Hiking without a backpack
Source of funding : European Regional Development Fund Interreg VA Poland-Slovakia Cross-Border Cooperation Program 2014-2020
Implementation period : March 1, 2017 - October 30, 2018
Project Partner : Slovakia-North Carpathian Euroregion Association
Project co-financing amount : EUR 558 511.20 (85%)
Total project value : EUR 657 072 (100%)
Purpose of the project
Increasing the attractiveness of the Polish-Slovak borderland by using the resources of cultural and natural heritage, mainly in the context of a hiking tourist.
Idea and short description of the project
The main idea of the project is to develop the natural and cultural heritage of the Polish-Slovak border area. The individual activities of the project will be aimed at the interest of hiking tourists (local and foreign) in the above-mentioned heritage. In order to show the tourist the advantages of the borderland (including cultural and natural heritage objects), it is necessary to first inventory and systematize the routes marked in the field and described in the published materials and the soft infrastructure elements and attractions located around them. Then, the inventoried routes will be posted on the website and will be available via the mobile application. The application will also include the model tourist product "Hiking without a backpack" developed in this project. The product assumes cooperation from 6 to 8 hotel (accommodation) facilities, which will be connected in a loop through the borderland. The product consists in wandering from the first object along the loop for the number of days corresponding to the number of objects on the route. Tourists, setting off from the first facility, leave their luggage and car there. The owner of the facility transports the luggage or, if necessary, brings the car to the next facility. Thanks to this, tourists can easily get to know natural and cultural attractions. Additionally, training will be conducted for people and institutions involved in activities for the development of tourism, and the offer and service of hotel and catering facilities will be adjusted to the standards of hiking. A tool / product prepared in this way will require an appropriate marketing campaign in the form of: participation in tourist fairs (Tour Salon Poznań, Incheba Bratisława, ITB Berlin) in order to attract domestic and foreign tourists, shooting and broadcasting the series on TV and YouTube channel, conducting 2 promotional events hiking among the local population combined with the presentation of attractions and resources of the region, issuing a guide, promotional materials, newsletter, conducting a study tour for tourist bloggers from Poland, Slovakia and others).
Tasks in the project include, among others
Systematization of hiking trails in the border area
Creation of modern e-tools for hikers
The application with the website
The emergence of a new, cross-border tourist product
Taking into account the preferences of hikers and presenting the values of the borderland. The product assumes cooperation from 6 to 8 hotel (accommodation) facilities, which will be connected in a loop through the borderland. Each of the objects should be distant from the other by a maximum of 25 km of hiking trails connecting them. The product consists in wandering from the first object along the loop for the number of days corresponding to the number of objects on the route. Tourists, setting off from the first facility, leave their luggage and car there. The owner of the facility transports the luggage or, if necessary, brings the car to the next facility. Thanks to this, tourists can easily get to know natural and cultural attractions.
Training for people and institutions involved in activities for the development of tourism
Their aim will be to exchange knowledge about the natural and cultural heritage of the Polish-Slovak borderland and how to make them available for hiking, to integrate the Polish and Slovakian tourism industry, to provide knowledge on modern information tools and to promote natural and cultural values.
Adapting the offer and service of hotel and catering facilities to the standards of hiking
Objectives: changing the offer and service of hotel and catering facilities of the border area to the standards of hiking. There will be 50 audits of facilities with reports and recommendations for changes.
Conducting joint Polish-Slovak promotional and marketing campaigns and implementing soft activities promoting the cultural and natural heritage of the borderland
Participation in tourist fairs (Berlin, Poznań, Bratislava), recording and broadcasting a series, production of a promotional spot in virtual reality 360 technology, edition and publication of press materials in national and foreign trade press, publication of a guide with a map and image folder, newsletter, organization of a study tour for famous European bloggers in the field of hiking; conducting the Carpathian Cooperation Forum (discussion panels with the participation of PL, SK, European experts); carrying out 2 events promoting hiking in the borderland (concert, stands with a tourist offer of the borderland, quests, tasting of regional products).
