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Strengthening of Municipalities Through Tourism

- The Danube Competence Center as an example of international cooperation, economic

development and networking in the frame of the Danube Strategy

Daniela SchilyDeutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit

(GIZ)GmbH

Ulm, July 8th, 2012

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Why tourism?1. Stimulation of the market

Income: 4% of European GDP come directly from tourism

11% of European GDP come indirectly from tourism

Employment: About 9 Mio people are directly employed in tourism

Youth: Most of first working places are in the field of tourism

Gender: Mostly women are working in the field of tourism

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Why tourism?2. stimulation of

regional exchange

-Tourism unites countries, stabilizes relations

- Attracts investment- “Nothing better for political

marketing than culture, tourism, sports” (Susanne

Kastner)

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Why tourism?

3. (Responsible!) tourism as the least invasive industry for

the environment

- “Green products”- Soft mobility

- Renewable energy

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Mittlere und Untere DonauThe Danube – one tourist destination?

Length: 2888 km, 2000 kilometers still without a brand Countries: 10.6 countries have not or have just started to

develop their Danube area

Joint potential of the region: river cruising, city breaks, active tourism (hiking, cycling, fishing, hunting, bird watching, water-

sports), wine tourism, culture-routes

…”Cruising on the Danube generates an impressive number of up to 300 000 passengers travelling from April to November

between Passau and Budapest….!”

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If you want to have what you don’t have, you have to do what you haven’t done before!

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The Danube Competence Centre (DCC)

Tourism platform of countries, communities and individuals along theDanube and a new model on regional cooperation

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The Danube competence center (DCC)facts and figures

� Founded in early 2010, head office in Belgrade� Goal: Branding the middle and lower Danube as a tourist

destination, developing a diverse and sustainable tourist program across national boundaries

� 58 member organizations from Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova + Slovakia, Austria and Germany. Public, private and NGO sector

� Endorsement, partnership, but no membership of ministries in the region

� The German Development Agency “Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH” is implementing the grant of the German Federal Ministry for economical cooperation and development (BMZ) in this project.

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DCC activities:

� Development of sustainable cross border products

� Joint promotion and marketing � Know-how transfer� Capacity building� PPP Projects� Advocating and networking on

regional and international level

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Example 1 (cross border products): Development of the Danube Bicycle Route between Budapest and the Black Sea

� Establishment of a working group with local and international experts

� Feasibility of possible routes

� Mapping of the tourism infrastructure, USPs with GPS

� Production of bicycle map from Budapest to the Black sea

� Signposting of the route between Hungary, Croatia and Serbia

� Joint promotion and marketing on European market.

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Example 2: Joint Marketing

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Example 3: Know how transfer, capacity building in the Danube Delta

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Example 4: PPP and private sector

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Cultural routes in the Middle and Lower Danube Region

Project funded by the European Commission, DG Enterprise and Industryin the framework of Competitiveness and Innovation FrameworkProgramme (CIP)

The Project promotes cultural tourism through two Cultural Routes in theMiddle and Lower Danube region (Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania)– the ‘Roman Emperors Route’ and the ‘Danube Wine Route’.

The project activities are focused on developing integrated communicationand marketing strategy and action plan for the two routes; networking withstakeholders along the route; creating impulse for new trans-national andprivate-private/private-public partnerships; and offering internationalvisibility of existing and newly developed products for the cultural tourists.

Project will also cover presentation of the Routes on ITB 2013 as well astwo tailored tours for selected outgoing tour operators from main sourcemarkets.

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Cultural routes in the Middle and Lower Danube Region

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Danube Holiday Portal

Bringing together the tourist highlights in the Danube region with matching tourist offers:

(1) facilitating networking between stakeholders and tourists;

(2) promoting regional and cross border offers;(3) pointing out special attractions through interactive maps

and blogs;(4) identifying new ideas of the travel industry of the Danube

region; and (5) inspiring SMEs of the tourism industry in the Danube

region to create tourist products.

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Danube Holiday Portal

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Danube Holiday Portal

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Thank you for your attention – see you again…

…on the Danube