Pannon EGTC

The sustainable tourism development of 40 enterprises, 20 attractions and 4 destinations will be implemented in the framework of the Interreg VI-A Slovenia-Hungary 2021-2027 programme in the next two years within the project “Cross-border destination development for inclusive and sustainable tourism in the Slovenian-Hungarian border region” (CROSSDEST).

The first international technical meeting of the project took place on 15 January 2025 in Hévíz, in the NaturMed Hotel Carbona. The event aimed at strengthening the partnership and defining a common framework for sustainable tourism development.

In Slovenia, sustainable tourism development based on the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) standards was launched just a decade ago this year, and today 95% of all overnight stays in the country are in destinations with an international sustainability rating. In recognition of the work done, Jana Apiho, Head of the Slovenian Green Destinations Representation, was elected Executive Director of Green Destinations International Organization in November 2024. This is why it is outstanding that the training programmes of the project will be implemented jointly by the Slovenian and Hungarian Green Destinations offices. However, this is only one project element of the complex destination development project, as the seven participating partners, Hévíz Tourism Nonprofit Ltd., the Pannon European Regional Association, the Murska Sobota Development Centre, the Lendava Tourism and Development Institute, Goodplace – the Institute for Sustainable Tourism, Sárvár Tourist & TDM Nonprofit Ltd, and Innotime Hungary Consultancy and Service Ltd. have the primary objective of developing the tourism of the Slovenian-Hungarian border region in a sustainable way, so a local product programme will be developed, legal and professional obstacles to cross-border tourism product development will be assessed and their solutions identified, and destination-level sustainability pilot projects will be implemented in the next two years.

The project partners presented in detail their role in the project and the tasks ahead. The afternoon programme showed how the project is helping local entrepreneurs to obtain sustainability certifications and expand their tourism offer. The partners held the first partners’ meeting to review the project’s accounting and communication requirements, establish the Steering Committee and set out the steps for project implementation.

The source of the news is available at this link.