At the mid-term conference for the project Transdanube.Pearls participants from nine Danube countries discussed the potential of the Danube region and its opportunities to foster sustainable mobility in tourism

(Ulm, 24 July 2018) – Over 100 representatives of the tourism and mobility sector from the Danube region attended the mid-term conference of the EU project Transdanube.Pearls in Neu-Ulm (Germany) on 11 July 2018. The goal was to present future-oriented mobility and tourism services and the benefits from cooperation and transnational networks. The event was hosted by the Danube Office Ulm/Neu-Ulm and organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Transport Baden-Württemberg. The conference was organized during the International Danube Festival in Ulm/Neu-Ulm that takes place every two years.

 “Car-free mobility creates only winners: the climate, the people and the domestic economy,” Dr. Roger Sonderegger, lecturer at the University of Lucerne (Switzerland) emphasized at the beginning of the conference. Sustainable mobility is the main topic of the project Transdanube.Pearls, which aims at implementing a network of destinations (so-called “Pearls”) committed to sustainable mobility in tourism. This network will offer visitors the possibility to travel easily to, within and between destinations along the Danube by using train, bus, bike or eco-friendly ship. The goal is to reduce the use of private cars and to foster sustainable tourism in the Danube region, from which the inhabitants also benefit directly.

The first part of the conference addressed innovative solutions and successful examples of future-oriented mobility and tourism offers such as the mobility stations in Offenburg (Germany). These stations pool different mobility services (e.g. bike rental, car sharing and public transport stops) at one location and thereby guarantee passengers a convenient transition between different means of transport. Besides, the presentation of the tourism mobility center in Kärnten (Austria) revealed good practices on how to develop and offer attractive sustainable mobility services to tourists not travelling by car. In a so-called “marketplace” regional and international partners have presented additional new mobility and information services along the Danube, such as bike rental systems, mobility information centers and flexible transport systems for the last mile. The importance and benefits of transnational networks along with the presentation of already existing, successful networks such as “Alpine Pearls” and “DANUBEPARKS – The Danube River Network of Protected Areas“ were addressed during the second part of the conference. A panel discussion between international policy-makers from Germany, Austria and Serbia, such as the Lord Mayor of the city Ulm (Gunter Czisch), the head of the department “Sustainable Mobility” in the Ministry of Transport Baden-Württemberg (Christoph Erdmenger), the assistant of the Minister of Environment from Serbia (Biljana Filipovic) and together with practitioners from the tourism and mobility sector followed. The discussion underlined once more the need for joint action in order to foster sustainable mobility in tourism along the Danube region.

Subsequent to the event, 40 partners and representatives of tourism organizations along the Danube attended a two-day seminar as a first step to implement the transnational network of Danube.Pearls, dedicated to sustainable mobility in tourism. 

About the Project Transdanube.Pearls

The EU-project started at the beginning of 2017 and will last for 2,5 years. The Interreg – Danube Transnational Programme is co-funding Transdanube.Pearls with an overall budget of 2.9 million euros. The project is led by the Environment Agency Austria. Altogether 15 organizations from 9 European countries and 24 associated strategic partners are part of the project and committed themselves to the concept of sustainable mobility in tourism. Until the project end in June 2019, each destination will foster sustainable mobility in tourism through a comprehensive set of actions. These include the implementation of mobility information centers and mobility managers, the elaboration of dedicated capacity building measures for local and regional stakeholders and the improvement of information on mobility and tourism for inhabitants and tourists. Additionally, pilot actions on bike rental, carriage, parking systems or cycling paths will be carried out, in order to enhance sustainable mobility along the Danube.

Picture 1: Panel discussion at the mid-term conference for the project in Neu-Ulm © Transdanube.Pearls

Picture 2: International Danube Festival Ulm/Neu-Ulm 2018 © Transdanube.Pearls