Regional governor of Vidin region Albena Georgieva opened the First workshop with stakeholder on project Transdanube.Pearls – Network for sustainable mobility along the Danube

06.12.2017

Regional governor of Vidin region Albena Georgieva opened the First workshop on project Transdanube.Pearls – Network for sustainable mobility along the Danube on December 5, 2017. 
In its speech to the participants the Governor said: 
„Based on the successful cooperation under the former European project "Transdanube", funded under the former Southeast Europe Program and under the management of the Environmental Agency Austria, the project partners for the new Transdanube.Pearls project will work to create sustainable solutions for mobility and tourism services based on environmentally friendly means of transport such as trains, buses, boats or bicycles. 
15 organizations from 9 European countries along the Danube will encourage the development of a Destination Network ("Pearls") to offer visitors and the local population the opportunity to travel and explore the Danube Region through sustainable forms of transport in order to reduce the use of a private car. 
This will create a unique opportunity for the participating destinations, increase the attractiveness of the whole Danube Region and beyond, reduce the negative impact on the environment. 
The European project will be implemented within 2.5 years and is co-financed by the Danube Transnational Programme, with a total budget of EUR 2.9 million. 
Today you will be acquainted with the main activities implemented by the Regional administration Vidin. 
We also rely on your active participation in the project because it will contribute to reflecting the real situation in the area. Your expert opinion will be taken into account when drafting and agreeing the relevant project documents. 
It is a pleasure for me to start today's workshop and appeal for active participation during the discussions.” 

The workshop was attended by owners and representatives of transport, tourism companies and hotels and also transport and tourism experts from the municipalities in the region, state institutions and non-governmental organizations. The participants were acquainted with the main objectives of the project and the activities to be implemented by the Regional administration Vidin as a project partner. The Common Standards for a destination to become a “Pearl” were presented, as was the presentation of the completed Assessment tour during which the project partners traveled from the Danube Spring to the Delta Tulcea-Romania through public sustainable forms of transport. Representatives of local tourist and cultural organizations discussed the region's limits and capacities to meet the standards and turn Vidin into one of the "Pearls" along the Danube. The meeting continued with the presentation of Guidelines for the development of Sustainable Regional Mobility Plans for Tourism, Transnational Sustainable Mobility Products in Tourism and Guidelines for the Implementation of Flexible Transport Systems. At the end of the meeting the participants discussed the possibilities for participation in the project activities and the coordination of the project documents. 
It is planned the next workshop on the project to take place at the end of March 2018, when will be available draft versions of some of the project documents. 
The participants welcomed that Vidin Region will become part of the Transnational network for cooperation on the project.