Sustainabiltiy in Tourism and Resource Management
The RFO Sitar - Sustainability in Tourism and Resource Management - focuses on tourism (focus on health-tourism, eco-tourism and culture-tourism) and resource management (focus: renewable energy, waste water management and renewable primary products), sectors that are extremely important for the development, labour markets and gross national product of the participating regions. The partner regions have identified similar problems and challenges such as lack of co-operation between different sectors of the economy, the lack of integration of rural development, cultural offers and tourism services, underdeveloped services and training opportunities. Overall objective / Objectif général The overall objective of SITAR is to prepare the regions to address the challenges of an enlarged EU in the fields of tourism and resource management, improve policies and instruments, stimulate intra- and inter-regional learning processes, develop new approaches, services and products based on existing good practices of the Objective 1, Objective 2 and INTERREG experiences. In light of the Structural Funding after 2006, the results of the RFO should also provide a strong impetus for the development programmes of the participating regions. The exchange of experience and co-operation in health, culture and eco-tourism will lead to more efficient use of the regions' unique selling propositions, co-operation in resource management aims to create and extend regional competencies in the partner regions in the area of resource management and activities in research, education and vocational training will focus on the specific requirements of the partner regions. Expected results / Résultats attendus SITAR will lead to the implementation of at least 20 pilot or demonstration projects and numerous inter-regional meetings, workshops and conferences. It will help strengthen the inter-regional networks between the participating regions and at subproject/regional partnership level. The RFO will result in the transfer of know-how and best practices between the regions, raising the level of professionalism of each region and contributing to cost minimisation through efficient know-how transfer and sustainable co-operation. It will also foster the development of a uniform marketing concept and development of innovative cultural offers and the creation of target-group-oriented offers (integrating local farming) in nature parks.