Terra Gothica Incognita: First consultative workshop held in Kastav

On Tuesday, 27 May, the first in a series of joint consultative workshops for various interest groups and stakeholders was held in the new City Hall of the City of Kastav, as part of the INTERREG project Terra Gothica Incognita.

The meeting brought together tourism and cultural professionals, hospitality providers, artists and other relevant stakeholders, marking the beginning of the process of creating a new cross-border cultural and tourism destination covering the territories of Croatia and Slovenia, based on a bottom-up approach.

The workshops will enable stakeholders to express their views, ideas and proposals, and to actively participate in shaping the cultural and tourism development strategy and governance model of the new cross-border destination, as well as its future promotion. This inclusive approach allows stakeholders to take ownership of the destination development process and contribute to the creation of a sustainable and authentic tourism product.

The workshop was opened by project manager Renato Stanković, who presented the project’s objectives and plans, as well as the new visual identity of the project destination. Experts Jelena Berečić and Marko Koščak then presented examples of good practice from Croatia and Slovenia, which will serve as inspiration for the further development of the new tourism destination.

In the second part of the workshop, participants actively contributed to the analysis of the current situation and the potential for cultural tourism development in the project area. This interactive session opened space for dialogue and laid the foundation for future cooperation through thematic working groups and upcoming consultative workshops, which represent the basis for the development of key project documents – the Tourism Development Strategy of the new destination, the Action Plan for the cultural and tourism destination Terra Gothica Incognita, and the Management Plan for cultural and historical heritage sites within the cross-border destination.

At the end of the workshop, all participants were invited to continue cooperation and contribute their knowledge and experience to the development of the Terra Gothica Incognita destination.

Source: UHPA

Photo: City of Kastav / UHPA

The project is co-financed by the Office for Associations of the Government of the Republic of Croatia