Romanian Environmental Partnership

Green Entrepreneusrhip 3 - Sustainable Local Economic Development Through Ecotourism

Green Entrepreneurship 3 – Sustainable Local Economic Development through Ecotourism – a joint program of Romanian - American Foundation and Environmental Partnership Foundation.

Program manager: Environmental Partnership Foundation
Funding partner: Romanian - American Foundation
Strategic partner: Association of Ecotourism in Romania

Budget: USD 1,700,000 RAF contribution, USD 40,320 own-contribution

Duration: 48 months, 01.08.2019 - 31.07.2023

Building on the achievements of the Green Entrepreneurship 2 program, Green Entrepreneurship 3 - Sustainable Local Economic Development Through Ecotourism program represents the continuation of the ecotourism development process in 7 destinations of Romania with the purpose of enhancing and generating economic development in the respective areas. Financial support is provided for the consolidation of the 7 destinations, using as main tools grants and technical assistance and capacity building that will include trainings, consultancy and networking activities. It is expected that the targeted Destination Management Units (DMOs) will reach a higher level of sophistication when working on the development of their destinations, that will result in the improvement of the main economic - tourism indicators, such as the average length of stay, the number of nights spent in the destination, the occupancy rate of the accommodation services, etc., the number of eco-tourism related jobs or the number of enrolled small businesses under the umbrella of each destination.

Objectives

To increase the number of enrolled producers and service providing members (lodging units - pensions, small hotels, other service providers) at the level of the network (7 destinations) with 50%;
To increase the total number of nights spent by tourists at the level of the network (7 destinations) with at least 32%;
To increase the average length of stay at the level of each destination, to at least 2,75 days;
To increase the occupancy rate of the lodgings units at the level of each destination to 32%;
To enhance the creation of 275 new jobs at the level of the network (7 destinations);
To improve the ecotourism offer in the 7 destinations;
To strengthen the ecotourism network that includes the 7 destinations;
To strengthen Romania's image as an ecotourism destination.