Row Adventure

About the project:

The Row Adventure project was a collaborative initiative designed to address the challenges of tourism and environmental protection by leveraging the natural and cultural heritage of the Danube River. The project aimed to create a new, integrated tourism product focused on adventure trips with kayaks and canoes, catering to a wide range of participants, including beginners, advanced paddlers, families, and people with disabilities. This new offering was intended to better utilize the joint tourism potential of the Romania-Bulgaria cross-border region and support its sustainable economic, cultural, and social development.

The project invested in creating two fully operational tourist centers, one on each side of the border. These centers were equipped with a full suite of water sports gear and safety equipment, including kayaks, canoes, special boats for people with disabilities, a trailer, and vehicles for transporting both equipment and tourists. The project’s approach was to develop new tourism products based on a common strategy for identifying routes and promoting the natural and cultural heritage of the area. While the concept of river expeditions is not new to the Danube, it was an innovative product for this specific target region.

Code: ROBG-272

Financing programme: 2014 – 2020 INTERREG V-A Romania – Bulgaria

Implementation period: 5 September 2018 – 4 September 2020

Budget: € 499,851.65

KEY OBJECTIVES

The primary objective was to create a new, integrated tourism product focused on adventure trips using kayaks and canoes. This was designed to cater to a diverse audience, including beginners, advanced participants, families, and people with disabilities.

To develop two joint strategies for improving the sustainable use of natural and cultural heritage in the region.
To increase the number of overnight stays in the project’s eligible area to 6,033 as a result of the new tourism products and the operational tourist centers.

THE PARTNERSHIP

AISSER Association Călărași– RO;

Sport for Me and You Association – BG;

ACTIS Sports Club Association – RO.

KEY RESULTS

1 new integrated tourism product designed for adventure tourists – adventure trips with kayaks and canoes for amateur beginners, professionals, families, and people with disabilities; 2 joint strategies/studies for improving the sustainable use of natural and cultural heritage:
Promotional materials (roll-ups, leaflets, brochures, agendas, eco pens, memory sticks, keychains, waterproof backpacks, raincoats, paddle gloves, technical water sports t-shirts, sun protection caps);
Website for promoting integrated tourism products; Mobile app with the Danube routes identified in the project’s eligible area;
6,033 overnight stays generated in the Romania-Bulgaria cross-border area by the creation of new integrated tourism products (calculated for the sustainability period – 5 years);
2 operational tourist centers (one on each side of the border), fully equipped with specific water sports equipment (in total: 20 single kayaks, 20 double kayaks, 10 two-person canoes, 10 four-person canoes, and 10 boats adapted for people with disabilities);
14 pilot actions in the programme’s eligible area, generating a total of 400 overnight stays in the project’s eligible area, as follows:4 adventure trips with kayaks; 4 canoe expeditions; 4 trips with special boats; 2 regattas.