Part 1 - From Donaueschingen to Budapest in 11 days

(Ulm, 27. July 2017)

In the context of the EU Interreg project “Transdanube.Pearls”, an international expert team, consisting of video, mobility and tourism experts, travelled along the Danube by using only sustainable means of transport, such as busses, trains, ships and bikes. With more than 10 stops in 11 days, the first part of the journey was successfully completed in Budapest. The team will continue travelling sustainably along the Lower Danube by the end of August, from Budapest to the Danube delta. Aim of the journey is to demonstrate the existing possibilities to travel the Danube region without private car.

The Assessment Tour takes place in the context of the project “Transdanube.Pearls” that aimsat establishing sustainable mobility solutions and tourist services that rely on the use of ecofriendly means of transport, such as trains, busses, ships or bikes. For this purpose, a network of destinations “Transdanube.Pearls” committed to sustainable mobility in tourism will be developed. This will create a unique selling proposition for the participating destinations, increase the attractiveness of the whole Danube region and above all, reduce the negative impact of transport on the environment. Thus, the Assessment Tour provides the possibility to evaluate the opportunities to move to, within and between the future Pearls with already existing mobility offers, like trains, busses, bicycles, ships, canoes, etc. and to experience the touristic attractions in the destinations in a more sustainable way.

The first part of the tour was from the source in Donaueschingen to Budapest. The expert team visited Ulm/Neu-Ulm, where they had the rare chance to see the traditional "Fischerstechen" on the Danube. Travelling by train they arrived in Passau and took a ship to reach the “Schlögener Schlinge”. The next highlights on the Austrian Danube were Linz, Enns, the abbey of Melk and the Wachau. Vienna was their entrance gate to the lake Neusiedl, where they cycled the five-star bike route and observed the fantastic flora and fauna of the national park. In Bratislava they entered the middle part of the Danube. Following Eurovelo 6, the Danube Cycle Path, they approached the 850km long water labyrinth of Szigetköz. The last station before Budapest was Pomurje region being linked to the Danube by its tributaries Mur/Mura and Drau/Drava.

The second part will continue from Budapest to the mouth of the river at the Danube Delta. This tour will provide valuable inputs about the relevant touristic points of interest, the possibilities to get there with sustainable mobility services and the availability and accessibility of information on sustainable means of transport to, between and within future Pearls.

About the Project

The EU-project will last for 2,5 years and is co-funded by the Interreg – Danube Transnational Programme with an overall budget of 2.9 Million Euro. Altogether 15 organisations and 24 associated strategic partners are participating in the project and thereby, committed themselves to the concept of sustainable mobility in tourism. During the project lifetime each destination will foster sustainable mobility in tourism through a comprehensive set of actions, such as 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. In addition to that, pilot actions on bike rental, carriage, parking systems or cycling paths will becarried out in order to enhance sustainable mobility along the Danube.