The Northwest Regional Development Agency, as the Management Authority for the Northwest Regional Program 2021-2027 (NORTH-VEST REGION), publishes today, March 15, 2024, Applicant's Guide 712 – Improving tourism infrastructure, especially in areas with valuable tourism potential, including improving access to resources and tourist attractions – URBAN.
The call for projects is competitive, with submission deadline, and funding applications can be submitted through the MySMIS 2021 computer system during: April 29, 2024, 10:00 a.m. – August 29, 2024, 10:00 a.m.
For funding applications that fall under the scope of state aid, the maximum value of the total non-reimbursable amount is 2,000,000 euros.
For financing applications that do not fall under the scope of state aid, the maximum total eligible value is 6,000,000 euros.
Eligible applicants are Administrative-territorial units (UAT): County; County seat municipality; Municipality; Town; Partnerships between the previously mentioned eligible administrative-territorial units.
Urban areas in the region benefit from numerous natural or anthropogenic elements with special attractive value. A number of touristic and cultural resources have high potential to be (better) exploited, but remain in the shadows due to access difficulties (missing or not modernized) and the lack of minimal facilities that allow them to be visited in optimal conditions. Despite the high potential, tourist activity is concentrated in a few centers, the rest of the objectives remaining largely untapped.
The public tourism infrastructure is still precarious, despite the investments made in previous programming periods, requiring a series of measures to improve the current situation.
The action supported under this call for projects is Improving tourism infrastructure, especially in areas with valuable tourism potential, including improving access to resources and tourist attractions and can be achieved by:
- the construction, expansion, modernization, endowment of specific infrastructures, necessary for the exploitation of tourist resources;
- supporting innovative projects to diversify tourist services and activities with the aim of increasing the accessibility of tourist attractions: gondolas, chairlifts, via ferrata, etc.;
- arranging tourist routes using environmentally friendly solutions (marked mountain routes, observation points, gazebos, rest stops, mountain rescue points, etc.);
- facilities related to relaxation and recreation areas located in the vicinity of tourist resources;
- the utilities necessary for the operation of the investment objective that are found/are proposed on its site;
- complementary activities necessary to ensure the functionality of the interventions
It will be considered that the investments do not produce negative effects on the natural areas in the vicinity (protected natural areas, forests, valuable meadows, wetlands, etc.). The arrangement of green spaces within the areas with tourism infrastructure will be done with native species. The future investments will be made on areas of land with a reduced construction regime (reduced POT), so as to avoid recurring negative effects on biodiversity during the operation stage of the investments. The tourist resource should be exploited without creating pressure on biodiversity.
Interventions are recommended on natural spaces rich in biodiversity, green areas that bring important benefits to ecosystem services, with a high degree of naturalness, but also access areas, alleys, specific lighting, rest platforms, etc.
The interventions will take into account the interdependence of the actions and the development of the urban ecosystem as a whole, the long-term results and benefits, the needs and challenges of the areas as a whole, the encouragement of the civic spirit, but also of the collaboration between the public and the private environment.
In the next period, an event will be organized to present the Applicant's Guide, and during it the Guide's developers will be at the disposal of those interested for a question and answer session. If you want to participate in this event, we invite you to send us an e-mail at the address regio@nord-vest.ro to express your interest in participating in this event.
We invite you to actively contribute and submit your observations/comments/questions/requests regarding the content of the Applicant Guide and its annexes to regio@nord-vest.ro.
This call contributes to the fulfillment of policy objective 2 "A Europe closer to citizens, by promoting the sustainable and integrated development of all types of territories and local initiatives", priority 7 "An attractive region", specific objective 5.1 "Promoting integrated development and inclusive in the social, economic and environmental fields, as well as culture, natural heritage, sustainable tourism and security in urban areas", action b) "Improving tourism infrastructure, especially in areas with valuable tourism potential , including improving access to resources and tourist attractions" within the Northwest Regional Program 2021-2027.
The North-West Regional Program 2021-2027 proposes interventions for the development of research, development, innovation and digitization capacity, increasing the energy performance of the existing public and residential building fund, capitalizing on degraded spaces at the city level, sustainable urban mobility, investments in the network of county roads and in the educational infrastructure, as well as actions to capitalize on the cultural, touristic and spa potential.
In the financial year 2021-2027, public authorities and institutions, the business environment, the academic and research environment and NGOs can obtain funding.
The Northwest Regional Program benefits from a total allocation of 1,437,252,471 euros.
- Priority 1: A competitive region through innovation, digitization and dynamic enterprises - total value: 327,904,956 euros
- Priority 2: A region with smart localities - total value: 60,332,872 euros
- Priority 3: A region with environmentally friendly localities - total value: 210,666,112 euros
- Priority 4: A region with sustainable multimodal urban mobility – total value: 305,155,751 euros
- Priority 5: An accessible region - total value: 184,978,708 euros
- Priority 6: An educated region - total value: 77,386,100 euros
- Priority 7: An attractive region - total value: 210,363,134 euros
- Technical assistance – total value: 60,464,838 euros
More information about the Northwest Regional Program for 2021-2027 is available here, and the program can be consulted here.