Internal thematic meeting and study visit in Arandjelovac, Serbia

Partners from Austria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia met at the 1st Multilateral Walkshop and 3rd internal thematic meeting within the INSiGHTS project - ȊIntegrated Slow, Green and Healthy Tourism Strategiesȋ. The meeting took place in Arandjelovac, Serbia on the 28th – 30th June 2017 and was hosted by Regional Economic Development Agency for Šumadija and Pomoravlje from Kragujevac, Serbia.

The first evening partners experienced presentation of vineries and wine tasting during dinner with local products. This included a virtual presentation of the pilot territories, a promotional video of the tourist destinations of Arandjelovac and Topola and the landscapes of Sumadija and Pomoravlje, and also a promotional film Soulfood Serbia.

The focus of the walkshop was on good practices of promoting healthy lifestyle and eco-consciousness in tourism. On the second day partners visited the park of Bukovička spa and received historical and cultural background information during a short guided tour. Partners also went to a local horse club in Arandjelovac and discussed the experience of hiking-nature sightseeing with the facilitators. They also visited Oplenac - the Royal Winery in Topola, which is an excellent example of presentation of local products to groups of tourists, and they saw the historical heritage (and most attractive tourist destination in the region) of St George church and mausoleum of royal dynasty of Karadjordjevic.

During the official meetings partners discussed the progress of the work packages on Local Strategies, of the Status Quo reports and the next steps within the project. There was also a session for the local stakeholders within the walkshop organized by Regional Economic Development Agency for Šumadija and Pomoravlje from Kragujevac, Serbia. The director of the agency Nenad Popović presented the project and the regional situation in the field of sustainable tourism. There were also representatives of national institutions present at the event: Biljana Filipović from the Ministry of Ecology, Slobodan Petrovič from the Development agency Serbia and Aleksandar Denda from the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications. Prof. Ulrike Pröbstl-Haider from BOKU University from Vienna presented tourism concepts and pointed out the importance of unique and authentic tourist experiences in certain destinations.

The first bilateral meeting in Plovdiv, Bulgaria took place in the middle of June. The area was visited by representatives of Regional Economic Development Agency for Šumadija and Pomoravlje from Kragujevac, Serbia. Within the Ȋcritical classroomȋ partners analysed strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities of Plovdiv area and the region of Šumadija and Pomoravlje. The next bilateral study visit will take place in Slovenia in September 2017 and LAG Central Istria will host the next multilateral meeting in Pazin.

About the project

The 30-months long project (January 2017 – June 2019) was approved within the Interreg Danube Transnational Programme financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance (IPA).

The INSiGHTS project is about finding solutions for making regions more attractive to tourists by developing tourism strategies that keep in the focus the protection of natural and cultural resources. Regions in INSiGHTS all have outstanding natural and cultural resources, and at the same time they have a great potential related to the fast-growing recreational trend of slow, green and healthy tourism.

Partners are working in close cooperation with stakeholders in eight regions to gain relevant local feedback on the current situation of tourism and also ideas and proposals for new opportunities for slow, green and healthy tourism. There will be eight integrated sustainable tourism strategies developed by the partner regions and they will be adaptable all across the Danube Region.

For more information about the INSiGHT project please visit: www.interreg-danube.eu/insights

Contact:

Emőke Tóth, Lead partner

Pons Danubii European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation, Námestie generála Klapku 1, Komárno, Slovakia

Email: komunikacia@ponsdanubii.eu, telephone: +421 353 811 327

Eva Vovk, Coordinator of Communication Activities

Development Centre of the Heart of Slovenia, Kidričeva 1, 1270 Litija, Slovenia

Email: eva.vovk@razvoj.si, telephone: +386 1 896 27 17