Back to all

EuroVelo 13 - Iron Curtain Trail Experience (ICTE)

The EuroVelo 13 - Iron Curtain Trail Project aimed to strength the promotion of a developed tourist product that brings European citizens and visitors to one of the main and largest sceneries of the recent European History. This project focused on the experience based tourism. The route runs along what 25 years ago was and impermeable border and one of the symbols of the dream of a common European project.

This 18-month project ran from April 2015 to October 2016 and was co-financed by the European Commission DG Enterprise and Industry.

The main objective of the project was to diversify the European tourism offer and to contribute to economic regeneration and job creation in declining (post) industrial regions through the promotion of a touristic product based on a long distance cycle route following the former ‘Iron Curtain’.

The specific objectives were:

  • The design of tourism strategies
  • The promotion of tourism in regions in conversion in order to boost employment and growth
  • The diversification of the European tourism offer
  • The facilitation and stimulation of public-private partnerships and the integration of enterprises of the cultural tourism sector into regional development strategies
  • The improvement of the European tourism offers' quality by strengthened cross-border cooperation
  • The strengthening of the management skills of public and private bodies in charge of developing thematic tourism products

ECF was one of 7 partners from 7 different countries:

Latvia

  • Vidzeme Tourism Association

Hungary

  • West Pannon Regional and Economic Development Public Nonprofit Ltd

Austria

  • Radlobby

Czech Republic

  • Nadace Partnerstvi CDV

Slovakia

  • Ekopolis

Spain

  • EGWA - European Greenways Associations