PRESS RELEASE: Creating New Employment Opportunities in the Danube Region at the Core of the Mystical Danube Project’s Latest Meeting
Promoting community-based sustainable tourism to create new employment opportunities that respect nature conservation aspects in less economically developed areas.
WITH THE AIM OF PROMOTING tourism, economic growth and social inclusion in the Danube region, the partners and Steering Committee of the Mystical Danube project met on 26-27 February in Budapest, Hungary, to share the latest findings and key achievements on how to valorise natural and intangible cultural heritage in the region. The results, originating from their work in 10 local pilot sites in 9 countries — namely, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia —focus on promoting community-based sustainable tourism and, as such, on creating new employment opportunities that respect nature conservation aspects in less economically developed areas.
During the two-day event of the INTERREG Danube Region Programme-funded project, partners reported the completion of the territorial analysis in each of the pilot sites. The research work involved a wide range of target groups, allowing Mystical Danube’s partner organisations to find common areas of interest and opportunities for the creation of new jobs in the tourism sector. While the analytical work still needs to continue during 2025, these first steps represent the basis for the development of Local Action Plans for each pilot site. The results are being continuously uploaded to an open-source database, which will be accessible to the public for inputs and edits at a later stage.
The meeting, organised by CEEweb for Biodiversity and attended by the Danube Programme Managing Authority/Joint Secretariat, city development agencies, the private sector, and nature conservation organisations from nine Central and Eastern European countries, further allowed for a full day of exchanges related to the development of a Strategy for the Valorisation of Natural and Intangible Cultural Heritage in Rural, Less Visited Areas. This specific work aligns with how the Mystical Danube project envisions its support to rural and less-visited areas affected by unemployment and social exclusion — especially among vulnerable groups. At its core, and through transnational cooperation, the project will develop the “Green and Mystical Danube Storytelling Route,” which will showcase local stories and traditions while engaging communities in tourism services. A mobile app will highlight the route, its locations, and available services, with contact points set up at pilot sites.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
The “GREEN AND MYSTICAL DANUBE STORYTELLING ROUTE – Transnational valorisation of natural and intangible cultural heritage for socio-economic development of rural areas in the Danube region” project is financed by the INTERREG Danube Region Programme. From January 2024 to June 2026, Mystical Danube will address several challenges and needs in the Danube Region related to the valorisation of natural and intangible cultural heritage as a tourism asset and their contribution to regional economic development and social inclusion:
- High unemployment rate and social exclusion.
- Disparity in unemployment.
- Uneven national and regional employment distribution in the tourism sector.
- Natural and intangible cultural heritage from rural and less visited areas at major risk of being left out and forgotten.
Project Lead: Zadar County Rural Development Agency (HR)
CEEweb Contact Person: Eliza Óhegyi, eohegyi@ceeweb.org
Visit the project's website for more information.