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Project introduction
The geographically, ethnically organic Slovenia-Hungary cross border region was divided for long by the Iron Curtain enforcing the borderlines set after World War II. Relations faded, municipalities came to a social, economic decline. The cross border region offers great opportunities for bicycle tourism, which might be the breakout point in the rural area. Several projects have already aimed this goal, however a connected and signposted bicycle road network covering the whole region and a complex biker-friendly offer built on this network has not yet been achieved.
Realising this, a cross border partnership of four Hungarian and three Slovenian partners (lead: Zala County Government) will launch the project (in the area of Lenti, Letenye, Őriszentpéter, Szentgotthárd, Murska Sobota, Ptuj, Ormož, Ljutomer, Lendava). Our goal is to develop a complex cross border cycling destination through intertwining local, regional cycling routes connecting to Euro Velo 13, being the main north-south axis of the region, and through developing cycling-friendly services and supplementary tourism supply with the aim to integrate the area into the international system of EuroVelo.
Main activities:
- Signposting the Slovenian-Hungarian section of Euro Velo 13, the connecting regional bicycle routes and Iron Curtain sites;
- Establishing a cycling connection providing a new border crossing point;
- Improving cycling-friendly services: cycling centres, e-bike chargers, biker-friendly accommodation, joint map and mobile app, thematic routes and tourism packages;
- Establishing an Iron Curtain historical site;
- Organizing knowledge transfer events; awareness raising (workshops, »biker-friendly services« and visitor management booklet);
- Events (ICC Day cycling festival, Green Belt family day, Euro Velo 13 conference);
- Other promotion (ICC stamping system, online campaign, branded souvenirs).
Through these activities the project will contribute to the diversification of cross-border tourism supplies and to the development of sustainable, common tourism services.
Project partners
Zala County Government
Zala County Government (ZCG) performs regional and rural development, spatial planning and coordination tasks. Actually regional development is the most highlighted one, since in the framework of that ZCG has developed the regional development concept of the county, then its program, and finally the integrated territorial program of the county for coordinating the use of the county-level funds. The county government focused on planning the efficient and synergy providing use of the available EU funds for economy- and settlement development. In the course of implementing the coordination it also strives for realizing complex projects based on its potentialities, which strengthen each other and have geographical connections, as well. The vision of the county government by realizing the national objectives of the TOP (Territorial- and Settlement Development Operative Program) and the county level aims: Zala County becomes the centre of work, civil prosperity and the competitive regional economy by 2020. Therefore the county government considers the job-creating investments, the infrastructure developments, the development of the local economy and tourism, furthermore anything that can foster the keeping of rural population of the county, improving the living conditions of the ones living in the country significantly important.
Scientific Research Centre Bistra Ptuj
ZRS Bistra Ptuj is a regional development agency and development centre that has participated in several EU projects. Main activities of the institution: stimulating sustainable regional development in 16 settlements, stimulating networking between the administration, universities, research institutions and the companies, scientific and economic knowledge transfer for the SMEs, generating and distributing the adequate knowledge in the region for developing the HR skills and competences. Its 15 qualified employees – of which 5 has a Phd and 1 an MSc degree – have a lot of experiences in project works.
Institute for Culture, Tourism and Sport Murska Sobota
The mission of ZKTŠ Murska Sobota is assuring quality content in the field of tourism, sport and culture, furthermore serving the improvement of the quality of life and making distinguishable the town of Murska Sobota and Pomurje region by developing and promoting these activities. ZKTŠ Murska Sobota has considerable experiences in organizing events, since most of the cultural and tourism events of the town are organized by them (230 cultural events per year, several big tourism and sport events, workshops, trainings, etc.). Furthermore it takes part in the co-management of the destination management organization of Pomurje region being responsible for the promotion and development activities of the organization. It has an excellent team of employees: its 18 employees have wideranging skills and several-years experiences in project preparation and implementation in the field of economy development, tourism, HR, environment protection, regional development, inviting foreign working capital – investments in the region. The project experiences of the employees are related to hiking and cycling in several cases: planning and developing hiking and cycling routes, developing cultural and thematic routes, as well as new tourism products.
Self Government Office of Vas County
Bureau of Vas County Government is an economi entity of Vas County Government with the task of regional development related to the county and the mid-level spatial planning, within it especially the economic, public-road and other infrastructural development. Its sphere of activities include establishing, cultivating, developing international relationships. It takes part in coordinating the development plans on its area, evaluating and implementing projects. It involves the professional organizations, the representatives of the economic, cultural and civil sphere of the area in these activities.
West Pannon Regional and Economic Development Public Nonprofit Ltd
West Pannon Regional and Economic Development Non-profit Ltd. (WPRD) is a state-owned company. Its aim is supporting the cooperation-based regional- and economic development processes in the West Transdanubian Region according to the model of local community building, cross-border and international network cooperations. The mission of the company is developing the sustainable mobility of the region, thus it harmonizes its interests, initiatives and other intentions with public transport service providers (eg. GYSEV/Raaberbahn), cycling organizations, local/regional governments, national and naturparks and other organizations involved in eco-tourism. It coordinates the related activities with these partners, considering the sustainable mobility its experiences got in working out action plans and the combinated sustainable tourism and travel packages are utilized in the project. WPRD participated in several projects financed by the EU obtaining experiences in the best practices related to mobility, it took part in 6 international (SEE, CE) and several CBC projects as a partner, which focused on the accessibility, the nature protection and the multimodal mobility (AT-HU, SK-HU). Our competences: spatial planning: planning CBC programs (Austria- RECOM, Slovenia-REG-NET); spatial planning for the programs of the main Structural Funds, advising, research, strategic planning and organizing events. Our offices in our headquarters at Szombathely, Győr and Gelse cover each counties of the region.
Municipality of Lendava
Municipality of Lendava strives for a social and economic development, integration and cooperation both on county- and international level. Therefore it takes part in elaborating such projects, which support these aims, it employs a competent staff, with its vision it follows the development of the open and friendly border municipalities. It has considerable experiences in project management by which several successful projects have been implemented.
National Infrastructure Developing Private Company Limited
The company is owned by the state in 100% and according to § 29 of the Act on road transport it is responsible for developing and building the national road-network that is in the sole property of the State of Hungary – the developer of the national roads (except for the roads built in the framework of concessions), furthermore according to the § 85/A of the Act No. CLXXXIII in 2005 on the rail transport it performs railway line establishing, renewing and developing tasks as a development contributor on behalf of the State of Hungary. In the course of the previous programming period the company got extraordinary project management and implementation experiences in the field of the international and domestic projects implemented by EU co-financing, with a total value of more than 7 billion EUR between 2007-2013. In the former ones the implementation of infrastructural developments in the border region played a considerable role. During the previous years the well qualified staff of the organization – the number of employees is nearly 330 persons – obtained the necessary professional (technical and other) competences for managing these projects, each project has its own implementing unit.