Central European Initiative meeting promotes cross-border, religious tourism

Representatives of the Central European Initiative’s (CEI) General Committee on Cultural Affairs discussed prospects in boosting cultural cooperation and cross-border tourism in Budapest on Friday.

Parliamentary deputies of the 17 member states of CEI, the region’s biggest non-institutionalised framework for interstate relations, agreed on launching several new programmes in cultural tourism including the organisation of pilgrimages, the head of the Hungarian delegation told MTI.

Representatives of the Hungarian tourism agency told the meeting that 2018 was a record year for the country’s tourism sector, Richárd Horcsik said. Hungary is one of the safest destinations in central Europe, he added.

The participants adopted a closing declaration on further boosting tourism which as a strategic sector contributes to increasing each member state’s GDP. They also adopted recommendations building on Hungary’s experiences which the delegations will be submitted to their own respective governments, Horcsik said.

Founded in Budapest in November 1989, CEI is marking its 30th anniversary this year.

Its members are Albania, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Italy, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia and Ukraine.

The group’s main aim is to promote regional cooperation, European integration and the accession of its non-EU member states to the bloc.

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Source: MTI