A site for the promotion of green tourism in the Danube sector of the Black Sea basin was launched on Wednesday, March 9, 2022. The danube-ecotravel.com website was created within the cross-border project "Development and promotion of green tourism in the Danube sector of the Black Sea basin", implemented by the Institute for Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul", in partnership with the University "Dunărea de Jos" from Galați (Romania), the Cahul District Council (Republic of Moldova) and the Executive Committee of the Local Council of the Reni Territorial Community (Ukraine).
Mihai Țurcanu, the project assistant at IDIS "Viitorul", stated at the launch conference that, at the moment, the site is functional in Romanian and English. All information will also be translated into Ukrainian. The site has eight main sections, some sections have several sub-sections. Tourists and potential tourists can read information about the history, geography, culture, demography, and economy of the cross-border region Cahul-Reni-Galati, about the tourist potential and tourist attractions in the region. Also, they can find information about the food and accommodation services in the area and about some cross-border routes that can be operated in the region. Three more routes will be created as part of the project and will be published on the website upon completion. "Thanks to this website, tourists have all the necessary information about the region and how they can plan a visit. The site can already fulfill its main function - to promote tourism in the Cahul-Reni-Galați region ", added Mihai Țurcanu.
Doina Cebotaru, the communication officer from the Cahul District Council, mentioned that the purpose of the site is to increase the visibility of the three Danube regions - Reni, Galați, and Cahul, but also the number of tourists visiting them. "We have made efforts to create an attractive, efficient, and easy use site," said Doina Cebotaru.
"We hope that the site will be an auspicious activity for Cahul, Reni, and Galați, but also for those who want to get involved in the development of green tourism. We very much hope that the people working in the field of tourism in these areas will cooperate and with the help of the website and will promote their business, interests, and tourism potential” said Liubomir Chiriac, the project manager.
According to Nicon Pîslari, the project coordinator from the Cahul District Council, an enormous effort was made to create the website. "We will continue to make other efforts to improve the website so that all those interested in green tourism in our region can find it easily," said Nicon Pîslari.
Liliana Ivanova, the project coordinator from the Reni territorial community, stated that green tourism in the cross-border area will flourish due to this project, but also thanks to other projects dedicated to the promotion of tourism and currently implemented in the region. "It's a show of support for the whole tourism-loving community," said Liliana Ivanova.
Cristian Munteniță, the project coordinator from the "Dunărea de Jos" University of Galați County, specified that the site will arouse interest from those interested in green tourism. "The information that is placed on the site is factual, collected from reliable sources. A dedicated team worked to gather this news, which we hope will bring interest ", specified Cristian Munteniță.
Olesea Vulpe, the tourism expert at the Cahul District Council, said that although Cahul has a tourism promotion center, it does not have a website, and his management is waiting for the launch of danube-ecotravel.com to offer tourists information about the tourist potential of Cahul district. "Certainly the information gathered will be useful not only for tourists but also for potential tourists. The site is now the most consolidated database on the tourist potential of Cahul district", said Olesea Vulpe.
"Now, thanks to this website, it is much easier for a tourist, who wants to visit Galați, to do it. We here in Galați tend to visit distant places, but also to discover the area where we live. Creating and launching this site required a lot of work, effort, and team dedication. I want this effort to be rewarded, and this is going to happen when a tourist accesses the site and is happy to be properly informed," said Oana Contoman, the tourism expert hired by the Dunărea de Jos University in Galati County.
According to Veaceslav Ioniță, the economic expert of the IDIS “Viitorul” project, a site is a tool, a platform created to capture the attention of tourists to visit the region. "It is a free opportunity to inform tourists about the Danube region. I hope that this resource, which is now one focused on providing information, will turn into an online platform for promoting tourist services from Cahul, Galați and Reni ", mentioned Veaceslav Ioniță.
"The tourist potential of Cahul district is varied and interesting. The field of tourism has recently become a very important one, and at the level of the Cahul District Council a tourism development strategy has been elaborated, which aims to evaluate, promote and capitalize on local tourism potential, but also to inform tourists through information technologies" said Natalia Ponomariov, the head of the culture department at the Cahul District Council.
Mariana Iurcu, the tour guide, and the museographer at the Museum of History and Ethnography in Călărași, Moldova, noted that danube-ecotravel.com is a good site, an idea that should convince the tourism managers from Călărași to create such a platform. "In Călărași for three years now, changes have been made in the field of tourism. We created tourist routes. We have 12 in number. We are now working on a strategy for the development of sports, eco, and adventure tourism. Also, it is working on a gastronomic route. We have a brochure to inform about our folk craftsmen and our uniqueness. These aspects must be promoted on their own platform. It would not be bad to have a tourist route that connects us to Cahul district", remarked Mariana Iurcu.
Lucia Căpățînă, the tourism expert from IDIS “Viitorul”, mentioned that the information on the site will be constantly updated, and the tourist will always have access to new information. "We hope that when we publish the information about the tourist routes in the region, which will be created, the site will become more attractive because our desire is for it to benefit as many tourists and potential tourists as possible," said Lucia Căpățînă.
Valentin Ceban, the representative of the Investment Agency, stated that two cross-border routes to promote tourism have already been created between the Republic of Moldova and Romania, but the desire is to do the same between the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.
According to Ana Znaceni, the project coordinator from IDIS "Viitorul", the site, at the end of the project, will remain under the management of the Cahul District Council. She also said that the project has an implementation period of 30 months, and is now in the middle of the implementation period. A study of good neighborliness in the Danube sector has already been presented, now a guide to cross-border tourism in the region is almost complete. Previously, four training sessions for tourism service providers and potential tourism service providers in Galați, Reni, and Cahul were organized, to strengthen their capacity in the field of green tourism. Two such seminars will be held in the first half of 2022. Three study visits to Romania, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine will be made and three tourist routes linking the three regions will be created. At the same time, two festivals, one in Cahul and another in Reni, to promote local traditions, are planned to be organized.
The cross-border project "Development and promotion of green tourism in the Danube sector of the Black Sea basin" is part of the Joint Operational Program "Black Sea Basin 2014-2020" and is co-financed by the European Union through the European Neighborhood Instrument and the participating countries: Armenia , Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine.
This press release was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its content is the sole responsibility of the project and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.
