On April 11 and 12, the kickoff meeting of the project Via Hanseatica Plus takes place in Tartu.
For the next two years, the project, which is funded by the Estonia-Russia Cross Border Cooperation Programme, will concentrate on expanding the tourism route from St. Petersburg (through Narva and Tartu) towards Rakvere and Viljandi in Estonia and towards Vyborg and Pskov in Russia.
Estonia-Russia Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020 aims to foster cross-border cooperation across the borders between the Republic of Estonia and the Russian Federation to promote socio-economic development in the regions on both sides of the common borders. The Programme web-site is www.estoniarussia.eu.
The numerous interesting historic regions will be included in the route.
One of the most significant parts of the task is oriented to the marketing of the regions to increase the flow of tourists further away from the capital cities and to extend their stay in the area, offering a variety of interesting sights in the different sections and countries along the Via Hanseatica route. A detailed plan of action and schedule of the development as well as the main marketing messages will be agreed upon during the inaugural meeting.
Numerous Estonian, Russian and Latvian organisations participate in the development of the Via Hanseatica Plus route. The lead partner and coordinator of the cooperation is Tartu County Tourism Foundation. The partners of the project are Museums of Virumaa, Ida-Viru Enterprise Centre, Tourism Information Centre of the Leningrad Region, Administration of Vyborg municipal district, Committee of Cross-border Cooperation and Tourism of the City Government of Pskov, Committee of culture and tourism of the Gatchina municipal District and St. Petersburg City Government State Geological Unitary Company «Mineral». The Associated partners include North Estonian Tourism, Pskov Region State Commitee for Culture, Committee for Tourism of Leningrad Region, Vidzeme Planning Region, Vidzeme Tourism Association and The Committee for Nature Use, Environmental Protection and Ecological Safety of St. Petersburg,
The project’s budget for the upcoming two years is 510 068 euros, 10% of which is covered by the partners as their own contribution. Programme co-financing is 459 061.2 euros.
The application for the project was submitted in May 2017 and the financing agreement between the lead partner and the Ministry Of Finance of the Republic of Estonia was signed on April 1, 2019.
Additional information: Annika Ojasaar, Tartu County Tourism Foundation, annika.ojasaar@visittartu.com, +372 5886 7883
The DG NEAR webpage – till 31 Dec 2019
The DG REGIO webpage – from 1 Jan 2020
The webpage of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation
The webpage of the Ministry of Finance of Estonia
The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of Tartu County Tourism and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of Estonia-Russia Cross Border Cooperation Programme 2014-2020, its participating countries alongside with the European Union.
