(Zajecar, 11 October 2017) – 30 partners and stakeholders from the mobility and tourism sector from 9 European countries participated in a transnational training in Silistra, Bulgaria for becoming a certified sustainable mobility manager. The training is part of the EU-project Transdanube.Pearls and followed the third partner meeting. During this meeting the partners commonly approved the final version of the common standards that provide the basis criteria for becoming member of the network and a Pearl.

The third partner meeting of the project Transdanube.Pearls took place in Ruse, Bulgaria from 2nd - 3rd October 2017. In this meeting, partners approved the final version of the common standards and thus, achieved an important milestone for the project and the transnational network that will be implemented throughout project lifetime. The project aims at developing a network of destinations ("Pearls") committed to sustainable mobility in tourism along the Danube. Thus, the common standards define basic criteria and minimum requirements to be fulfilled by future Pearls and members of this network. These include the possibility to travel to and from the Pearl as well as within the Pearl by sustainable means of transport, a high level of advisory capacity on mobility and tourism services e.g. in a mobility information center, etc. Furthermore, the next steps for the implementation of mobility services such as the sustainable region tourism and mobility plan (SRTMP) and a transnational tourism package have been discussed among the partners.

Subsequent to the partner meeting, the transnational training of sustainable mobility managers was organized by the Club "Sustainable Development of Civil Society" and took place in Silistra, Bulgaria from 5 - 7 October. The training is part of the project and aims at fostering capacity building in the field of sustainable mobility and tourism along the Danube. Two international mobility experts trained 30 participants from 9 European countries based on a mix of in-class work and interactive training sessions. The training addressed the basics of mobility management and the logic of the sustainable urban mobility plan (SUMP) that will be adopted to the sustainable regional tourism mobility plan (SRTMP) during the project. Further topics such as mobility management services, regional mobility centers and good practices have been discussed and evaluated. Members of the partner organizations or regional stakeholders from the field of tourism and mobility (e.g. employees of future mobility centers) attended the training and were certified by the Environment Agency Austria and the Club "Sustainable Development of Civil Society" as "Transdanube.Pearls Sustainable Mobility Manager". Additionally, this training offered participants the platform for exchange and for getting to know the partners in this field along the Danube in order to improve cooperation and connectivity between the future Pearls. Based on the transnational training, the certified mobility managers will adapt the training material to country-specific framework conditions and carry out regional trainings in order to transmit their acquired knowledge to stakeholders and to embed the concept of sustainable mobility in tourism on the regional level.

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 organizations from 9 European countries and 24 associated strategic partners are participating in the project and thereby, committed themselves to the concept of sustainable mobility in tourism. During
project lifetime 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.