Kick-Off Meeting of the Interreg SLOWDOWN Project

On 23 April 2024, the Interreg SLOWDOWN project held its inaugural online meeting, marking the start of the collaboration aimed at promoting slow and sustainable tourism in several European regions. Representatives from all project partners participated, presenting their regions and sharing their objectives within the project.

The Ister-Granum EGTC is the lead entity of a consortium in which also participate: Riga Planning Region (Latvia), Sibiu County Council (in central Romania), Amiens Metropole (located one hour from Paris, France), BIA Innovator Campus (representing Galway County Council, Ireland), DELTA 2000 (from the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna), the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia (Spain), the Eastern Finland University, and the Municipality of Komárom-Esztergom County, represented by Ister-Granum.

The meeting started with a detailed presentation of the Interreg Europe Programme, followed by an overview of the thematic activities of the project and the preparations for the first Interregional Thematic Workshop (ITW1), scheduled for 18-20 June in Esztergom (Hungary). Key documents to be presented at the workshop include a research concept for a European review of slow tourism initiatives and a joint methodology for assessing the current state of slow tourism in the partner regions. A joint methodology for stakeholder involvement and a communication plan, prepared and led by the Region of Murcia, will also be presented.

Among other issues discussed at the meeting, the second Interregional Thematic Workshop, which is planned for late 2024 or early 2025 in Murcia, Spain, was also discussed.

From this first event, the SLOWDOWN project promises to be an innovative platform for sharing experiences and developing strategies to promote sustainable tourism across Europe.