Acronym: Via Hanseatica

Contract Number: ESTLATRUS/1.3./ELRI-113/2011/04

Beneficiary: Vidzeme Planning Region

Beneficiary Address: Vidzeme Planning Region

Country: Latvia

Region: Vidzeme Region

Project Location: Leningrad Region, St. Petersburg City, South Estonia, South Estonia, Central Estonia, North-East Estonia, Vidzeme Region, Vidzeme Region, Pieriga, Vidzeme Region, Vidzeme Region, Vidzeme Region, South Estonia, South Estonia, South Estonia, South Estonia, North-East Estonia

Start Date: 01.01.2012

Project Duration: 36 months

Grant Amount: 1.623.569,66 €

Percentage Of Total Eligible Action Costs: 90%

Summary: Via Hanseatica (VH) is a tourism route connecting St Petersburg, Narva/Ivangorod, Tartu, Valga/Valka, Valmiera and Sigulda in the Programme territory. In addition to the abovementioned towns the route passes through areas rich in nature and cultural heritage. As VH is a tourism route passing Russia, Estonia and Latvia, and its potential is based on the diversity of these countries, the most efficient and beneficial way to promote VH is doing it via cross-border cooperation. More specifically, creation of tourism package and modules based on the VH route, promoting of the VH and marking the VH route must be done on the cross-border level. This approach is essential, as one of the main advantages of VH is its international character, while most of the tourism products in the Programme area are either local or regional. Activities planned within the Project are: Trainings for VH tourism entrepreneurs and trainings for tour guides; organising thematic seminars for compiling joint VH tourism package and modules, which include at least 90 VH tourism products/objects/services (ca 30 in Russia, Latvia and Estonia). All this helps to strengthen VH tourism development cooperation between three countries. Project focuses also on raising awareness and visibility of VH tourism region, objects and services via targeted marketing actions. VH multilingual promotion tools include both electronic (improved website with route planners, video clips, audio guide) and printed (travel guide, map) materials with a focus on attractive information presentation. Most importantly, the project organises active promotion activities, such as FAM (familiarisation) tours, fair participations with special VH booth and final conference. VH project deals also with visibility of VH route and objects on the route by making small-scale investments into 12 objects on the route, preparing technical documentation for 11 objects, setting up over 300 road signs, ca 40 object signs, over 20 road info-boards and 15 info terminals. In addition, joint implementation of all the project activities, where active involvement and maximum cooperation between the partners is put in the first place, lays solid basis for strong international partnership of regional and local authorities, entrepreneurs and tourism development organisations in VH area in Estonia, Latvia and Russia for enabling coordinated product development and tourism service provision. Network will involve at least 115 organisations and its functioning is based on common cooperation structure and strategy. These activities have been selected, because joint implementation of these specific activities brings along the biggest added value and change in the VH area. In addition, the activities are strongly interdependent. In other words, it would not make sense to carry out promotion activities without investments, or train entrepreneurs without promoting the VH package and modules, or make only investments without marketing and promotion activities.

Project homepage: www.viahanseatica.info

Measure name: Tourism development

Measure: 1.3

Involved partners:

1. Vidzeme Planning Region, J.Poruka 8-108, Cēsis, Cēsu novads, LV-4101
2. Committee for Culture of the Leningrad region Administration, 197342, St. Petersburg, Torzhkovskaya 4
3. NCO “International Centre for Social and Economic Research "Leontief Centre”, 25 Krasnoarmeiiskaja linija 7, St.Petersburg 190005
4. Foundation Valga County Development Agency, Kesk 11, Valga 68203
5. Foundation Tartu County Tourism, Raekoja plats 9, Tartu 51004
6. Foundation Jõgeva County Development and Enterprise Centre, Suur 3, Jõgeva 48306
7. Foundation Ida-Viru County Enterprise Centre, Pargi 27, Jõhvi 41537
8. Koceni Mucipality Council, Alejas street 8, Koceni Municipality, LV 4220
9. Municipal agency "Cēsis Culture and Tourism center", Baznicas Sq.1, Cēsis, LV-4100, Latvia
10. Sigulda district council, Pils iela 16, Sigulda, LV-2150 Latvija
11. Strenči Municipality Council, Valkas iela 16, Strenči, Strenču novads, Latvia, LV-4730
12. Valka Municipality Council, Seminara 9, Valka, Valka region, LV-4701
13. Valmieras City Council, Lāčplēša 2, Valmiera, LV-4201, Latvia
14. Palupera Municipality Council, Hellenurme küla, Palupera vald, Valga maakond
15. Foundation Luke Manor, Voika 23, Nõo, Tartu County
16. Jõgeva Municipality Council, Piiri 4, Jõgeva 48306
17. Saare Municipality Council, Kääpa village, Saare parish, Jõgevamaa 49323
18. Avinurme Municipality Council, Võidu 9, Avinurme, Ida-Virumaa 42101

Additional information:

1. Portfolio_113.pdf (pdf) 308.32 KB
2. Result Sheet (pdf) 1.11 MB