The project partners of the project Cultours: Cultural tours in Western Balkans organized 5 local online activities with the aim to raise awareness about local tourism and create a safe spot for discussion and networking.
The events were organized in Peja, Kosovo, Skopje, North Macedonia, Knjazevac, Serbia, Niksic, Montenegro and Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The event in Knjazevac was devoted to creating more touristic opportunities for the City of Knjazevac. Under the moto “Modern means for modern tourists”, different tools were shared, like apps and promotional videos.
The participants from the Kosovo event discussed creating tours that valorize the regional tourism, but also enhance networking and cooperation. The local touristic spots took the spotlight in the discussion, especially old camping spots and the cultural heritage monuments.
Montenegrins talked about the tourism in their local community and how the potential for development has become regional, but highlighting that cooperation between the small touristic stakeholders is crucial for development.
The participants from Mostar were able to hear information regarding cultural tourism from both theoretical and practical aspect. We also highlighted current situation at tourism market and its supply and demand in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Macedonian event united participants from different sectors like the tourism, hospitality industry, sports and finally a member from the municipality of Krushevo joined the discussion as representative of the local government. After a very prolific discussion, the participants concluded that the potential of local tourism is big, as the pandemic measures made tourists choose touristic spots in their vicinity and that the small places that were safer were more attractive to tourists.
The Cultours created 5 possibilities for networking, for discussions and sharing ideas. The links created during the events will be used to create a better local touristic offer and to induce local economic development.
The project WB Cultours: Cultural tours in Western Balkans is implemented by the Balkan network for Local democracy and financed by the Western Balkans Fund.