From 22nd to 24th September this year a study visit of the partners and stakeholders of the OUR WAY project from Bulgaria took place in the Podkarpackie Region. The meetings were also attended by representatives of public authorities and tourist associations from Podkarpackie, host stakeholders and staff of the OUR WAY project.
On the first day the delegation from Bulgaria was welcomed by Danuta Cichoń - Director of the Regional Economy Department of the Marshal’s Office of the Podkarpackie Region. The visit started with a trip through fragments of the Green Velo trail in the picturesque Dynowskie Foothills, together with a visit to the Greek Catholic Church of St. Dmitry in Piątkowa, and then to the National Museum of Przemyśl Region in Przemyśl. In the museum's facility, presentations were presented, among others: Jan Jarosz - Director of the Museum - Przemyśl - a good place for tourists - the offer of the Museum on the Green Velo route, Magdalena Osełka from the Regional Tourist Organization of the Świętokrzyskie Region - Good Practice on the Cooperation of Regions of Eastern Poland in the Promotion of the Green Velo Eastern Cycling Route - channels of promotion and arrangements between regions. Whereas Mr. Sławomir Rudnicki from the Przemyśl Association Bicycle Group - introduced the participants of the meeting to the topic of the Fortress Bicycle Route. Mr. Bogusław Pyzocha from the Bieszczadzka Foundation presented Ideas for new cooperation between various entities in the area of the Bieszczady Mountains Foundation.
Then the participants went on a hike around Przemyśl along the Green Velo trail, visiting interesting cultural heritage places located in the city. Next, Mr. Sławomir Rudnicki showed the group around Fort VIII - Łętownia, telling its history in short.
The second day of the visit took place in the Low Beskid (Dukla, Jaśliska, Puławy). In the Cross-Border Cultural Exchange Center in Dukla the guests were welcomed by the Mayor of Dukla - Andrzej Bytnar and the Mayor of Jaśliska Commune - Adam Dańczak. Then presented their presentations: Mr. Bogusław Szweda - member of the Regional Stakeholder Working Group - Main goals of the Ambitious Tourism Area. Good Practice in Using the Communes' Budgets to Create Bicycle Routes of the Ambitious Tourism Area, Promotion and Management of ZAT Routes, Agreement between Communes, Mr. Wojciech Krukar - ethnographer, scientist and traveler discussed the ZAT promotion channels and showed the latest version of the map (also available for mobile devices), where, among other things, the coloring of bicycle trails was improved and a layer of bicycle paths and roads was applied. Katarzyna Madej, a member of the Regional Stakeholder Working Group, made a presentation by the Association Active Beskid - Cycling Ideas in the Low Beskid (Solina-Zakopane bike pathway).
After the presentation part, the group went to the Educational and Museum Centre in Krempna, where one could watch a multimedia nature spectacle, showing the history of the current state of nature of the area. The next point of the visit was a tour of local natural and cultural attractions – Sources of Jasiołka river - the largest protective area in the Polish Carpathians, the revitalized market square in Jaśliska and the St. Nicholas Church in Wola Niżna.
The third day of the visit started with a visit to the Museum - Castle in Łańcut - the Cyclist Friendly Place of the Green Velo Trail. The guests from Bulgaria were welcomed by Anna Huk - Member of the Management Board of the Podkarpackie Region, who also participated in this part of the visit. Next, representatives of the Rowery.Rzeszow.pl association - member of the Regional Stakeholders Working Group - showed the participants of the visit a fragment of the Green Velo Trail running by the part of Rzeszów, called "Żwirownia". The last point of the visit was a visit to the Marshal's Office of the Podkarpackie Region, where representatives of the above mentioned association: Małgorzata Gałda and Rafał Grela made a presentation: Tourist routes in Rzeszow - current state and ideas for the future. The meeting ended with a session of questions and a summary of the visit. The opportunity to ask questions, meet personally with people implementing the presented practices and learn about the beauty of Podkarpackie were important elements of the study visit.
