INCLUSIVE BORDER CYCLING - IBC

In recent years, several projects have been carried out in the Danube region to develop cycling routes in a cross-border context and integrate them into the European cycling tourism network - such as the European Amazon Bike Trail along the Mura and Drava rivers, the Iron Curtain Trail (EuroVelo 13) along the former Iron Curtain, or the Danube Bike Trail (EuroVelo 6) along the Danube.

These cycling routes traverse rural, mostly peripheral areas that face numerous socio-economic challenges affecting their attractiveness and, consequently, the potential positive local and regional impact of the routes and related economic activities. The Inclusive Cross-Border Cycling project aims to address these challenges through innovative social inclusion methods: by valuing local cultural assets and emphasizing the involvement of vulnerable groups in cycling tourism.

Pilot activities based on endogenous resources - storytelling along the routes, incorporating locally produced food and craft brands into the route offerings, volunteer actions and initiatives for maintaining the routes, and appropriate cycling services aimed at silver generation tourists and youth, along with joint transnational marketing and promotional activities - are expected to lead to a more accessible and inclusive network of cross-border cycling routes with greater European acceptance.

Project Partners Will Collaborate on the Following Tasks:

• Valuing Local Cultural Heritage: Through storytelling and social inclusion to enhance the attractiveness and identity of the routes. These stories will be presented in the Danube Cycling Storybook and on the online story portal.
• Incorporating Local Products: Integrating local products and their brands into sustainable tourism route offerings to increase local rural incomes.
• Creating an Inclusive Maintenance Model: Involving local vulnerable social groups to strengthen the identity and ownership of the routes at the local level.
• Showcasing Inclusive Methods: Documenting tested inclusive methods in a handbook with comprehensive suggestions for effective and sustainable social inclusion along cycling routes in remote border areas.
• Developing and Testing Pilot Programs: Creating and testing intergenerational volunteer programs and inclusive tourism products tailored to the specific needs of the silver generation and vulnerable youth groups, thus forming a transnational model of inclusive cycling products.
• Cross-Border Marketing Strategy: Preparing a cross-border marketing strategy for border cycling routes addressing specific challenges in rural border areas with a focus on socially inclusive tourism.
• Transferability Plan: Supporting cross-border cycling routes without a common brand and joint promotion with appropriate guidelines.
• Innovative Promotional Activities: Implementing innovative promotional activities, such as a socially inclusive travel challenge.

The project involves 16 project partners from Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Slovakia, Romania, Serbia, Moldova, and Austria:

•  Westpannon Regional and Economic Development Public Nonprofit Ltd., Hungary (Lead Partner)
• CROST Regional Development Nonprofit Ltd, Hungary
• Iskriva, Institute for Development of Local Potentials, Slovenia
• Arctur Computer Engineering d.o.o., Slovenia
• Development Centre Murska Sobota, Slovenia
• Koprivnica Križevci County, Croatia
• Tourism Board of Međimurje County, Croatia
• Association for Nature and Environment Protection Green Osijek, Croatia
• Ekopolis Foundation, Slovakia
• National Institute for Research and Development in Tourism, Romania
• Timis County Council, Romania
• Municipality of Apatin, Serbia
• City of Sombor, Serbia
• Trail Angels GmbH, Austria
• Tourism Association Thermal- & Vulkanland, Austria
• The Biosphere Reserve "Prutul de Jos" 

Project Duration: January 1, 2024 – June 30, 2026 (30 months)

Total Project Value: €2,737,194.00

Budget for Development Centre Murska Sobota: €215,420.00

Project is funded by the Interreg Danube Region program, co-financed by the European Union.

Priority of the Project: A More Socially Inclusive Danube Region