Good practice:

Jurilotca

The Razim-Sinoe lagoon complex is situatied in the south of the Delta, representing 20% of its entire surface. It is an unique area through its geographic, biological, historical and ethnographic complexity.
Jurilotca is actually a clever name, made of a pun (almost like the name of the village Jurilovca, but with a traditional boat inserted there – that is the LOTCA).
Jurilotca is, for now, the only tourism / recreational service in the entire area that offer combined routes with different means of transportation, bike and boat or bike and kayak.
Jurilotca addresses niche tourists, those tourists that are interested in slowly enjoying the recreational potential of the landscape, that like to go off the beaten path and that are keen on learning about the place’s culture by visiting cultural heritage sites and by interacting with local communities.

The project started small, with own resources and it self sustains. 1-2 local guides accompany visitors on their selected trip from the available package of routes.

The evidence of success is first of all demand - and then customers that keep on returning year after year.
According to online reports, inn summer 2020, Jurilotca had more than 70 trips and no “free” day.
The club is founded by local community members and it also provides accommodation in traditional russian-lipovan houses, beautifully restored to host tourists that come to enjoy local nature and culture.

Jurilotca is a good example of a small-scale businesses, rooted in local specificity and founded by community members that can be replicated in other areas that benefit from such natural and cultural heritage that needs to be valorized in a sustainable way (through eco-tourism and slow tourism in this case).