Local/Regional Economic Development in South ... - Value Chains

7.2 The Danube as an Engine of Growth for Structurally Weak Regions –
Focus on Cross-Border Tourism Development
Stefan Krell
Introduction
The Danube, along its 2,857 kilometers, links Western Europe
with South-Eastern Europe and thus unites various
cultures and economic zones. For the neighboring South-
Eastern European countries of Croatia, Serbia, Bulgaria,
and Romania, the Danube is a development axis with
enormous potential. In addition to other economic sectors,
the development of tourism along the Danube offers
the opportunity to stimulate the largely economically
weak regions, create jobs and income, and improve living
conditions in the region.
In Croatia, 137 kilometers of the Danube form the border
to Serbia. The region is economically depressed and
has been identified by the government as a high-priority
area for assistance. In Serbia, the Danube (588 km) flows,
in part, inside the country and, at other times, forms the
boundary to Croatia, Romania, and Bulgaria. The economic
centers of Belgrade and Novi Sad lie on the Danube,
as do economically weak regions. In Bulgaria, 472 kilometers
of the Danube form the border to Romania. This
region is one of the economically weakest in the country,
and the very successful tourism development of recent
years has not reached it. In 2004, the Bulgarian Ministry
for Culture and Tourism began a campaign to develop the
tourism sector of the region. The river flows through Romania
for 1,075 kilometers. The Danube region is generally
very underdeveloped; only in the delta are there signs
of tourism development.
The countries and regions along the Danube have numerous
attractive and varied kinds of tourism potential in the
areas of culture and nature. Thus, the basic condition for
the development of marketable tourist products and thus
for successful tourist development is met, and many tourist
products can be developed trans-regionally and transnationally.
A tourist expects to find similar products all
along the Danube regardless of political borders, similar
standards, a clean and safe environment, few problems
when crossing borders, bridges across rivers, and comprehensive
information.
Short description of the approach
The approach of the Economic Development and Employment
Promotion (EDEP) Program, implemented on
behalf of BMZ is to support the cross-border development
of marketable and sustainable tourism product in the area
of tourism development in the Danube regions. A big advantage
thereby is the fact that GTZ-assisted EDEP programs
have a tourism component in all of the countries.
The partners are the responsible ministries, national and
regional associations, regions and municipalities, the private
sector, and active people.
Given the size of the Danube region and the multiplicity
of tourism products, it is necessary to concentrate project
activities on selected products and regions. In coordination
with the local partners, primary emphasis was
laid on further development of the very successful Danube
Cycling Path from Budapest to the Danube Delta.
Additional focal points are, for example, wine tourism
and sport boating tourism. Positive effects in other sectors
such as handicrafts, construction, and agriculture (regional
specialties, direct marketing, etc.) will be achieved
through the development of tourism.
The objective of the cross-project and cross-border assistance
measures is to help increase income and quality of
life in the regions along the Danube in South-Eastern Europe
through the development of the tourism sector. A
contribution will be made to poverty reduction and implementation
of the market economy.
The project produces harmonized and complementary
outputs at several levels. Beginning with the needs of the
target groups, the project supports the partners through
advisory services, local subsidies, studies, seminars, product
development, promotional activities, trade fair participation,
and training in the introduction of modern
regional management. The idea is to improve the investment
climate and stimulate private investment. This
development also supports closer relations between the
countries and regions, and the EU (stabilization and association
process), as well as the measures of the Stability
Pact for South-Eastern Europe (economy).
Project implementation
In late March 2004 the first international workshop on
further development of the Danube Cycling Path from
Budapest to the Delta was held, initiated by the EDEP
program in Serbia, coordinated with the EDEP programs
in Bulgaria, Croatia, and Romania. Over 100 representatives
of the public and private sectors of all participating
countries attended the event in Belgrade.
All ministries and organizations (e. g. the ARGE Donau
working group, www.argedonau.at) agreed to work together
in the future to push forward tourism development
of the Danube region. As a result, further workshops were
carried out at the invitation of the respective tourism ministries
in Romania, Croatia, and Bulgaria. Hungary will
host the workshop planned for September 2005. The ob-
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