. Waters, and J. S. Yon. 1990. A Survey of Recent Estimates of Price Elasticities of Demand for Transport. Policy, Planning, and Research Working Papers, Transportation Infrastructure and Urban Development Department, World Bank, Jan.

Pisarski, A. 2013. Development of Methods for Enhancing Long Distance Travel O-D Data. FHWA Project DTFH61-07-07-D-00013-T1-002. March.

USDOT. 2015. Beyond Traffic 2045: Trends and Choices , Sept. https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/docs/Draft_Beyond_Traffic_Framework.pdf .

TRB Special Report 320: Interregional Travel: A New Perspective for Policy Making examines the demand for and supply of interregional transportation in the United States. Major additions to transportation infrastructure, including high-speed rail, are being considered for some of the country’s most heavily traveled 100- to 500-mile corridors. The availability and use of the automobile, airplane, and train for interregional travel are reviewed along with the rejuvenated intercity bus. U.S. interregional corridors and transportation options are contrasted with those in Japan and Europe, where substantial investments have been made in passenger rail.

Public investments in new, long-lived transportation infrastructure can be risky because of uncertainty about future demand and the development of new technologies and competing transportation services. Decisionmakers in interregional corridors face the added challenge of having to coordinate investments across multiple jurisdictions. The report recommends actions to reduce this uncertainty and create stronger institutional means for developing the country’s interregional corridors.

TR News 303 features an article on Interregional Travel: A New Perspective for Policy Making .

A video about the research is now available:

At the 2016 TRB Annual Meeting, January 10-14, 2016, a session entitled Interregional Travel: Policymaking from a New Perspective was webcast live. These videos provide an overview of various components of the project.

Introduction:

Part 1: Overview of Project Scope

Part 2: Data and Information Needs

Part 3: Intercity Bus Operations

Question and Answer Session

Presenters:

• Nancy McGuckin
• Joe Schweiterman

Moderated by: Martin Wachs

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Travel South Asia: India’s tourism connectivity with the region

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Riya Sinha and Riya Sinha Research Associate - Brookings India @_RiyaSinha Bhumika Sharma Bhumika Sharma Research Intern - Foreign Policy and Security Studies, Brookings India @bhumika_sha

July 23, 2020

• 16 min read

Content from the Brookings Institution India Center is now archived . After seven years of an impactful partnership, as of September 11, 2020, Brookings India is now the Centre for Social and Economic Progress , an independent public policy institution based in India.

Tourism is an important metric of a country’s soft power potential, marked by an increase in movement of people and enabling people-to-people connectivity. Over the last two decades, South Asia has emerged as an attractive tourist destination due to its natural and cultural diversity, and price competitiveness.[2] The region is home to tourism-based economies such as Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka that attract high spending per traveller.[3] In 2019, the World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) ranked South Asia as “the most improved region since 2017.”[4] Within this, India has shown the greatest improvement in rank among the top 25% countries, from 40th in 2017 to 34th in 2019.

India accounts for a majority of South Asia’s travel and tourism gross domestic product (GDP) and has also been the preferred destination for tourists from within the region. In the last decade, India has witnessed an increase in the share of South Asian tourist arrivals. While geographic proximity and cultural affiliations are the underlying factors for high cross-border mobility, the market size and the tourists’ spending capacity have also played an important role. Additionally, tourist spill-overs from India to the rest of the region contribute significantly to the regional tourism economy.

This policy brief highlights tourism connectivity between India and its neighbours, capturing the tourism trends within South Asia. Given China’s increasing tourism imports and a growing presence in the region, the brief also offers a comparative analysis of reciprocal tourism trends between South Asia and China.

Methodology

The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) defines tourism as “the activities of persons traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes.”[5] Along similar lines, the Ministry of Tourism (MoT), Government of India, defines a foreign tourist as “a person visiting India on a foreign passport, staying at least twenty-four hours in the country, the purpose of whose journey can be classified under one of the following headings: (a) leisure (recreation, holiday, health, study, religion, and support), and; (b) business, family mission, meeting.”[6] The definition extends to transit passengers who stay overnight in India and are counted as tourists.

The data on inbound and outbound flows is from the Ministry of Tourism’s India Tourism Statistics Reports and the United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) e-library. The inbound statistics used in Figures 1 and 2 are equivalent to outbound tourism data from each neighbouring country to India. Qualitative inputs were collected through informal interviews with officials from the Ministry of Tourism and the Bureau of Immigration in India to understand the data collection methodology and various steps taken to promote tourism.

It should be noted that the Ministry of Tourism changed its methodology in 2014, standardising it with the UNWTO methodology, and added Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) to the Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTA) category, which together formed the “International Tourist Arrivals” (ITA).[7] For the purpose of analysis and standardisation of data with the preceding years, Figures 1, 2 and 5 only focus on the FTAs.  The mode of arrival data in Figure 4 is from the India Tourism Statistics reports, published annually between 2010 and 2019 by the Ministry of Tourism.

This policy brief covers tourism data between India and seven of its neighbouring countries: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, which are collectively referred to as ‘South Asia’ or N7.

Growing share of tourist arrivals from South Asia to India

While India declared tourism as an industry in 1982, it adopted the National Tourism Policy two decades later in 2002.[8] Supporting this, the Ministry of Tourism launched the “Incredible India” campaign in 2002 targeting increased tourist inflows. The impact of these developments is seen since 2003, when India started witnessing a linear growth in the total number of foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) (Figure 1). Despite this, India’s share of global tourist arrivals remains abysmally low at 1.2% (2018).[9]

However, India is growing as an attractive tourist destination for travellers from the South Asian region. Tourists from the neighbourhood account for roughly a third of the total FTAs (Figure 1) in India. In 2018, South Asia accounted for the highest percentage share of tourist arrivals (29%) among all the regions, followed by Western Europe (21%).[10]

From 2003 to 2013, the share of South Asian tourist arrivals dipped from 23.8% to 16.9%. This declining trend registered a shift in 2014, when the share increased for the first time in more than ten years, to 21.6%. Between 2003-2013, the cumulative annual growth rate (CAGR) of total FTAs was 10%, which increased to 22% between 2013-17. Much of this shift is attributed to the rise in the number of Bangladeshi tourists.

How tweaking rules can have a big impact: The case of Bangladesh

A country-wise breakdown of FTAs in India (Figure 2) reveals that the top four South Asian countries for inbound foreign tourists are Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Afghanistan.

For years, Bangladesh has featured in India’s list of top ten tourist source countries due to its proximity and cultural linkages. However, figure 2 shows that there has been a sudden surge in the number of Bangladeshi tourist arrivals from 2014. Between 2003-2014, the growth of Bangladeshi tourist arrivals was 1%, whereas, in 2014, the arrival of Bangladeshi tourists to India increased by 80%. Since then, the number been growing at an average annual rate of 40%. In 2018, one in every four tourists from South Asia arriving in India was from Bangladesh.

A possible explanation for this upward trend could be the liberalisation of Revised Travel Arrangement (RTA) between India and Bangladesh in 2013 and 2018. The 2013 revision brought certain changes to the provisions of the 1972 Agreement on Passport and Visa System, to remove difficulties faced by the nationals of either country in obtaining a visa.[11] Some key revisions include extending the short-term visa on medical grounds for a year, allowing up to three accompanying attendants and similar extension facility, and relaxation in the issuance of multiple-entry permits. India and Bangladesh further liberalised the RTA in 2018, to include longer employment time, student visas and five-year multiple-entry permit for the elderly and freedom fighters. [12]

In 2013 and 2018, India liberalised the Revised Travel Arrangement with Bangladesh, resulting in an average 40% year-on-year growth of tourist arrivals.

Interviews with stakeholders revealed that as a result of ease of obtaining a visa, several informal cross-border movements have been converted to formal movements. This can be exemplified by tracking movement through the formal border-crossings such as the Integrated Check Posts (ICPs) or Land Customs Stations (LCS). For example, the total incoming and outgoing passenger movement from ICP Agartala increased by 51% in 2014-15 over the previous year, and movement through Petrapole has doubled in the last five years (2014-2019).[13] The increase in registered movements also reflects the efficiency of border infrastructure, including digitisation of immigration processes.

A detailed 2018 survey on ‘Study on Visits of Nationals of Bangladesh in India’ by the Indian Institute of Tourism & Travel Management (IITTM), reveals the profile, purpose and expenditure pattern of tourists and visitors from Bangladesh.[14] It found that while a majority of the tourists visited India for religious and leisure purpose – 37% and 26% respectively – about 14% of Bangladeshi nationals visited India for medical treatment.

Owing to the cumbersome procedure or inability to obtain a medical visa, some of them were found to have entered India through regular tourist visas. Some Bangladeshi tourists were also repeat visitors to India, with about 24% visiting India six times or more for different purposes. Furthermore, the affordability of India is an important factor for Bangladeshi tourists. The survey shows that the majority of Bangladeshi tourists spend approximately INR 8,000 (approx. USD 115) on a 5-9 day visit to India, with many dependent on public buses for transportation within India.

In the last two years, India also focused on improving visa application processes, which could further explain the rise in Bangladeshi tourist arrivals. In 2018, India inaugurated a new integrated state-of-the-art Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) in Dhaka – its largest visa centre in the world. Additionally, the Indian High Commissioner to Bangladesh also announced the withdrawal of the appointment system for submission of visa applications.[15]

Visa barriers to regional tourism

India’s bilateral visa policies and the resultant degree of ease of access for tourists have an instrumental bearing on the number of FTAs. Within South Asia, agreements with Nepal and Bhutan exempt all nationals of these countries from requiring a visa to travel to India and vice-versa, with only minimal exceptions. Similarly, Maldivian nationals travelling to India for tourism do not need a prior visa if their period of stay in India is less than 90 days in the preceding six months.

We developed an openness index, tracking the ease of access to visas for nationals from South Asian countries seeking to travel to other countries in the region (Figure 3). The index shows that Bhutan, Maldives, and Sri Lanka have the most open tourist visa policies towards citizens of the other South Asian countries. India ranks fifth in travel openness towards South Asia, with only three countries (Nepal, Bhutan and Maldives), eligible for visa-free travel to India. By contrast, Sri Lanka offers visa-on-arrival or e-Travel Authorisation to all South Asian countries and maintains an open border with the Maldives.

Transportation matters: Mode of arrival

The mode of arrival data in figure 4 is derived from the record of all passports stamped by the Bureau of Immigration at recognised ports of entry. Qualitative inputs reveal that not all land border arrivals from Nepal are stamped, as seen in figure 3, where the majority of the reported arrivals from countries sharing a land border with India, such as Nepal and Bhutan, are via air. Informal crossings are also frequent, especially on the India-Nepal border. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that the number of road arrivals from Sri Lanka to India has been increasing. This is possibly due to religious tourism along the Buddhist circuit, with Sri Lankan citizens crossing overland into India after visiting Nepal.

Apart from serving as an indicator of the possible rise in the income profile of India’s inbound tourists from South Asia – with more tourists opting for air travel – the data may also reflect improvement of India’s infrastructural connectivity with its South Asian neighbours. In the last few years, there has been an increase in investments on cross-border connectivity infrastructure such as Integrated Check Posts (ICPs), airports and sea connectivity. In January 2020, for example, India and Nepal inaugurated the ICP at Jogbani-Biratnagar to facilitate trade and people’s movement. This is the second ICP on the India-Nepal border – the first one was built at Raxaul-Birgunj in 2018.[16]

Additionally, in 2018 India and Nepal agreed to open four new cross-border air routes connecting the provinces of Nepal directly to India and Bangladesh.[17] India and Sri Lanka also expanded flight connectivity with the resumption of flights to Jaffna from Chennai after more than four decades. Interestingly, to support such air connectivity, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, India, waived the “5/20” rule, requiring five years of experience and a minimum of 20 flights for an airline to operate international flights.[18] In March 2019, India and Bangladesh commenced a passenger cruise linking Kolkata and Dhaka as part of the Agreements for Enhancing Inland and Coastal Waterways Connectivity. [19]

Ni Hao! South Asia welcomes Chinese tourists

Tourism is a lucrative source of foreign exchange earnings. As per the World Travel and Tourism Council’s (WTTC), the sector contributed US$ 234 Billion or 6.6% to South Asia’s total GDP in 2019.[20] There was a 4.5% travel and tourism GDP growth vis-a-vis the 5% real GDP growth in the region. While foreign tourist arrivals to the region have increased over the years, there has also been a significant increase in the contribution of tourists from the two largest economies: India and China.

A comparison of Indian and Chinese tourist arrivals in four South Asian countries – Bangladesh, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka – reveals that while more Indian tourists visit South Asia, the last decade has witnessed an unprecedented rise in the number of Chinese tourists, approximately by 753% (Figure 5). In 2007, few Chinese tourists were visiting South Asia, concentrated mainly in the Maldives and Nepal (42% and 32%, respectively). In the same year, the number of Indian tourists was significantly more in Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka (Figure 5).

A decade later, the 2018 figures reflect a rather different reality, with a phenomenal rise in the number of Chinese tourists to the Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Nepal.  Between 2007 and 2018, Chinese tourist arrivals rose by 687% in the Maldives, and 462% in Nepal. Sri Lanka registered the highest growth in tourist arrivals from China, from just about ten thousand in 2007 to almost two hundred and sixty thousand in 2018 (a rise of 2486%).

According to the UNWTO and the Chinese Tourism Academy, China has been the world’s largest tourism source market since 2012. The number of outbound travel departures increased from 4.5 million in 2000 to 150 million in 2018, with an average annual double-digit growth of 16%.[21] However, it is reported that the market is still in its infancy. Since only 7% of Chinese citizens currently own a passport, the number of trips could surge to over 400 million by 2030.[22]

This enormous expansion of the Chinese outbound tourism market can be attributed to reasons such as increased air connectivity and a rising middle-class with growing disposable income. Between 1990 and 2016, the number of international air travellers has increased from just one to 52 million.[23] Furthermore, a profile segmentation of Chinese outbound tourists shows that women and millennials (aged between 15-34 years) dominate the market with respectively 53% and 55% of the total outbound tourist share. [24]

Between 2007 and 2018, the number of Chinese tourist arrivals has increased five-fold in Nepal, seven-fold in the Maldives, and twenty-five-fold in Sri Lanka.

Countries in South Asia reportedly gain more from tourism exports to China than India. This is reflected in the average per capita spending capacity of Chinese and Indian tourists in 2018, at approximately US$ 1850 and US$ 960, respectively.[25] In the same year, the total Chinese tourist expenditure amounted to US$ 277 billion, registering a 5% increase from the previous year. By comparison, India’s total international tourist expenditure was US$ 26 billion after a 9% year-on-year increase.[26]

China’s increasing investments in tourism and allied sectors in South Asia could have possibly led to the rise in Chinese tourist arrivals. For instance, in the Maldives, China has invested significantly in infrastructure, housing, hotels and airlines.[27] In 2011, the Sri Lankan government sold a strategically important site, the Colombo beachfront property, to a Hong-Kong based holding company for USD 125 million.[28] Nepal and China have established direct flights from Kathmandu to Beijing through Himalayan Airlines, a Nepal-China joint venture.[29] Furthermore, China’s Northwest Civil Aviation Construction Group, with financial assistance from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), is constructing the new Gautam Buddha International Airport.[30] During his 2019 visit to Nepal, China’s President Xi Jinping noted that “Nepal is the first South Asian country to be designated an approved destination for Chinese tourists” and that there now are about sixty weekly flights connecting both countries.[31]

India has been the preferred short-haul destination for tourists from its neighbourhood. Tourists visit India not only for leisure and medical reasons, but also use the country for transit to other regions. Bilaterally, there have been improvements in visa policies, for example, the relaxation of the India-Bangladesh visa policy in 2013 and with the Maldives in 2019. However, there are still significant challenges towards promoting free and open intra-regional tourism such as visa-openness, gaps in cross-border infrastructure, etc. China, on the other hand, has been increasing its presence in the region, with a growth of 753% in the last decade (2007-2018). It has also made significant investments in South Asia’s tourism and hospitality sectors.

Recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has presented unforeseen challenges to global tourism. With geography gaining significance and the importance of shorter distances becoming more pronounced, regional tourism is likely to grow. Governments must thus pivot to focus considerably more attention on regional tourism through investments in infrastructure and services, particularly digitisation to reduce human transactions. India, in particular, will have to leverage the wide range of cultural similarities with its neighbours such as the regional Buddhist trail and pilgrimage, etc. Such a push would also contribute locally through employment and revenue generation from foreign exchange earnings.

Policy Recommendations

Several steps can be taken to ensure a seamless flow of tourists in India and its neighbourhood:

• E-visa, with digital application and delivery: Technical modernisation, upgradation and other improvements are needed in the Indian visa application and delivery system for South Asian nationals. Currently, only China and Sri Lanka are eligible for an Indian e-visa. Considering the rising share of tourists from the neighbourhood in India, the e-visa facility should be extended to other countries in the region.
• Investing in digitisation in the tourism industry: Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, there is an increasing focus on digitisation of various services to revive the tourism sector. Contact-less transfers, hotel check-ins, site-visits etc. will be crucial for revival of the industry. This requires participation from both public and private sector stakeholders and significant investment in digitisation to enhance secure travel and ensure revenue from foreign exchange.
• Inter-ministerial coordination to enhance infrastructural connectivity: The Ministry of Tourism should actively work with other ministries such as the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Home Affairs to undertake infrastructure-related connectivity initiatives, for example by further expanding the UDAN Scheme to neighbouring countries and supporting digital immigration services at the Integrated Check Posts.[32] Apart from this, the government must play a role in facilitating tourism infrastructural development supported by multilaterals such as the Asian Development Bank, World Bank, Japan International Cooperation Agency, etc.
• Tourism promotion through regional initiatives: India must take the lead in promoting intra-regional tourism through the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) or the Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal initiative (BBIN). Following the example of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), India could host regional tourism summits and facilitate inter-regional cooperation among tour operators, for example with the Federation of ASEAN Travel Associations (FATA). India should also work and cooperate bilaterally with other South Asian countries on joint tourism promotion and advertising campaigns, towards establishing the tourism industry as a regional value chain.
• Promoting religious tourism circuits: The historical and cultural linkages between South Asian nations offer the potential to develop tourism circuits within the region. There has been an interest towards developing a Buddhist circuit between India and Nepal, and a Ramayana circuit between India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. India’s regional governments will have to play a vital role in targeted outreach initiatives to promote their religious heritage to specific countries. [33]

Further Readings

Renton de Alwis, “Promoting tourism in South Asia,” in Sadiq Ahmed, Saman Kelegama & Ejaz Ghani (Eds.), Promoting economic cooperation in South Asia: Beyond SAFTA, (Washington, DC: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development/The World Bank, 2010), P. 259–276.

Annual Report 2017–18, Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, http://tourism.gov.in/sites/default/files/annualreports/Annual%20Report2017-18.pdf

Golam Rasul and Prem Manandhar, “Prospects and Problems in Promoting Tourism in South Asia: A Regional Perspective,” (South Asia Economic Journal, October 1, 2009) Volume: 10 issue: 1, page(s): 187-207, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/139156140901000108?journalCode=saea  

“Guidelines for Success in the Chinese Outbound Tourism Market,” (Spain: UNWTO and China Tourism Academy, 2019), https://www.e-unwto.org/doi/pdf/10.18111/9789284421138

India South Asia

Rahul Tongia, Anurag Sehgal, Puneet Kamboj

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3:00 am - 4:40 am IST

Saneet Chakradeo

August 18, 2020

• EMM2.0 Handbook
• Inter-State Policy Dialogue on Migration

Interregional forums on migration (IRF)

The distinguishing feature of IRFs is that these types of inter-State dialogues connect two or more regions. Like RCPs, IRFs share information and experiences and seek to find common solutions in the areas of migration governance and management. However, unlike RCPs:

• IRFs may have a more varied constituency , with their member States representing different regions and at times representing different ends of a migration corridor ( c ountry of destination and country of origin ).
• Due to this lack of homogeneity, member States in an IRF may have different, at times conflicting policy interests. The larger and varied membership, substantive differences in terms of migration dynamics, interests and desired outcomes make it more difficult to reach consensus . IRF discussion and documents may be even more informal and non-binding than those of RCPs comprised of countries in regions with high regional integration.
• IRFs may be created by bringing together member countries of concrete political and economic unions and therefore involve in their dialogue these formal entities as well. For example, the European Union–Latin America and the Caribbean Structured and Comprehensive Bi-regional Dialogue on Migration (EU–CELAC Migration Dialogue) brings together European Union Member States and CELAC Member States. When the United Kingdom left the European Union or when Brazil left the CELAC, these countries ceased to be members of the EU–CELAC Migration Dialogue.
• In IRFs which include as members political and economic organizations, inter-State discourse goes together with inter-institutional discourse on migration . For example, the Euro-African Dialogue on Migration and Development (Rabat Process) facilitates dialogue among its 56 Member States but also between the European Union and the Commission of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) . Similarly, the European Union–Horn of Africa Migration Route Initiative (Khartoum Process) is a dialogue of 40 States but it also facilitates European Union–African Union policy dialogue. This has allowed the Rabat Process and the Khartoum Process to be chosen to do the monitoring of the Joint Valletta Action Plan (JVAP) to strengthen cooperation between the European Union and the African Union.
• Given that IRFs consist of States in different geographic regions, the scope of their impact is significantly increased . IRFs are instrumental in shaping convergent approaches to the same migration issue across the regions . Their discussions benefit from the sharing of good practices from different regions and they facilitate discourse aimed towards interregional problem solving .

IRFs can be designed to bring together States along a “migration corridor”, such as the 5 + 5 Dialogue on Migration in the Western Mediterranean which comprises ten countries, five on each side of the Mediterranean. Alternatively, they may bring together groups of countries. The Intergovernmental Consultations on Migration, Asylum and Refugees (IGC) , for example, is comprised of the “traditional destination” countries.

IRFs addressing a concrete area of migration management include the Bali Process (with 45 Member States from Europe, Asia, Americas and the Middle East), dedicated to countering migrant smuggling, human trafficking and related transnational crime, and the Abu Dhabi Dialogue , focused on addressing labour mobility in 18 countries across Asia and the Middle East.

Other IRFs – like the Budapest Process (bridging Europe and Asia), the Rabat Process (Europe and Africa) or the Pan-African Forum on Migration – have a quite wide thematic focus.

While it may be difficult to directly link IRFs to formal agreements at either regional or global levels, IRFs play a significant role in enhancing policy coherence between participating States. They also improve policy coherence at a broader global level, which often paves the way for subsequent formal agreements.

Bali Process

Resources include:

• Regional Strategic Roadmap toolkit , strengthening counter-trafficking responses. This is an interactive online portal that supports Asia–Pacific States to evaluate their policies, identify any gaps, and improve responses to human trafficking.
• Policy Guide on Identification of Victims of Trafficking . An introductory guide for policymakers and practitioners (2015a).
• Policy Guide on Protection of Victims of Trafficking . An introductory guide for policymakers and practitioners (2015b).
• Guidelines for Information Sharing to Address People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crime (2018).

The Bali Process was also part of expert group meetings to develop the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Model Law Against the Smuggling of Migrants (2010), which has been adopted by 18 Member States.

Intergovernmental Consultations on Migration, Asylum and Refugees (IGC)

Discussions have contributed to the development of solutions in response to the regional crisis in Kosovo (Walls, 2018).

European Union–Horn of Africa Migration Route Initiative (Khartoum Process)

A stocktaking assessment on human trafficking and the smuggling of migrants in Khartoum Process countries in Africa was initiated in early 2018. This exercise aims to provide an overview of trends in the patterns of trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants, of the relevant legal, policy and institutional frameworks, and of responses to the trafficking in persons and the smuggling of migrants. It led to a set of concluding observations and recommendations which assist Khartoum Process Member States in enhancing their engagement in migration governance, individually and as a group (IOM, 2019a).

Along with the Euro-African Dialogue on Migration and Development (“Rabat Process”), the Khartoum Process is monitoring the implementation of the Joint Valetta Action Plan (JVAP), which covers various areas of migration governance. Yearly thematic meetings have resulted in recommendations on the Process’ main area of focus (tackling trafficking in persons and smuggling of migrants) as well as on further related thematic areas, as suggested in the first JVAP Senior Officials Meeting. Such areas include: development benefits of migration and of addressing the root causes of irregular migration and displacement; legal migration and mobility; protection and asylum; return, readmission and reintegration ( Karthoum Process, 2018 ).

Ministerial Consultation on Overseas Employment and Contractual Labour for Countries of Origin and Destination in Asia ( Abu Dhabi Dialogue)

In addition to providing a forum for dialogue, the Abu Dhabi Dialogue undertakes practical and innovative pilot projects designed to improve the governance of labour migration . These focus on issues such as ethical recruitment, skills certification, information and orientation programming and the role of technology. For example, the pilot project An Alternative Model of Labour Recruitment is being developed between the governments of the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines to promote fair and ethical recruitment among the Abu Dhabi Dialogue countries. It addresses a study that revealed discrepancies between the job offers reported by migrant workers and the employment contracts. It created procedures for recruitment that entail analysis of individual recruitment requests by both country of origin and destination. The goal is to avoid trends like “brain drain” and to ensure that the requirements from both countries are available to and understood by migrant workers.

Budapest Process

The Budapest Process has in many ways contributed to regional policy development in the Silk Routes region and to finding regional responses and ways forward through exchanging information and aligning approaches. Its Regional Law Enforcement Cooperation on irregular migration, migrant smuggling and human trafficking (RELEC) project has, since 2015, improved regional cooperation on preventing irregular migration, migrant smuggling and human trafficking. The participating countries (Afghanistan, Banglades h, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and Turkey), were developing a cooperative structure in 2019 that involves establishing: national contact points (NCPs), exchange of relevant data, an early warning information system and annual analysis of statistical/information reports.

• IOM resources on interregional forums (IRFs) .
• Interregional consultative forums (IRFs) operate very similarly to regional consultative processes (RCPs) while bridging different regions. Through IRFs, States can refine their understanding of different migration issues, benefit from capacity-building opportunities, contribute to shaping the cooperation on topics of interest, and enhance their own migration policies and legislation.

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Intra-regional tourism crucial for SE Asia travel revival

Due to an abundance of low-cost connectivity and an increased preference for travel closer to home in the midst of the pandemic, intra-regional tourism will play a key role in revitalising South-east Asian countries’ tourism economies, according to GlobalData.

GlobalData’s latest report, Tourism Destination Market Insight – ASEAN (2021), revealed that in 2019, 44.3 million tourists travelled between the South-east Asian countries. The intra-ASEAN travel is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of five per cent from 2019 to 2024, and reach 56.6 million by 2024. Given the high level of growth, intra-regional travel could be key to the region’s recovery from the impact of Covid-19. The virus caused a 36.9 per cent year-over-year decrease in intra-regional travel in 2020, to a low of 27.9 million arrivals.

Gus Gardner, travel and tourism analyst at GlobalData, commented: “In 2019, intra-regional travel accounted for a total of 32.3 per cent of all travellers, showing the importance of regional links. With depleted budgets and Covid-19 fatigue setting in, travellers will be keen to travel and are more likely to select destinations closer to home. With the provision of relaxed visa policies between the member states, the barriers to travel are low and will help increase the intra-regional flows post-Covid-19.”

The ratification of the ASEAN single aviation market agreement has increased the level of competition and accessibility of intra-regional flights, much to the delight of travellers.

Gardner concluded: “The market has become saturated with low-cost airline connectivity due to the market liberalisation that has occurred. The low fares and high route frequency offered by these carriers has created a vast connected network across the region, reduced fares, and made travel more affordable. With personal financial concerns growing due to Covid-19, the availability and affordability of flights will be vital to stimulating tourism flows in the near future.

“Even after accounting for the impact of Covid-19, intra-regional travel is forecast to achieve a healthy growth rate. Given the cultural similarities and strict measures to tackle the virus, destinations within the region are likely to increase in popularity. This type of travel will provide the much-needed revenues for travel firms and could play an important role in revitalising the tourism economy before the travellers begin traveling further abroad again.”

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Immigration & emigration statistics

Marcela Cerrutti

5 salient facts about intra-regional migration in south america.

Intra-regional migration in South America is a consolidated and long-standing South-South migration system that has undergone different phases. Although the search for better socioeconomic opportunities is recognized as the main migration force, other circumstances such as political and economic unrest, as well as conflicts and violence, have motivated these migration flows.  

Until the beginning of the 1980s, intra-regional migration was more prevalent than migration to other regions. Later, during the 1990s flows from South America started to head to more developed countries (the United States and European countries). However, after the 2008 international crisis this trend changed and intra-regional regained a considerable dynamism. 1 Recent regional events raise the question of how the South American migratory system will evolve in the near future.

Fact #1: Intra-regional migration has been growing at a faster pace than emigration to more developed countries, but with an uncertain future

This changing migratory pattern was initially explained by the convergence of two sets of factors: (1) the impacts of the financial crisis of 2008 for immigrants in the more developed world, and the adoption of more restrictive immigration policies; and (2) the positive developments in South America, particularly in terms of migration policies and growing employment opportunities. More recently, since 2016, another circumstance fueled intraregional migration: the significant emigration from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The extremely difficult socio-economic and political situation has been pushing out a massive flow of people out of the country, increasing the already growing number of intraregional migrants.

Nowadays in South America, the number of intra-regional immigrants is converging with the number of South American emigrants residing elsewhere in the world . The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)'s Population Division estimates that in 2019 there were 7,786,568 international migrants from South American countries residing outside the region and 6,091,023 within the region. Therefore, the relative size between these two groups decreased from 1.9 to 1.3. However, it is important to note that a significant slow-down in most South American economies as a result of the adoption of structural adjustment policies and recent episodes of social unrest in several countries, such as Chile, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Ecuador and Colombia, raise  the question of how migration will evolve in the near future. For example, since 2016, immigration to Spain has grown and not exclusively due to emigrants from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. Annual South American inflows to Spain increased more than threefold from 75,851 in 2015 to 256,210 in 2018.

Figure 1: Immigrant stocks from South America residing within and outside the region (1990, 2000, 2010 and 2019)

Source : Based on United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), Population Division (2019). International Migrant Stock 2019 (United Nations database, POP/DB/MIG/Stock/Rev.2019).

Fact #2: Intra-regional migration flows increased in numbers and became more diversified in terms of origins, destinations and migrants' socio-demographic profiles

For decades, Argentina and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela were the main immigrant receiving countries in the region, but this situation has changed. Intra-regional migration diversified even before massive emigration from Venezuela, and even though Argentina continues to have its predominant role. In Chile, immigration almost tripled in a decade. In Ecuador immigration grew considerably mainly due to its dollarized economy and the violence experienced in Colombia; and in Uruguay, a traditionally emigration country, immigration almost double as well.

Yet, Colombia and Peru have been the countries that experienced the most sudden changes. In both, emigration had traditionally constituted a significant component of their demographic dynamic, until very recently when they started receiving massive inflows of immigrants, refugee and asylum seekers from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.  

Figure 2: South American migration: numbers of regional emigrants and immigrants by country, 2019

Source: Based on United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), Population Division (2019). International Migrant Stock 2019 (United Nations database, POP/DB/MIG/Stock/Rev.2019).

Source: Based on United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). Population Division (2019). International Migrant Stock 2019 (United Nations database, POP/DB/MIG/Stock/Rev.2019).

It is important to mention that according to data from the Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela (a regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform comprising the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the numbers of emigrants from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in South America is much larger (about 3.7 million). Consequently, it is very likely that numbers of intraregional immigrants would be considerably larger than those reported by UN DESA estimates.

Diversification of migration corridors also has involved immigration from other continents, such as Asia and Africa (for example to Argentina and Ecuador). Even though the size of these flows is considerably smaller, they face more difficulties in terms of social integration. 2

Fact #3: Regional agreements that govern international migration in South America have favoured integration and the protection of migrants' rights

A salient trait of the South American region was a conceptual change in the way migration should be managed. Since the beginning of the twenty first century, through regional, bi-national and multilateral agreements, and the adaptation of national laws and regulations, migrants' mobility  and access to residency rights have considerably improved.

An indicator of this process is the high number of residencies, temporary and permanent, granted recently. Between 2017 and 2018, South American countries granted 484,612 permanent residence permits and 1,352,887 temporary residence permits . 3   It should be emphasized that many of the residencies were granted under the terms of the MERCOSUR agreement (750,397 permanent and temporary).

Having access to resident rights has promoted the economic and social integration of immigrants, particularly in relation to access to formal employment and public social services.

Fact #4: South American countries have responded rapidly to emigration from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

In a very short period, many countries in the region received large numbers of Venezuelans, who in massive groups concentrated around border areas and other receiving locations with poor resources. It has been estimated that the crisis gave rise to 4,626,968 refugees, migrants and asylum seekers worldwide (although more than two thirds reside in the region). The situation generated a series of public health risks, and many people were forced to travel by precarious and unsafe routes, in particular for women and children. Yet host countries have had a solidary reaction and offered an open-door policy generating various mechanisms in order to provide not only emergency assistance but also regular documents.

The Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform also provides estimates on the number residency permits granted to citizens from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in the region. South American countries responded to this crisis by providing a large number of residence permits and regular stays: 1,948,771. In South American countries a considerable number of asylum seekers were also registered (537,473). 4

Figure 4: Regional response to massive emigration from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela: Residence permits and regular stays granted (January 2020)

Source : R4V, Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela. Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform, UNHCR and IOM , https://r4v.info/es/situations/platform (extracted 30/01/2020).

Fact #5: Women predominate among South American migrants and play a significant role in the domestic and care sectors

Among intraregional migrants there are 108 women for every 100 men. 5 In the largest immigrant receiving countries, such as Argentina and Chile (and this is also the case in Uruguay) the female-male ratio is higher, mainly due to the demand for domestic and care workers. Increasing labour force participation of middle-class women and a growing ageing population in host countries are key factors to explain this large demand for immigrant female workers in domestic services and caring occupations. The significant presence of women in this sector, which is largely unregulated and informal, deserves specific attention by governments who need to prevent abuses and to ensure equal treatment. There are interesting examples in the region where regulations were adapted to protect domestic and care workers. 6

Figure 5: Female-male ratios in intra-regional migration by country of destination

Source: Based on data from Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean, ECLAC, IMILA database ( https://celade.cepal.org/bdcelade/imila December, 2019) corresponding to population Censuses of Argentina (2010), Bolivia (2010), Brazil (2010), Ecuador (2010), Uruguay (2011) and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (2011). Census information for Chile (2017) and Peru (2017) obtained from National Statistical Offices.

Challenges and prospects

Different migratory patterns characterize South America today. Regarding intraregional migration, corridors have increased and diversified. The recent large movement of refugees, migrants and asylum seekers from the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela require significant efforts by receiving countries to provide social, educational and health services, and to ensure tolerant and respectful environments. Even though the region has taken exemplary measures to govern migration by favoring regular migration, there is still considerable room for improvements in relation to migrants’ integration.

Challenges regarding the social, economic and cultural integration of immigrants in the region extends to immigrants from other regions such as Asia and Africa. These movements are not included in regional agreements that favored residency rights and deserve particular attention by governments.

Some political turns in the region raise some doubts of how this process will evolve in the future. It is therefore important for the international community as well as national civil society organizations to be alert and to closely monitor whether governments comply with their regional commitments towards international migrants.

Finally, a recently observed trend of increasing emigration to Spain also calls for a closer look at how the economic and political crisis affects the dynamic of migration, particularly in relation to a migration aspect that has been overlooked, that is the nature and characteristics of re-emigration processes.

Based on data provided by Argentina, Dirección Nacional de Migraciones; Brazil, Ministério da Justiça and Departamento de Polícia Federal; Bolivia, Dirección General de Migración; Chile, Dirección de Extranjería y Migración; Colombia, Migración Colombia, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores; Ecuador, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y de Movilidad Humana; Paraguay, Dirección General de Migraciones; Perú, Superintendencia Nacional de Migraciones; Uruguay, Dirección Nacional de Migración-Ministerio del Interior and Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores.  

Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) or the United Nations. Any designations employed and the presentation of material throughout the blog do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IOM concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area, or of its authorities, or concerning its frontiers and boundaries.

• 1 For more on migrations in South America see Villa M, Martínez Pizarro J. 2000. Trends and patterns in the Americas. In Internacional Migration and Development in the Americas. Symposium on International Migration in the Americas. Seminarios y Conferencias Ser. 15, CEPAL, Santiago de Chile; and, Cerrutti M, Parrado E. 2015. Intraregional Migration in South America: Trends and a Research Agenda, in Annual Review of Sociology, 41:399–421.
• 2 Data from Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Spain. Estadística de Variaciones residenciales (December 20th, 2019)
• 3 Data provided by the South American Regional Office, International Organization for Migration, IOM.
• 4 Data extracted from R4V, Coordination Platform for Refugees and Migrants from Venezuela. Regional Inter-Agency Coordination Platform, UNHCR and IOM, January 30th, 2020 https://r4v.info/es/situations/platform
• 5 Data corresponds to the last available census data on intraregional immigrants in Argentina (2010), Bolivia (2010), Brazil (2010), Chile (2017), Ecuador (2010), Peru (2017), Uruguay (2011) and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (2011).
• 6 More on female immigrants in domestic and care occupation can be found in Norma Sanchís y C. Rodríguez Enríquez (coords.), 2011. Cadenas globales de cuidados. El papel de las migrantes paraguayas en la provisión de cuidados en Argentina, Buenos Aires, ONU Mujeres; Ceriani, P., C. Courtis, M.I. Pacecca, P. Asa y L. Pautassi, 2010. “Migración y trabajo doméstico en Argentina: la precariedad en el marco global” in M.E. Valenzuela y C. Mora (eds) Trabajo doméstico: un largo camino hacia el trabajo decente, Santiago, OIT; Cerrutti, M. 2009. Gender and Intraregional Migration in South America. Human Development Research Paper 12, UNDP.

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Source: UN DESA, 2019

Migration flows data capture the number of migrants entering and leaving (inflow and outflow) a country over the course of a specific period, such as one year ( UN SD, 2017 ). Data on migration flows...

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• An agreement on interregional cooperation was signed in 1995.
• The report examines the local and inter-regional influences that helped to shape these patterns of production .
• The authorities claimed that the attack was an attempt to stir up interregional rivalries .
• These forces were at work at local , regional , and inter-regional levels .
• at local/national level phrase
• metropolitan county
• multi-county
• non-metropolitan county
• out-of-state
• regionalism

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Interregional and intraregional trade in emerging markets identified as key to addressing global economic crisis

One of the rare bright spots in global economic news, growth in interregional and intraregional trade among emerging markets makes up one-fifth of the world’s total trade and is expected to surpass North-South trade flows by 2030. These trends animated today’s discussions at the World Export Development Forum (WEDF), which is bringing together the foremost trade experts and business leaders to explore the way ahead for global trade.

“Despite an economic slowdown in mature markets, emerging economies have been quite resilient,” said Patricia Francis, Executive Director of ITC. “That resilience is due to the private sector’s increased focus on markets like Indonesia and other growth market across Asia, Africa and Latin America.”

Indonesia, the host of WEDF 2012, is now the world’s 15th largest economy (PPP adjusted) and a prominent advocate for increasing trade between emerging economies. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono addressed attendees at today’s opening of the three-day event. “Indonesian exports to other emerging markets have continued to grow at a much higher rate than exports to traditional markets like Japan and the U.S.,” said Gita Wirjawan, the Indonesian Minister of Trade. “To continue leveraging trade opportunities with fast-growing emerging markets, we are focusing on export competitiveness and added value product quality.”

Indonesian exports of non-oil and gas commodity to other emerging markets such as Côte d'Ivoire, Libya, Guinea, Mauritius, Macedonian Republic, Laos, Haiti, Ethiopia, Nicaragua and Liberia have increased significantly from US$90.02 million last year to US$318.2 million this year.

“Indonesia is one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia, and one which continues to use trade as a conduit for growth and development,” said Pascal Lamy, Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO). “We are pleased that the WTO's ninth Ministerial Conference will take place in this beautiful country in December next year. Enhancing and diversifying two-way international trade between Indonesia and its trading partners would certainly benefit the development of all.” Other emerging economies in Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa also stand to benefit greatly from growth in interregional trade. For example, according to a recent ITC report , sub-Saharan African exports to Asia, including both commodities and value-added processed goods, are expected to increase up to 14% over the next decade.

The bulk of South-South trade has traditionally occurred within Asia,” said Supachai Panitchpakti, UNCTAD Secretary-General. “Where this trade is inter-regional, it often involves commodity exports like oil and other unprocessed goods to Asia, but there are significant market opportunities in Asia and Latin America as well as within sub-Saharan Africa for processed African exports, like leather, textile and other value-added goods. Likewise there is a great potential for significant growth in intraregional Latin American trade in goods and services, one challenge being the accumulation of origin for the full exploitation of present Regional Trade Agreements.”

WEDF continues on Tuesday, 16 October and Wednesday, 17 October. The full texts of speeches made at the event are available on www.intracen.org/wedf . Additionally, ITC is live-streaming plenary sessions here and encouraging participation in conversations through Facebook,  Twitter and LinkedIn. The World Export Development Forum (WEDF) is a unique global forum dedicated to supporting export-led development. WEDF provides an issue-focused platform for policymakers, trade support institutions and business people to gain practical understandings in export competitiveness, within a framework of Aid for Trade and trade-related technical assistance.

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interregional

Definition of interregional

Examples of interregional in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'interregional.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

1871, in the meaning defined above

Dictionary Entries Near interregional

interreflection

interregnal

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“Interregional.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interregional. Accessed 1 May. 2024.

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Globalisation - Intra Regional Trade

Last updated 22 Mar 2021

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Intra-regional trade happens when trade in goods and services happens inside a specific region of the world economy such as sub-Saharan Africa or the member nations of the European Union

Low intra-regional trade in Africa

Over 80% of Africa's exports are shipped overseas, mainly to the European Union (EU), China and the US (Source: UN Report)

Africa's intra-regional trade share doubled from 6% to 12% between 1990 and 2011

But this is small compared to more advanced regions

Why is this?

• Many African countries are highly specialized in and dependent on extracting and exporting primary commodities
• Limited infrastructure like roads, energy and physical networks to support international trade – increasing the costs of getting products to market.
• Overlapping trade blocs in Africa
• Few significant import hub countries
• Smaller size of consumer markets in Africa – therefore less profit incentive
• Weaker governance, fraud, many non-tariff barriers to trade such as cross border restrictions that delay trade flows

The rise of intra-Asian regional trade

There has been a surge in intra-regional trade within Asian countries

The share has grown from 42 per cent in 1990 to 52 per cent in 2011 – now a majority of trade

Most of the change is due to a fall in the share of North America in total Asian trade

Many Asian countries have achieved fast progress towards a highly diversified industrial base.

Increasing capacities and competencies in producing many different goods and services has accelerated intra-industry trade e.g. as countries supply different components.

Asia is building complex and large supply chains and trading more within the region as a result

• Intra-Regional Trade
• Globalisation

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What is inter-regional travel?

Inter-regional travel is traveling between 2 or more regions. Subtly different is intra-regional travel, which is traveling within the same region.

Add your answer:

What are interregional shifts of agriculture in Nigeria?

Explain the interregional shifts of agriculture in nigeria

What is interregional?

trade in the region

What is interregional trade?

What are interregional trade.

Interregional trade is trade that takes place between two or more regions.

What caused the largest interregional migration in the US?

The U.S. westward expansion.

The largest level of interregional migration in the US was caused by the?

Opening up of the western territories.

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What are inter regional trade, relevance of the interregional trade.

The inter-regional trade promotes peace and social interaction between communities in the region.

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Raymond G. Bressler has written: 'Markets, prices, and interregional trade'

What sea was important for trade in ancient times?

The Mediterranean Sea was where the bulk of interregional trade occurred until the European Discovery of the Americas.

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Jacob Johan Van Duijn has written: 'An interregional model of economic fluctuations'

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PENN GLOBAL RESEARCH & ENGAGEMENT GRANT PROGRAM 2024 Grant Program Awardees

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In 2024, Penn Global will support 24 new faculty-led research and engagement projects at a total funding level of $1.5 million.

The Penn Global Research and Engagement Grant Program prioritizes projects that bring together leading scholars and practitioners across the University community and beyond to develop new insight on significant global issues in key countries and regions around the world, a core pillar of Penn’s global strategic framework. 

PROJECTS SUPPORTED BY THE HOLMAN AFRICA RESEARCH AND ENGAGEMENT FUND

• Global Medical Physics Training & Development Program  Stephen Avery, Perelman School of Medicine
• Developing a Dakar Greenbelt with Blue-Green Wedges Proposal  Eugenie Birch, Weitzman School of Design
• Emergent Judaism in Sub-Saharan Africa  Peter Decherney, School of Arts and Sciences / Sara Byala, School of Arts and Sciences
• Determinants of Cognitive Aging among Older Individuals in Ghana  Irma Elo, School of Arts and Sciences;  Iliana Kohler, School of Arts and Sciences
• Disrupted Aid, Displaced Lives Guy Grossman, School of Arts and Sciences
• A History of Regenerative Agriculture Practices from the Global South: Case Studies from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe Thabo Lenneiye, Kleinman Energy Center / Weitzman School of Design
• Penn Computerized Neurocognitive Battery Use in Botswana Public Schools Elizabeth Lowenthal, Perelman School of Medicine
• Podcasting South African Jazz Past and Present Carol Muller, School of Arts and Sciences
• Lake Victoria Megaregion Study: Joint Lakefront Initiative Frederick Steiner, Weitzman School of Design
• Leveraging an Open Source Software to Prevent and Contain AMR Jonathan Strysko, Perelman School of Medicine
• Poverty reduction and children's neurocognitive growth in Cote d'Ivoire Sharon Wolf, Graduate School of Education
• The Impacts of School Connectivity Efforts on Education Outcomes in Rwanda  Christopher Yoo, Carey Law School

PROJECTS SUPPORTED BY THE INDIA RESEARCH AND ENGAGEMENT FUND

• Routes Beyond Conflict: A New Approach to Cultural Encounters in South Asia  Daud Ali, School of Arts and Sciences
• Prioritizing Air Pollution in India’s Cities Tariq Thachil, Center for the Advanced Study of India / School of Arts and Sciences
• Intelligent Voicebots to Help Indian Students Learn English Lyle Ungar, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

PROJECTS SUPPORTED BT THE CHINA RESEARCH AND ENGAGEMENT FUND

• Planning Driverless Cities in China Zhongjie Lin, Weitzman School of Design

PROJECTS SUPPORTED BY THE GLOBAL ENGAGEMENT FUND 

• Education and Economic Development in Nepal Amrit Thapa, Graduate School of Education
• Explaining Climate Change Regulation in Cities: Evidence from Urban Brazil Alice Xu, School of Arts and Sciences
• Nurse Staffing Legislation for Scotland: Lessons for the U.S. and the U.K.  Eileen Lake, School of Nursing
• Pathways to Education Development & Their Consequences: Finland, Korea, US Hyunjoon Park, School of Arts and Sciences
• Engaged Scholarship in Latin America: Bridging Knowledge and Action Tulia Falleti, School of Arts and Sciences
• Organizing Migrant Communities to Realize Rights in Palermo, Sicily  Domenic Vitiello, Weitzman School of Design
• Exploiting Cultural Heritage in 21st Century Conflict   Fiona Cunningham, School of Arts and Sciences
• Center for Integrative Global Oral Health   Alonso Carrasco-Labra, School of Dental Medicine

This first-of-its-kind Global Medical Physics Training and Development Program (GMPTDP) seeks to serve as an opportunity for PSOM and SEAS graduate students to enhance their clinical requirement with a global experience, introduce them to global career opportunities and working effectively in different contexts, and strengthens partnerships for education and research between US and Africa. This would also be an exceptional opportunity for pre-med/pre-health students and students interested in health tech to have a hands-on global experience with some of the leading professionals in the field. The project will include instruction in automated radiation planning through artificial intelligence (AI); this will increase access to quality cancer care by standardizing radiation planning to reduce inter-user variability and error, decreasing workload on the limited radiation workforce, and shortening time to treatment for patients. GMPTDP will offer a summer clinical practicum to Penn students during which time they will also collaborate with UGhana to implement and evaluate AI tools in the clinical workflow.

The proposal will address today’s pressing crises of climate change, land degradation, biodiversity loss, and growing economic disparities with a holistic approach that combines regional and small-scale actions necessary to achieve sustainability. It will also tackle a key issue found across sub-Saharan Africa, many emerging economies, and economically developed countries that struggle to control rapid unplanned urbanization that vastly outpaces the carrying capacity of the surrounding environment.

The regional portion of the project will create a framework for a greenbelt that halts the expansion of the metropolitan footprint. It will also protect the Niayes, an arable strip of land that produces over 80% of the country’s vegetables, from degradation. This partnership will also form a south-south collaboration to provide insights into best practices from a city experiencing similar pressures.

The small-scale portion of the project will bolster and create synergy with ongoing governmental and grassroots initiatives aimed at restoring green spaces currently being infilled or degraded in the capital. This will help to identify overlapping goals between endeavors, leading to collaboration and mobilizing greater funding possibilities instead of competing over the same limited resources. With these partners, we will identify and design Nature-based Solutions for future implementation.

Conduct research through fieldwork to examine questions surrounding Jewish identity in Africa. Research will be presented in e.g. articles, photographic images, and films, as well as in a capstone book. In repeat site-visits to Uganda, South Africa, Ghana, and Zimbabwe, we will conduct interviews with and take photographs of stakeholders from key communities in order to document their everyday lives and religious practices.

The overall aim of this project is the development of a nationally representative study on aging in Ghana. This goal requires expanding our network of Ghanian collaborators and actively engage them in research on aging. The PIs will build on existing institutional contacts in Ghana that include:

1). Current collaboration with the Navrongo Health Research Center (NCHR) on a pilot data collection on cognitive aging in Ghana (funded by a NIA supplement and which provides the matching funds for this Global Engagement fund grant application);

2) Active collaboration with the Regional Institute for Population Studies (RIPS), University of Ghana. Elo has had a long-term collaboration with Dr. Ayaga Bawah who is the current director of RIPS.

In collaboration with UNHCR, we propose studying the effects of a dramatic drop in the level of support for refugees, using a regression discontinuity design to survey 2,500 refugee households just above and 2,500 households just below the vulnerability score cutoff that determines eligibility for full rations. This study will identify the effects of aid cuts on the welfare of an important marginalized population, and on their livelihood adaptation strategies. As UNHCR faces budgetary cuts in multiple refugee-hosting contexts, our study will inform policymakers on the effects of funding withdrawal as well as contribute to the literature on cash transfers.

The proposed project, titled "A History of Regenerative Agriculture Practices from the Global South: Case Studies from Ethiopia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe," aims to delve into the historical and contemporary practices of regenerative agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa. Anticipated Outputs and Outcomes:

1. Research Paper: The primary output of this project will be a comprehensive research paper. This paper will draw from a rich pool of historical and contemporary data to explore the history of regenerative agriculture practices in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Zimbabwe. It will document the indigenous knowledge and practices that have sustained these regions for generations.

2. Policy Digest: In addition to academic research, the project will produce a policy digest. This digest will distill the research findings into actionable insights for policymakers, both at the national and international levels. It will highlight the benefits of regenerative agriculture and provide recommendations for policy frameworks that encourage its adoption.

3. Long-term Partnerships: The project intends to establish long-term partnerships with local and regional universities, such as Great Lakes University Kisumu, Kenya. These partnerships will facilitate knowledge exchange, collaborative research, and capacity building in regenerative agriculture practices. Such collaborations align with Penn Global's goal of strengthening institutional relationships with African partners.

The Penn Computerized Neurocognitive Battery (PCNB) was developed at the University of Pennsylvania by Dr. Ruben C. Gur and colleagues to be administered as part of a comprehensive neuropsychiatric assessment. Consisting of a series of cognitive tasks that help identify individuals’ cognitive strengths and weaknesses, it has recently been culturally adapted and validated by our team for assessment of school-aged children in Botswana . The project involves partnership with the Botswana Ministry of Education and Skills Development (MoESD) to support the rollout of the PCNB for assessment of public primary and secondary school students in Botswana. The multidisciplinary Penn-based team will work with partners in Botswana to guide the PCNB rollout, evaluate fidelity to the testing standards, and track student progress after assessment and intervention. The proposed project will strengthen a well-established partnership between Drs. Elizabeth Lowenthal and J. Cobb Scott from the PSOM and in-country partners. Dr. Sharon Wolf, from Penn’s Graduate School of Education, is an expert in child development who has done extensive work with the Ministry of Education in Ghana to support improvements in early childhood education programs. She is joining the team to provide the necessary interdisciplinary perspective to help guide interventions and evaluations accompanying this new use of the PCNB to support this key program in Africa.

This project will build on exploratory research completed by December 24, 2023 in which the PI interviewed about 35 South Africans involved in jazz/improvised music mostly in Cape Town: venue owners, curators, creators, improvisers.

• Podcast series with 75-100 South African musicians interviewed with their music interspersed in the program.
• 59 minute radio program with extended excerpts of music inserted into the interview itself.
• Create a center of knowledge about South African jazz—its sound and its stories—building knowledge globally about this significant diasporic jazz community
• Expand understanding of “jazz” into a more diffuse area of improvised music making that includes a wide range of contemporary indigenous music and art making
• Partner w Lincoln Center Jazz (and South African Tourism) to host South Africans at Penn

This study focuses on the potential of a Megaregional approach for fostering sustainable development, economic growth, and social inclusion within the East African Community (EAC), with a specific focus on supporting the development of A Vision for An Inclusive Joint Lakefront across the 5 riparian counties in Kenya.

By leveraging the principles of Megaregion development, this project aims to create a unified socio-economic, planning, urbanism, cultural, and preservation strategy that transcends county boundaries and promotes collaboration further afield, among the EAC member countries surrounding the Lake Victoria Basin.

Anticipated Outputs and Outcomes:

1. Megaregion Conceptual Framework: The project will develop a comprehensive Megaregion Conceptual Framework for the Joint Lakefront region in East Africa. This framework, which different regions around the world have applied as a way of bridging local boundaries toward a unified regional vision will give the Kisumu Lake region a path toward cooperative, multi-jurisdictional planning. The Conceptual Framework will be both broad and specific, including actionable strategies, projects, and initiatives aimed at sustainable development, economic growth, social inclusion, and environmental stewardship.

2. Urbanism Projects: Specific urbanism projects will be proposed for key urban centers within the Kenyan riparian counties. These projects will serve as tangible examples of potential improvements and catalysts for broader development efforts.

3. Research Publication: The findings of the study will be captured in a research publication, contributing to academic discourse and increasing Penn's visibility in the field of African urbanism and sustainable development

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has emerged as a global crisis, causing more deaths than HIV/AIDS and malaria worldwide. By engaging in a collaborative effort with the Botswana Ministry of Health’s data scientists and experts in microbiology, human and veterinary medicine, and bioinformatics, we will aim to design new electronic medical record system modules that will:

Aim 1: Support the capturing, reporting, and submission of microbiology data from sentinel surveillance laboratories as well as pharmacies across the country

Aim 2: Develop data analytic dashboards for visualizing and characterizing regional AMR and AMC patterns

Aim 3: Submit AMR and AMC data to regional and global surveillance programs

Aim 4: Establish thresholds for alert notifications when disease activity exceeds expected incidence to serve as an early warning system for outbreak detection.

  Using a novel interdisciplinary approach that bridges development economics, psychology, and neuroscience, the overall goal of this project is to improve children's development using a poverty-reduction intervention in Cote d'Ivoire (CIV). The project will directly measure the impacts of cash transfers (CTs) on neurocognitive development, providing a greater understanding of how economic interventions can support the eradication of poverty and ensure that all children flourish and realize their full potential. The project will examine causal mechanisms by which CTs support children’s healthy neurocognitive development and learning outcomes through the novel use of an advanced neuroimaging tool, functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), direct child assessments, and parent interviews.

The proposed research, the GIGA initiative for Improving Education in Rwanda (GIER), will produce empirical evidence on the impact of connecting schools on education outcomes to enable Rwanda to better understand how to accelerate the efforts to bring connectivity to schools, how to improve instruction and learning among both teachers and students, and whether schools can become internet hubs capable of providing access e-commerce and e-government services to surrounding communities. In addition to evaluating the impact of connecting schools on educational outcomes, the research would also help determine which aspects of the program are critical to success before it is rolled out nationwide.

Through historical epigraphic research, the project will test the hypothesis that historical processes and outcomes in the 14th century were precipitated by a series of related global and local factors and that, moreover, an interdisciplinary and synergistic analysis of these factors embracing climatology, hydrology, epidemiology linguistics and migration will explain the transformation of the cultural, religious and social landscapes of the time more effectively than the ‘clash of civilizations’ paradigm dominant in the field. Outputs include a public online interface for the epigraphic archive; a major international conference at Penn with colleagues from partner universities (Ghent, Pisa, Edinburgh and Penn) as well as the wider South Asia community; development of a graduate course around the research project, on multi-disciplinary approaches to the problem of Hindu-Muslim interaction in medieval India; and a public facing presentation of our findings and methods to demonstrate the path forward for Indian history. Several Penn students, including a postdoc, will be actively engaged.  

India’s competitive electoral arena has failed to generate democratic accountability pressures to reduce toxic air. This project seeks to broadly understand barriers to such pressures from developing, and how to overcome them. In doing so, the project will provide the first systematic study of attitudes and behaviors of citizens and elected officials regarding air pollution in India. The project will 1) conduct in-depth interviews with elected local officials in Delhi, and a large-scale survey of elected officials in seven Indian states affected by air pollution, and 2) partner with relevant civil society organizations, international bodies like the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), domain experts at research centers like the Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI), and local civic organizations (Janagraaha) to evaluate a range of potential strategies to address pollution apathy, including public information campaigns with highly affected citizens (PHFI), and local pollution reports for policymakers (Janagraaha).

The biggest benefit from generative AI such as GPT, will be the widespread availability of tutoring systems to support education. The project will use this technology to build a conversational voicebot to support Indian students in learning English. The project will engage end users (Indian tutors and their students) in the project from the beginning. The initial prototype voice-driven conversational system will be field-tested in Indian schools and adapted. The project includes 3 stages of development:

1) Develop our conversational agent. Specify the exact initial use case and Conduct preliminary user testing.

2) Fully localize to India, addressing issues identified in Phase 1 user testing.

3) Do comprehensive user testing with detailed observation of 8-12 students using the agent for multiple months; conduct additional assessments of other stakeholders.

The project partners with Ashoka University and Pratham over all three stages, including writing scholarly papers.

Through empirical policy analysis and data-based scenario planning, this project actively contributes to this global effort by investigating planning and policy responses to autonomous transportation in the US and China. In addition to publishing several research papers on this subject, the PI plans to develop a new course and organize a forum at PWCC in 2025. These initiatives are aligned with an overarching endeavor that the PI leads at the Weitzman School of Design, which aims to establish a Future Cities Lab dedicated to research and collaboration in the pursuit of sustainable cities.

This study aims to fill this gap through a more humanistic approach to measuring the impact of education on national development. Leveraging a mixed methods research design consisting of analysis of quantitative data for trends over time, observations of schools and classrooms, and qualitative inquiry via talking to people and hearing their stories, we hope to build a comprehensive picture of educational trends in Nepal and their association with intra-country development. Through this project we strive to better inform the efforts of state authorities and international organizations working to enhance sustainable development within Nepal, while concurrently creating space and guidance for further impact analyses. Among various methods of dissemination of the study’s findings, one key goal is to feed this information into writing a book on this topic.

Developing cities across the world have taken the lead in adopting local environmental regulation. Yet standard models of environmental governance begin with the assumption that local actors should have no incentives for protecting “the commons.” Given the benefits of climate change regulation are diffuse, individual local actors face a collective action problem. This project explores why some local governments bear the costs of environmental regulation while most choose to free-ride. The anticipated outputs of the project include qualitative data that illuminate case studies and the coding of quantitative spatial data sets for studying urban land-use. These different forms of data collection will allow me to develop and test a theoretical framework for understanding when and why city governments adopt environmental policy.

The proposed project will develop new insights on the issue of legislative solutions to the nurse staffing crisis, which will pertain to many U.S. states and U.K. countries. The PI will supervise the nurse survey data collection and to meet with government and nursing association stakeholders to plan the optimal preparation of reports and dissemination of results. The anticipated outputs of the project are a description of variation throughout Scotland in hospital nursing features, including nurse staffing, nurse work environments, extent of adherence to the Law’s required principles, duties, and method, and nurse intent to leave. The outcomes will be the development of capacity for sophisticated quantitative research by Scottish investigators, where such skills are greatly needed but lacking.  

The proposed project will engage multi-cohort, cross-national comparisons of educational-attainment and labor-market experiences of young adults in three countries that dramatically diverge in how they have developed college education over the last three decades: Finland, South Korea and the US. It will produce comparative knowledge regarding consequences of different pathways to higher education, which has significant policy implications for educational and economic inequality in Finland, Korea, the US, and beyond. The project also will lay the foundation for ongoing collaboration among the three country teams to seek external funding for sustained collaboration on educational analyses.

With matching funds from PLAC and CLALS, we will jointly fund four scholars from diverse LAC countries to participate in workshops to engage our community regarding successful practices of community-academic partnerships.

These four scholars and practitioners from Latin America, who are experts on community-engaged scholarship, will visit the Penn campus during the early fall of 2024. As part of their various engagements on campus, these scholars will participate after the workshops as key guest speakers in the 7th edition of the Penn in Latin America and the Caribbean (PLAC) Conference, held on October 11, 2024, at the Perry World House. The conference will focus on "Public and Community Engaged Scholarship in Latin America, the Caribbean, and their Diasporas."

Palermo, Sicily, has been a leading center of migrant rights advocacy and migrant civic participation in the twenty-first century. This project will engage an existing network of diverse migrant community associations and anti-mafia organizations in Palermo to take stock of migrant rights and support systems in the city. Our partner organizations, research assistants, and cultural mediators from different communities will design and conduct a survey and interviews documenting experiences, issues and opportunities related to various rights – to asylum, housing, work, health care, food, education, and more. Our web-based report will include recommendations for city and regional authorities and other actors in civil society. The last phase of our project will involve community outreach and organizing to advance these objectives. The web site we create will be designed as the network’s information center, with a directory of civil society and services, updating an inventory not current since 2014, which our partner Diaspore per la Pace will continue to update.

This interdisciplinary project has four objectives: 1) to investigate why some governments and non-state actors elevated cultural heritage exploitation (CHX) to the strategic level of warfare alongside nuclear weapons, cyberattacks, political influence operations and other “game changers”; 2) which state or non-state actors (e.g. weak actors) use heritage for leverage in conflict and why; and 3) to identify the mechanisms through which CHX coerces an adversary (e.g. catalyzing international involvement); and 4) to identify the best policy responses for non-state actors and states to address the challenge of CHX posed by their adversaries, based on the findings produced by the first three objectives.

Identify the capacity of dental schools, organizations training oral health professionals and conducting oral health research to contribute to oral health policies in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean region, identify the barriers and facilitators to engage in OHPs, and subsequently define research priority areas for the region in collaboration with the WHO, oral health academia, researchers, and other regional stakeholders.

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