Strengthening cross-border cooperation for the development of cycling tourism and the celebration of cultural heritage
Recognising the potential for the development of local tourism, promotion of cultural heritage and evaluation of natural beauties are a recipe for successful cooperation of local communities and creat...
Recognising the potential for the development of local tourism, promotion of cultural heritage and evaluation of natural beauties are a recipe for successful cooperation of local communities and create new opportunities for all citizens, while also attracting foreign investment and tourists. The European Union has supported the cooperation of local communities in Western Herzegovina and Montenegro through a cross-border project, in order to connect communities through cycling routes and integrate natural and cultural heritage into a recognised tourism product.
“With the project, we are trying to improve the already existing tourist offer and create a new tourist product, which is cycling tourism through rural areas in Montenegro and Herzegovina. Through this project funded by the European Union we have created a new tourist infrastructure in terms of arranging bicycle routes, building bridges and installing cycling tourist signs. We trained forty cycling guides in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, certified by the Cycling Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina,” said Ana Soldo, project manager of Cycling Rural.
Local roads, networked in bike paths, pass through less populated areas that are not highlighted in similar tourist offers. The project will also introduce a quality standard for activities adapted to bicycles, thus adding value to the tourist offer in rural areas. Local communities throughout Western Herzegovina have begun work on arranging bicycle routes and rest areas, pedestrian bridges, and improving infrastructure for outdoor activities, with an emphasis on bicycle paths.
The project contributes to the creation of preconditions for the development of cycling tourism, through the arrangement of existing roads and trails connecting the adventure park Peć Mlini, Borak canyon, Duke Stjepan Kosača tower, Kravica waterfall, Čabulja and Čvrsnica mountains, and Blidinje Nature Park and Ričina canyon. Through numerous activities and successful cooperation of local communities, we are working on creating new and more attractive tourist offers that will be included in the tourist offer of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, as well as the tourist offer of the entire region.
The European Union is financing this project with the aim of strengthening and diversifying the quality of the tourist offer, focused on the development and promotion of cycling and outdoor tourist offers in rural areas of the cross-border regions of Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project will result in the creation of a new and more attractive tourist offer under the brand “Cycling Rural”, which will be included in the tourist offer of both countries, as well as in the overall tourist offer of the Adriatic hinterland.
