A project will look for unexplored cultural and historical routes in the border region Bulgaria-Serbia
National Tourism Cluster "Bulgarian Guide" has launched a project to increase the value of unexplored cultural and historical routes and resources for tourism in the cross-border region Bulgaria-Serbia. The data show that this destination remains less popular with tourists than other regions in both countries. For the period 2013-2017, on average only 4% of all overnight stays in the region were realized for Bulgaria. The situation on the Serbian side of the border is similar.
Many activities and events are planned within the project “QuesTour - Valorisation and capitalization of unexplored tourism cultural and historical routes in the cross-border region Bulgaria-Serbia” to solve this problem. The Bulgarian and Serbian partners - National Tourism Cluster "Bulgarian Guide" (Bulgaria), ENECA - Association of Economic Experts (Serbia) and the Municipality of Vratsa (Bulgaria) have set a goal to create the so-called Business Model Generator for sustainable use of the potential of natural and cultural resources in the border region, through the participation of local stakeholders. It is planned to identify and analyse the unexplored cultural, natural, and historical sites in the border region of the two countries.
Activities are also planned to increase the sustainable use of the identified tourist resources, e.g. on creating routes. Consultations will be held to formulate and solve common problems with the participation of local stakeholders.
The identified places and tourist services will be presented on an online map within the planned platform and application, where the developed quest tours will be disseminated. The platform will promote responsible travel in the region, will present opportunities for free time and choosing thematic tours, will show videos about the pilot tours. The project will organize a workshop on "Best practices in the development of sustainable tourism and the" QuesTour "approach. It is expected to increase cooperation between tourist organizations and local authorities for more efficient destination management and development of attractive tourism products.
The QuesTour project (April 2020 - July 2021) will enable the practical use of the resources created as part of it by organizing a "Design Thinking" competition for young people. The idea is to encourage young people (aged 16-29) from Serbia and Bulgaria to develop a joint tour with elements of natural, cultural, and historical heritage. The winners will be presented at a special ceremony in Vratsa. There will also be a cross-border festival, which will show parts of the culture, customs, and traditions of the local communities on both sides of the border - folk music and dance, crafts, local dishes and many more.
 |
The project is co-funded by EU through the Interreg-IPA CBC Bulgaria–Serbia Programme.
|