The Institute for Development and Social Initiatives “Viitorul” is implementing the cross-border project "Develop and promote the green tourism in the Danube sector of the Black Sea basin (Cahul district, Republic of Moldova; Reni Territorial Community, Ukraine; Galați County, Romania)" between December 2020 and June 2023. The project is implemented in partnership with the Cahul District Council (Moldova), Reni City Hall (Ukraine), and the “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galați (Romania).

The projects’ objectives, which were presented on Thursday, April 8, at the project launching conference, are related to the development and promotion of green cross-border tourism with the goal of ensuring mutual socio-economic benefits for the the Black Sea basin communities living in the Galați-Cahul-Reni Danube sector.

"We have formulated realistic goals and objectives. We very much hope that in the process of implementing the project, the set visions will materialize successfully. We want to have economic activities of tour operators and many tourists in the Danube sector of the Black Sea basin", stated Liubomir Chiriac, project manager and  executive director of the IDIS "Viitorul", Republic of Moldova.

Ana Maria Munteanu, Project Officer from the Joint Technical Secretariat of the Joint Operational Program "Black Sea Basin 2014-2020" mentioned that the project is an ambitious one, and expressed hope that, in the conditions of the global pandemic, all the proposed objectives will be achieved.

According to Natalia Cărăuș, head of the Regional Cooperation Section of the External Assistance Directorate within the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Moldova, the project will implement some objectives established by the Government of the Republic of Moldova, as comes with solutions to tourism major problems facing the regional tourism, which it seeks to develop, to make it more environmentally friendly and socially responsible.

"We have great touristic potential and we want to capitalize on it. We have unique natural resources, and rich cultural heritage. These are very nice premises for the development of green tourism", added Igor Plehov, the mayor of Reni, Ukraine.

The vice-president of the Cahul district, Valentina Șevcenco, declared that this project will contribute to the improvement of the touristic potential of the Cahul district. "Tourist places in Cahul have an inestimable value which should be capitalized upon and promoted," stated the vice president of Cahul District Council.

Carmelia Dragomir, from “Dunărea de Jos” University of Galați, Romania, stated that the institution she represents has accepted to be part of the project out of the desire to have the green tourism developed in the region. "We have opportunities, we things to be proud of and we have to highlight them," said Carmelia Dragomir.

Vitalie Sochircă, the project's tourism expert, added that the project activities are focused on policy development, creation, and consolidation of a cross-border tourism cluster between Cahul (Moldova), Reni (Ukraine), and Galați (Romania), which would stimulate the development of green tourism at the border, increase the quality of tourist services, the number of tourists in the region and improve the quality of life for the communities living in the region. According to the expert, the project will contribute to the improvement of cross-border policies by establishing an attractive business environment for tourism, and to the set-up, at a cross-border level, of an effective platform for dialogue between institutions and individuals. At the same time, in the framework of the project  a guide with an emphasis on eco-tourism on cross-border tourism will be drafted, as well as a map of three cross-border tourist routes, an information brochure for tourists, but also a joint program for the development of cross-border tourism in Cahul district, Reni territorial community, and Galați county.

Vitalie Sochircă added that training sessions, round tables, and workshops will be held to strengthen the capacities of tourism service providers and local and regional authorities in the field of cross-border green tourism. The project implementation team will also organize visits and thematic podcasts on green tourism and entrepreneurship opportunities in the region, and will draft a study on the good neighborhood practices in the Danube sector of the three entities.

The economic expert of the project, Veaceslav Ioniță, emphasised in his turn that the project envisages the development of cross-border green tourism as a way of intensifying the regional relations between the three units, but also the reduction of the economic development between those territorial administrative units and other regions of the three countries.

The project coordinator - Ana Znaceni, mentioned that in the Danube sector of the Black Sea basin there is a considerable touristic potential that can be exploited, especially with regard to ecological tourism. She also said that the level of development of the tourist infrastructure is low, but it has the potential to grow, and that the project is an opportunity to stimulate and enhance cooperation between authorities, tourism service providers, and local communities in the three regions to develop and promote cross-border tourism.

The cross-border project ” Develop and promote the green tourism in the Danube sector of the Black Sea basin (Cahul district, Republic of Moldova; Reni Territorial Community, Ukraine; Galati County, Romania)”, BSB 817, is implemented by The Institute for Development and Social Initiatives ”Viitorul”, in partnership with the Cahul District Council (Moldova), Reni City Hall (Ukraine) and “Dunarea de Jos” University of Galati (Romania). The project is part of the Joint Operational Programme Black Sea Basin 2014-2020 and is co-financed by the European Union through the European Neighborhood instrument and by the participating countries: Armenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Turkey, and Ukraine.  

This press release was produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the cross-border project ” Develop and promote the green tourism in the Danube sector of the Black Sea basin (Cahul district, Republic of Moldova; Reni Territorial Community, Ukraine; Galati County, Romania)”, BSB 817, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.

To find out more details about the project, you can contact us at the email address: idis.crossborderproject@gmail.com .