REV - ELARG - Réseau Européen de Tourisme de Village - Phase II

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Overall objective: The main topic of this project is not solely the exchange of experiences and know-how in order to develop a European village tourism network, but namely the execution of specific actions in situ. Efficient cooperation between Objective 1 and Objective 2 Regions, and also with another Region that has not yet joined the Community, will foster the real exchange of experiences and know-how to enable all the Regions involved in this operation to benefit from the experience accumulated in the EU in the area of the development of marginal rural areas. Furthermore, cooperation between the different Objective Regions and Regions ready to enter the Union will enhance and promote the sense of social cohesion, a key issue for the construction of Europe. The main objectives of the European Village Tourism Network are the promotion of local development using tourism as an instrument for fuelling integration and sustainability, the promotion of tourist development in participating villages and Regions, in line with the concept of village tourism, and the creation of a sustainable structure for European cooperation in the field of village tourism. Expected results / Résultats attendus This project will produce a range of criteria for the selection of villages to be included in the network, as well as a plan for the development of this network. It will enable, through the intensive exchange of experiences, the establishment and consolidation of foundations for cooperation that will allow the dissemination of the most important results of the experiences of each community in the area of sustainable development projects. It will also enable steps to be taken towards promotion and professional qualification aimed at quality management in local productions and specifically in the Village Tourism Network. Lastly, it will enable the creation of support materials for promoting the project and raise awareness about the Network as a quality tourism product.This work will lead to the creation of a European Village Tourism Network that will be ready to operate on its own after 2006. It will mobilise the public interested in intelligent tourism, favouring demand for village tourism based on the traditions of typical village lodgings, regional products and popular culture, and will serve as a vehicle for the dissemination of good practices for sustainable development and as a centre for articulation of a European way of life.

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