The first international professional meeting of the project took place on 15 January 2025 in Hévíz, in NaturMed Hotel Carbona. The aim of the event was to strengthen the partnership and define a common framework for sustainable tourism development.
Sustainable tourism development based on the standards of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) was launched in Slovenia exactly a decade ago this year, and today 95% of all guest nights generated in the country are realized in destinations with international sustainability certification. In international recognition of the work accomplished, Jana Apih, Head of the Green Destinations Representation in Slovenia, was elected Executive Director of Green Destinations in November 2024. This is why it is outstanding that the preparatory programs implemented in the project are implemented jointly by the Slovenian and Hungarian Green Destinations representations. However, this is only one of the project elements of the complex destination development project, since the seven participating partners, Hévíz Tourism Non-profit Ltd., Pannon European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation, Murska Sobota Development Centre, Lendava Institute of Tourism and Development, Goodplace – Institute of Sustainable Tourism, Sárvár Tourist & TDM Non-profit Ltd. and Innotime Hungary Consulting and Service Ltd. have the primary objective of unified tourism in the Slovenian-Hungarian border region. Sustainability development, including the development of a local product program, the assessment of legal and professional obstacles to cross-border tourism product development and the mapping of their solutions, as well as the implementation of destination-level sustainability pilot projects will be carried out in the next nearly two years.
The project partners described in detail their role in the project and the tasks ahead. In the first panel, representatives of the destinations participating in the project, the staff of Hévíz Tourism Non-profit Ltd., Sárvár Tourist & TDM Nonprofit Kft., Murska Sobota Development Center and the Lendava Institute of Tourism and Development outlined their plans. The second panel gave the two Green Destinations representations and the Pannon European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation the opportunity to detail their objectives and plans, while the afternoon program presented how the project helps local entrepreneurs to obtain sustainability certifications and expand the tourism offer. The partners held the first partner meeting, during which they reviewed the reporting and communication requirements of the project, established the Steering Committee and set out the steps for the implementation of the project.
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