Closing event of the project ’Active Tours’ |
Members and working group of Mid-Békés Territorial Development Municipal Association held the closing event and press-conference of the project ’Organising Thematic Tourism Programmes in the Körös Valley (HURO/0901/241/2.1.3 ’ActiveTours’) on 22nd, June 2012 in the Körös Valley Visitor Centre, Békéscsaba, Széchenyi park.
This active tourism project of 113.653 € with its 18-month-period started on 1st November 2010 with the aim to grow the tourism facilities of the area, as the changing tourism tendencies, the growing need toward active spare-time demand this enlargement.
The project is filling a gap, as tourism in the Körös Valley is still not harmonized, cooperation among service providers is insufficient and there are few interesting programme facilities.
This project answered this problem, regarding the equipments, the joint tourism marketing stragegy with image design, the incentive study tours for service providers along the border and the tour packages offered in brochures in three languages. The 4 roll-up boards are appropriate to disseminate the project results in wider circle.
The equipments purchased are of considerable added value, as neither the three member-towns, nor other provider had such versatile supply of tools. These are shared among the three towns based on natural values and can be used be the inhabitants, students and tourists. In Békés, tools mainly for water tourism – dragon boats, canoes - can be accessed, in Gyula and Békéscsaba, rather walking and cycling routes are offered with equipments – bikes, Nordic Walking, GPS. During the project there were some programmes based on the equipments purchased.
The two piers established in the project makes comfortable water tourism possible on the Élővíz-canal between Békéscsaba and Bandika-tree and on the Kettős-Körös between Békés and Köröstarcsa.
The brochure with offers of routes in Békés and Arad Counties has also been prepared, which introduces the popular routes in the two counties in three languages in 5-5000 issues. These brochures are available in Tourinform and Infotour Offices in Békés and Arad counties, in accommodation, tourism providers, cultural centres and in the Körös Valley Visitor Centre. On the website of the Association, in menu ’Publications’ the routes can be downloaded even in one whole document.
Photos of the project closing event can be visited in the ’Galery’.
Project results can be visited at www.kozepbekes.hu and www.imm-arad.ro/activetours
We hereby thank for every provider, supplier, cooperative parnter to be able to implement the developments and to provide the results for the locals and tourists coming in this area.
Mid-Békés Territorial Development Municipal Association, as Lead Partner;
Association of Körös Valley Nature, as Project Partner 1;
National Council of Romanian Small and Medium sized Enterprises – Arad Branch, as Project Partner 2.
This project was implemented by the support of the Hungary-Romani Cross Border Cooperations Programme 2007-2013.
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Development of active tourism – as one of the best projects | The project titled ’Organising thematic tourism programmes in the Körös Valley’ (HURO/0901/241/2.1.3 - Active Tours) of the Mid-Békés Territorial Development Municipal Association has been selected among the outstanding projects – said Krisztina Soczó leader of the working group of the Association. She explained that KPMG independet auditing company is carrying out the evaluation of the programme ’Hungary-Romania Cross-border Cooperation Programme 2007-2013’. In frames of this, the Contributing Authority was asked to choose the 12 best projects out of the 80 being implemented and closing to its end. This is how this project was also selected, due to the project idea, implementation and the cross-border characters.
  
The local survey of the project took place in Békéscsaba and in Békés. At the meeting the two project partners represented – the Association of Körös Valley Nature and the National Council of Romanian Small and Medium sized Enterprises – Arad Branch.
Partners introduced the project and its results and outputs by answering the independent evaluators’ questions. The dragon boats and canoes purchased from the project were shown by the mayor of Békés, one of the vice-chairmen of the Municipal Association in the small boat port of Békés town. He said that the boats were used by lots of local pupils and students and several dragon boat competitions have been won by the Kayak-Canoe Club in Békés. As he said, these tools offer unforgettable experience for the locals.
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Active Tours project closing event in Arad |
The finalizing of the project Active Tours has been marked by organizing a project closing event in Arad on the 29th of June 2012. The event has taken place at Hotel Central Arad and has brought together 19 participants, representatives of local authorities, project partners, various Romanian NGOs involved in promoting local tourism, and also several members of the cross border community and the local press.
In the frame of this event, the results of the project have been presented, emphasizing the impact of the implemented activities on the development of the local tourism and the cross-border community, in its whole. Also, at this event, the main result of the project has been presented, namely the brochure that contains the 15 touristic packages from the Arad and Bekes counties published in Romanian and English.
(Info, foto: http://www.imm-arad.ro/)
  
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Developing cross-border Active Tourism |
The project entitled ’Organising thematic tourism programmes in the Körös Valley’ (HURO/0901/241/2.1.3 ActiveTours) reached its closure on 30th June 2012. The project reached its goals. Several active tourism equipments have been purchased, 15 touristic routes have been surveyed, two study trips have been organised, a joint tourism marketing strategy has been prepared, many partner meetings took place. The websites of the partners upgraded within the project provide up-to-date information on the project progress in general and contain the programme packages that have been surveyed during the project. These touristic routes are gathered in a brochure issued in 3 languages, in 5000 issues each. Two piers established in the project provide safe boarding on two important water tourism routes.
Project history
In the first period the partnership started the project by defining the steps of implementation. The partners started to tender the services planned. Other activities were prepared: planning of the programme-packages, and defining the parameters of the joint tourism marketing strategy. Touristic programme-packages were to be part of the marketing strategy, so they needed to be worked out paralelly. That is why a meeting took place with the tour and trip-organisers in Romania on the 20th, December, in the town of Arad. At this meeting, seven participants contributed to the project with constructive recommendations. Five programme-packages were concluded at this meeting. Another main activity in this period was the preparation the promotional leaflets in Hungarian and in Romanian languages, in 1000-1000 issues. The planning and upgrading of the websites in Hungary and in Romania also started (www.kozepbekes.hu and www.imm-arad.ro).
In the second project period, the purchase of active tourism equipments was the main activity. These equipments were the following: 2 dragon boats with oars, life vests and trailer, 12 canoes with oars, life vests, 22 bicycles with safety vests, locks and 12 helmets, 10 pairs of Nordic Walking sticks, 9 GPS tools. The equipments can be used by the locals, pupils and students, and the incoming tourists, within the organisations of the partnership. Other services, like website development, elaborating the marketing strategy, designing the image, roll-up posters and the brochure were going on in this project period, the details of the 15 programme-packages of active tours were also been outlined within the whole partnership.
Int he third project period, work focused on the survey of the 15 thematic routes in Békés and Arad counties, the finalising the marketing strategy, and the two study trips to tourism organisers. Image-design for further marketing of the results, the preparation of the roll-up was completed. The planning of the brochure, the improvement of LP ’s and PP2’s website and the planning of the piers were the main activities. Two study trips have been organised – a canoe trip on the Maros River in Arad County, and a canoe-bicycle-dragon boat trip on the Kettős-Körös in Mid-Békés.
In the fourth period, the designing and editing of the active tourism brochures went on in partner-level and the permitting procedures, the selecting of the constructor of the piers were main activities. The two piers were located in Mid-Békés – one on the Élővíz-canal in the outskirt trekking area of Békéscsaba and the other on the Kettős-Körös between Békés and Köröstarcsa.
In the final period, the brochures were edited, finalised and published in three languages, in 5000 issues each. The brochures provide information on the active tourism routes surveyed and considered as the most appropriate ones in the two counties. This brochure is a practical guide with descriptions, photos and maps and is available in Tourinform and InfoTour offices in Hungary and Romania, municipalities, tourism organisations, and hotels along the Hungarian-Romania border and in the Körös Valley Visitor Centre in Békéscsaba. The project had two closing events – on 22nd, June in Békéscsaba and on 29th June in the town of Arad – which were press-conferences as well.
The partnership is satisfied with the project results and outcomes, as most of the activities are filling in gaps (marketing strategy, dragon boats, other equipments, piers, brochures in the field of tourism. | |
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