Description
Description (EN): The common challenge for both areas are:a) An obvious lack of touristic facilities that can attract visitors outside the winter season. b) The fact that the existing tourism, is mainly appealing to social groups that exceed the age of 18, with only a small percentage of visitors being children or/and adolescents. Considering the exceptional geographical features of the areas and their natural and cultural heritage, this proposal provides a unique opportunity to address these problems in a cost-efficient way. The envisioned project targets actions in 2 cross-border regions, that both exhibit a season-specific touristic peak during a small winter period. The importance of the project becomes evident in light of recent climate changes, predicting a shortening of this period in the following years. This project aims to develop bicycle trails, designed to capitalize on the unique geographical features of these regions, while promoting their natural resources & bio-diversity. The main objective of the project is the agro-touristic development of the two cross-border regions, through the construction of biking routs & an action park. From an environmental perspective, all planned actions are minimally-invasive and tailored to promote & protect the natural heritage of the involved regions. The aim is to attract a variety of touristd over the entire physical year, through the following 2 key-features: a) Construction of protected mini-botanic gardens along the routes, to highlight the bio-diversity of the regions, and b) integration of fully autonomous solar charging stations, β€shelteringβ€ these hotspots, to support e-bike. The project outputs are expected to significantly encourage cultural & natural tourism. Since all actions will be directly implemented into the natural environment of the regions, no specific beneficiary can be identified. All project outputs are designed to further the touristic development in the wider area. Providing growth of the local restaurant sector, promoting the organization of new touristic activities (i.e. organization of bird watching tours), attracting bike rentals, increasing regional hotel coverage etc. To ensure the timely execution of the project, as well as the successful implementation of the deliverables, the methodological approach will follow 5 well defined Work Packages covering from Project Management/Coordination, Communication & Dissemination up to Pilot operation and evaluation, through the dissemination actions and good practice transfer among the project partners. The added value of this project can be summarized into: a) increasing the tourism flows and b) boosting local economy of the two regions, raising awareness about the natural assets of the regions, involving young people and entrepreneurs in the preservation of local nature and last but not least contributing to the development of regional policies, regarding sustainable environmental/touristic management.
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Expected Results (EN): Clearly identified project results are based on a strong and well thought through intervention logic. Structuring the project in a bottom-up approach, ensures the feasibility of these results, within a realistic time-frame. Through the development of the bicycle park and routes, catering to a new touristic audience. Boosting local economy of the two regions, by several million € during low and medium seasons. In these terms, the project is expected to lead to: achieving an overall increase of at least 70% in tourism. Raising awareness about the natural assets of the regions, as the mini-botanic gardens along the routes will highlight the endemic biodiversity. Involve young people and entrepreneurs in the preservation of local nature. The collection of know-how & coordination among all the actors for the improvement and development of the tourism in the area and the exploitation of the natural and cultural resources is also possible. The partnership additionally guarantees the implementation of the project on a cross-border level, enabling joint approaches to common problems & opportunities. The organization of athletic events will be perfect opportunity for networking and awareness raising activities that could lead to sustainable local development in the cross-border area, bringing cross-border cooperation to a new level. Increasing the number of visitors in the area since it will be easy access to information (through the website and the mobile app) and the natural beauty of the area alongside with the athletic aspect are part of an alternative type of vacation. Over the long-term, the project, mainly through the boost to the tourism industry, will help to a) Increase tourism influx and also the permanent population of the area because of the increased job opportunities b) Capitalize on the experiences gained & lessons learned to enhance local tourism conditions and c) Improve local sustainable development.
Read more Expected Outputs (EN): The tangible outputs, carefully selected to address the project objectives, are summarized below. To be implemented in Greece:
1.1 The development of a bicycle action park at the Municipality of Florina, for extreme/technical sports like downhill, freeride and dirt jumping. This focuses on Objective 1 of the program.
1.2 The definition of 2 technical mountain bike trails, with a medium distance of 10km and notable elevation. This will contribute to Objective 1, while being implemented in consideration of Objective 2, as the trails will highlight the surrounding nature in an environmentally sustainable manner.
1.3 The construction of 2 protected mini-botanic gardens along the routes, one of which with an integrated solar charging station, to support e-bikes. Dedicated to Objective 3, this action is designed to preserve and protect the exhibited plants, trees etc. while the labels providing information as to the displayed natural resources, will promote the natural assets of the region. To be implemented in Albania (linked similarly to the project objectives as Outputs
1.2 and 1.3):
2.1 The definition of at least 4 interlinked mountain bike and endurance trails. These trails will have a distance of more than 100km and vary from novice to demanding.
2.2 The construction of 4 protected mini-botanic gardens along the routes, all with an integrated solar charging station, to support e-bikes. Outputs concerning dissemination actions.
3.1 The organization of 2 athletic events, to promote the project activities and progress, hosted at the Municipality of Florina bike park.
3.2 The organization of 6 urban bike events at the bike trails in region of Berat and another 2 at the Florina bike park. These events are aimed to raise awareness of the civil society about alternative touristic and family activities (in line with Objective 1 and 3).
3.3 The development projects website (in Greek, Albanian and English language), the projects logo and info material.
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Thematic information
Specific Objective:
Preserve cultural and natural resources as a prerequisite for tourism development of the cross border area
Thematic Priority:
(d) Encouraging tourism and cultural and natural heritage
Partners (3)
Lead Partner:
UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN MACEDONIA - RESEARCH COMMITTEE
Address:
KOILA KOZANIS, 501 00 Kozani, Greece
Legal status:
public
Website:
http://www.uowm.gr
Total budget:
EUR 221 470.00
IPA2 budget:
EUR 188 249.50
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Municipality of Berat
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Name:
Municipality of Berat
Address:
Bashkia Berat .Blvd. Republika. Berat, 500 1 Berat, Albania
Legal status:
public
Website:
http://www.bashkiaberat.gov.al
Total budget:
EUR 94 000.00
IPA2 budget:
EUR 79 900.00
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Municipality of Florina
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Name:
Municipality of Florina
Address:
Megalou Alexandrou 97, 531 00 Florina, Greece
Legal status:
public
Website:
http://www.cityoflorina.gr
Total budget:
EUR 195 000.00
IPA2 budget:
EUR 165 750.00
