The cross border region and especially the areas of Konitsa and Permet share the same natural assets. The sustainable development of tourism industry with respect to the environment is a key priority for the development of both the economies of Greece and Albania.
The project aspires to cover the existing lack of certified extreme sports professionals. Thus, its overall objective is to boost thematic (adventure) tourism in the cross-border area by providing adequate training for new professionals and improving the quality of services offered.
In addition, the project aspires to create a common culture and appreciation for natural and cultural resources that will be transferred by the professional guides to the visitors. The local communities will gain multiple benefits΄: sustainable development and environmental consciousness will be enhanced, the touristic season will be prolonged, the number of visitors will raise and new jobs related to tourism industry will be created. In order for this industry to develop and continue to grow sustainably a common understanding on the environmental protection rules and elimination of negative human impact/intervention needs to be reached.
Furthermore, in joining together the efforts for developing and promoting extreme sports tourism, an economy of scale will be created, leading to lower costs (e.g. joint publicity & promotion) and better and more diverse services, thus benefiting all target groups involved. Finally the project will impact greatly adjacent areas with the ability to develop adventure/extreme sports tourism as it can be used as a raw model for the industry.
The main outputs of the project will be:
