Tourism organisations from both banks of the Nistru river united in a cooperation platform supported by the EU

One year after its establishment, the Tourism Platform, supported by the European Union (EU) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), counts 45 active members from both banks of the Nistru River and over 200 beneficiaries, including representatives of tourism operators and tourism focal points from district councils. They have inventoried 1,800 tourist destinations, certified ten guides through the School of Tourism and Hotel Services at the Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova, organized study visits and promoted tourism services at thematic exhibitions.

These are some of the results achieved by the platform, which were presented on 21 July at the conference “Opportunities for institutionalizing Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) on both banks of the Nistru River.”

During the event, functioning models of Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) from Ukraine, Austria, Romania, and Georgia were presented. These models will serve as a reference for conceptualizing DMOs in the Republic of Moldova and will ally stakeholders interested in tourism at the local level.

“The Tourism Platform has facilitated communication with stakeholders on the left bank and the formulation of an integrated model of cooperation and development of the tourism sector,” says Viorel Miron, a member of the platform.

The Tourism Platform is one of the six sectoral platforms (health, environment, sports, education, and culture) created under the European Union Confidence Building Measures Programme and implemented by UNDP. Through its activities, the Confidence Building Measures Programme, funded by the European Union and implemented by UNDP, contributes to building trust between the inhabitants on both banks of the Nistru River by involving them in joint development projects. The program was launched in 2009 and, in 2017, sectoral platforms were established as a result of the good cooperation between NGOs from both banks.