The capacities of rural tourism and the cross-border cooperation will be strengthened within the framework of the EU-supported project "Rural tourism - a sure step to increase the cross-border cooperation between Soroca and Yampol". The project was launched on February 14 in Iampol (Iampil district), the Vinitskaya region of Ukraine, after being presented at Soroca on January 31st.
The aim of the project is to strengthen the capacity of tourism service providers and local authorities in the Soroca and Yampil rayons to develop and promote rural tourism through cross-border cooperation.
The project is implemented by IDIS "Viitorul", in partnership with the Soroca Rayon Council and the Yampil Rayon Administration. It is co-funded by the European Union in the framework of Moldova – Ukraine cross-border cooperation Eastern Partnership Territorial Cooperation Support Programme. The overall contribution of the European Union to the implementation of the EaPTC program is 12.5 million euro, out of which 3.3 million euros are intended for the Republic of Moldova - Ukraine Programme.
"Both the Iampil and the Soroca rayon have a great potential for natural, cultural and historical resources, accessible to rural tourism development. The project will help unite the efforts of local government at cross-border level, which, in partnership with private sector initiatives, will be able to turn rural tourism into an efficient economic development mechanism at regional level. Also, there are several activities planned in the project which will increase the visibility of this cross-border region and will eventually contribute to the increase of the number of tourists", declared the Project Manager, Liubomir Chiriac.
"The tourist potential of our region is a valuable and enormous one. We pride ourselves on small but beautiful villages, where tourists can visit ethnographic museums, can enjoy homemade wine or rest in the guesthouses of Busha and Tzechinovca. If all the inhabitants of Soroca come to us to buy traditional bacon, and we pass the Dniester after Moldovan quality products, it would be a pity not to take advantage of this cross-border connection", considers Ludmila Maiorova, First Deputy Prime-President of the Iampil State Administration.
In this context, the representatives of cultural institutions from the Ukrainian region attending the launching conference support the initiative of the local public authorities to promote the tourism potential. Thus, according to Ludmila Racinovscaia, the Mayor of Tzechinovca village, several inhabitants of the village of Tzechinovca provide services in the rural tourism sector, and the banks of the Nistru river have permanent tourists from the towns of Kiev, Vinnitsa or Peterburg. "If we solve all issues related to logistics and efficient promotion of our village, we could attract tourists from Poland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Austria and other countries", says Ludmila Racinovscaia.
"Our village has special traditions in the preservation and valorization of folk crafts, and the sale of craft products brings additional income to the inhabitants. By developing tourism, we could offer foreign tourists traditional craftsmanship specific to our area at affordable prices, thus promoting the cultural values of the Ukrainian people", says Maria Marcenco, a popular craftsman from Oxanievca village.
And Mihail Grinciuc, director of the History and Ethnography Museum in Iampol, says "The economic situation of the inhabitants of the villages of Iampil is very complicated. Reforms that have been implemented in the field of agriculture have not brought economic stability to our villages. On the contrary, the villagers make it harder. But the tourist and natural attractions combined with the traditions of Ukrainian gastronomy can become an important tourist product for this area".
The cross-border project includes a series of training sessions, study visits to boarding houses, a guide for tour operators, the support for four festivals, a tourist map, and even a documentary film to highlight the tourist heritage of the Soroca and Yampil rayons. The infrastructure of some public cultural institutions will also be improved, and 30 tourist boarding houses and representatives of local authorities in both regions will strengthen their tourism marketing capabilities.
The project "Rural tourism - a sure step to increase the cross-border cooperation between Soroca and Yampol" is implemented by IDIS "Viitorul", in partnership with the Soroca Rayon Council and the Yampil Rayon Administration (Ukraine). The project is co-funded by the European Union in the framework of the Moldova-Ukraine Eastern Partnership Territorial Cooperation Support Programme (EaPTC).
For more information, please contact the Press Officer of the project, Ana - Maria Veverita: ana.veverita@viitorul.org or by phone (0 22) 221844.
