Green tourism in the Danube Sector of the Black Sea Basin will be developed and promoted within the framework of a cross-border project
The Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) Viitorul is implementing a cross-border project ‘Development and Promotion of Green Tourism in the Danube Sector of the Black Sea Basin (Cahul District, Republic of Moldova; Reni Territorial Community, Ukraine and Galati County, Romania)’ from December 2020 to June 2023. The project is being implemented in partnership with the Cahul District Council (Moldova), Reni City Council (Ukraine), and Galati University of Lower Danube (Romania).
The project objectives, presented on Thursday, 8 April, at the kick-off conference, are related to the development and promotion of green cross-border tourism for mutual socio-economic benefits of communities in the Black Sea basin in the Danube sector: Galati – Cahul – Reni.
‘We set ourselves realistic goals and objectives. We very much hope that in the course of the project implementation we will be able to successfully achieve our plans. First of all, we want the Danube sector of the Black Sea basin to have economically viable tour operators and many tourists,’ said Lubomir Kiriak, Project Manager, Executive Director of the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) Viitorul (Republic of Moldova) at the kick-off conference.
Ana Maria Munteanu, Project Manager of the Joint Technical Secretariat of the Joint Operational Programme Black Sea Basin 2014-2020, noted that the project is ambitious. At the same time, she expressed hope that all the proposed goals would be achieved in the context of the global pandemic.
According to Natalia Caraus, Head of the Regional Cooperation Department of the Foreign Aid Directorate under the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Moldova, the project addresses some of the priorities set by the Government of the Republic of Moldova and offers effective solutions to the main tourism problems in the region, in particular, to make tourism more environmentally friendly and socially responsible.
‘We have a significant tourism potential and we want to use it. We have unique natural resources and a rich cultural heritage. These are very good conditions for the development of green tourism,’ said Igor Plekhov, Mayor of Reni (Ukraine).
Valentina Shevchenko, Vice President of the Cahul District (Moldova), said that the project will help improve the tourism potential of the Cahul district. ‘The tourist sites in Cahul have invaluable potential, but they need to be promoted,’ she said.
Carmelia Dragomir from the University of Dunărea de Jos (Galati, Romania) said that the institution she represents is participating in the project because of the desire to have green tourism in the region. ‘We have opportunities, we have something to be proud of, and we have to make it visible,’ said Carmelia Dragomir.
Vitalii Sochirke, project tourism expert, noted that the project’s activities focus on policy development, creating a cross-border tourism cluster between Cahul (Moldova), Reni (Ukraine) and Galati (Romania), which will stimulate the development of green tourism at the border, improve the quality of tourism services, increase the number of tourists and improve the quality of life of communities in the region.
According to the expert, the project will help to improve the attractive business environment for tourism and establish an effective platform for dialogue between institutions and people at the cross-border level. At the same time, a guidebook on cross-border tourism with a focus on ecotourism will be developed; a map with three cross-border tourist routes; an information brochure for tourists; as well as a joint programme for the development of cross-border tourism in the Cahul County, Reni County and Galati County.
Vitaliy Sochirka also noted that trainings, roundtables and seminars will be held to strengthen the capacity of tourism service providers, local and regional authorities in the field of cross-border green tourism. During the project implementation period, study visits, thematic podcasts on green tourism in the region and entrepreneurship opportunities will be held. In addition, the project envisages a study of good neighbourliness along the Danube sector of the three identified administrative units.
The project’s economic expert, Viacheslav Ioninha, in turn, noted that the project envisages the development of cross-border green tourism, intensification of regional relations between the three countries, and reduction of the gap in their economic development.
Project coordinator Ana Znaceni noted that the Danube sector of the Black Sea basin has significant tourism potential that can be exploited, especially in the field of eco-tourism. She stressed that the level of development of tourism infrastructure is unfortunately low, but it has the potential to grow. The project is an opportunity to stimulate and intensify cooperation between authorities, tourism service providers and local communities in the 3 regions to develop and promote cross-border tourism.
Cross-border project ‘Development and promotion of green tourism in the Danube sector of the Black Sea basin