Second Meeting of the Carpathian Convention Working Group on Sustainable Tourism

Comment the draft Tourism Protocol to the Carpathian Convention! >>

Photos above were taken during the meeting in Krakow: presentation at the meeting, klezmer band performing to the participants during the dinner in Krakow, and study trip at Babia Góra National Park. Photos by Slavka Turecekova. For more photos click here >>

Photo taken at the first meeting of the Working Group. Check the results of the first meeting >> Photo by Istvan Sido

The meeting was be held from 23 to 25 April 2008 Krakow and Sucha Beskidzka (Babia Gora National Park), Poland. The meeting was attended by governmental delegates from all the seven Carpathian Countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Serbia, and Ukraine), NGOs, administrations of protected areas as well as international tourism experts and observers. More than 40 participants from the following countries attended the workshop: Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Serbia, Ukraine as well as Austria, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.

During the meeting the following was achieved:

• The working group preliminary finalised the draft tourism protocol for submition to Carpathian Convention COP2 as information document
• The working group developed recommendations to COP2
• The development of the strategy for the future tourism development of the Carpathians was discussed along with the plans for the finalisation of the protocol and strategy till COP3
• The elaboration of Via Carpatica project proposal was furthered
• Working group members exchanged information about other project ideas and initiatives on sustainable tourism development in the Carpathians
• The working group decided that it would be useful to continue its activities

Documents for download:

• Report on the 2nd meeting of the TWG (the report includes the agenda of the meeting along with the list of the participants in the annexes)
• Recommendations of the Working Group on Sustainable Tourism to COP2
• Draft Tourism Protocol to the Carpathian Convention (PDF, 80KB and DOC, 130KB )
• Draft Strategy for the Future Tourism Development of the Carpathians (PDF, 150KB and DOC, 2.4MB )
• Terms of Reference for the Working Group on sustainable tourism
• Terms of Reference for the Tourism Protocol to the Carpathian Convention
• Terms of Reference for the Strategy for the Future Tourism Development of the Carpathians

Presentations held at the meeting:

Update of the Tourism Working Group (PDF, 500KB)
Kristina Vilimaite, CEEweb gave a presentation on TWG activities to date, decisions relevant to the work of TWG taken by the bodies of Carpathian Convention, and timeline till COP2.

The Central European Initiative and its Activities in the Tourism Sector (PDF, 450KB)
Izabela Gostisa, Central European Initiative, presented the structure and activities of the Central European Initiative.

Biking Trails in Medzibodroz (PDF, 7.7MB, in Slovakian language)
Stefan Szabo, Sosna, Slovakia, presented the initiative of the organisation Sosna of developing biking trails in the eastern part of Slovakia connecting Ukraine and Hungary.

Via Carpatica (PDF, 150KB)
Kristina Vilimaite gave a presentation on the elaborated project components of the Via Carpatica idea.

Presentation from the Carpathian Convention Cultural Heritage Working Group (PDF, 400KB)Monika Ochwat–Marcinkiewicz, Ecopsychology Society, Poland, on behalf of ANPED presented the interim results of the consultation meetings held in each of the seven Carpathian countries.

Presentation on GEF/UNEP Project (PDF, 2.9MB)
Michael Meyer, Ecological Tourism In Europe, presented the GEF Project on Sustainable Use of Biodiversity in Three Biosphere Reserves in Central and Eastern Europe (Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic).

If you have any questions related to the Working Group meeting , please do not hesitate to contact Ms. Kristina Vilimaite, Tourism Programme Manager at CEEweb, tel.: +36 1 398 0135 , e-mail: kvilimaite@ceeweb.org.

Background information

The meeting was organised in cooperation with the UNEP Vienna Interim Secretariat of the Carpathian Convention. It contributed to as well as benefit from the EU INTERREG IIIB CADSES Carpathian Project.

The Working Group on sustainable tourism was established by the Decision COP1/10 of the First Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP1) to the Carpathian Convention (Kyiv, 11-13 December 2006).

The 1st meeting of the Working Group took place on 2-5 April 2007 in Mountain Cottage ARNIKA, White Carpathians, the Czech Republic. Read about the results of the meeting >>

The Framework Convention on the Protection and Sustainable Development of the Carpathians was signed on 22 May 2003 in Kiyv, Ukraine, the Ministers of the Environment of the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovak Republic and Ukraine.

The Carpathian Convention provides the framework for cooperation and multi-sectoral policy coordination, a platform for joint strategies for sustainable development, and a forum for dialogue between all stakeholders involved.

On the first meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Carpathian Convention (COP1), 11-13 December 2006, in Kyiv, Ukraine, the Parties decided

“to support the establishment of a of a Working Group on sustainable tourism under the Carpathian Convention Implementation Committee, aiming at the elaboration of a strategy for the future tourism development of the Carpathians and of a tourism protocol;” (Decision, COP1/10; article 9, §2)