The period of COVID-19 pandemic had provided turbulent times for Rural Growth partner regions. During the project extension period of 2021-2022 the partners are determined to find together ways to recover from the situation and support rural SMEs to find new markets. The partners gathered together for the kick-off meeting on 05.10.2021 to assess the experiences through an analysis of the following questions:
• What were the national/regional events or restrictions which influenced the visitor economy in the last 1,5 years?
• What was the impact (negative, also positive if any) of these on your region’s visitor economy?
• What type of measures were applied/tested/introduced by your organisation or other organisations?
The partners observed that there was a striking similarity in impacts throughout Europe: The eradication of international tourism and a surge in the demand of accommodation and activities in the rural settings. It is task of the partners to during the project extension to facilitate post-pandemic recovery of rural economies. This can be accelerated through the transfer of good practices. The strategic goal for increasing the competitiveness of rural SMEs is to retain new markets unplucked during the pandemic while actively taking part in the redistribution of international post-COVID tourism demand.
The project extension is launched at an opportune moment for rural regions.
