The Danube is a river that unites many nations along its banks. Still, the Danube between Bulgaria and Romania is not yet a river full of life, boats and common initiatives. This project will change this, creating an attractive tourist product of the river itself – dragon boats! The project will involve a large number of Bulgarian and Romanian citizens in this joint tourism product, adventure and attraction – driving a dragon boat.

The main objective of the project is to create a new joint tourism product and to promote it throughout the whole CBC area, allowing a large number of people to get in touch with the biggest flowing natural phenomenon and unifying factor for both countries – the Danube!

The originality of the project idea is also related to enhancing cross-border cooperation between people and institutions in the region to jointly address common challenges and exploit the untapped potential for cross-border tourism development through resource efficiency, developing a common tourism product based on the natural, cultural heritage and joint promotion.

The newly created tourism product “Dragon boats” will represent an important tourism attraction along the Danube in the cbc area and the appropriate water basins. It can be used to attract big groups of tourists to practice team building, water sports, to discover nature from the water. Although the project is not revenue generating, the tourism product dragon boats will be available even after the end of the project all over the cbc area, provided that the direct costs for the events are covered without generating profit. These extremely popular in the far east dragon boat events can make the waters in the cbc area an attractive destination only because of the fabulous show they create in the water.

Dragon boats will contribute to the Programme outputs by:

• Creating a new integrated tourism product
• Developing a management plan for valorization of water tourism with the purchased equipment and generated experience .
• The increase of the number of overnights in the cbc area with 2000. The project takes an integrated cross-border approach covering the whole cross-border area, creating a new tourism product offered to both Romanian and Bulgarian citizens.

The great number of events organized within the project will create a real attraction to both participants and audience turning them to real festivals for the hosting cities, capable to attract many tourists.

To achieve its goals the project will organize the following activities:

• Project management – 8 team meetings for proper coordination and planning of project actions
• Creation of technical capacity for the new joint tourism product – Purchase of 4 dragon boats, 2 safety boats, rowing simulator, life vests, mobile dock, dragon boats trailer, cargo van and various equipment
• Organization of 10 alternative tourism seminars in order to promote the upcoming events and coordinate the created by the project team management plan for valorization of water tourism
• Holding of 10 Dragon boat festivals in Danube towns
• Organizing of cross-border dragon triathlon 2 cross-border Dragon boat mini marathons in Bulgaria and Romania;
• Organizing of 6 1-day rowing simulation events in bigger cities in the cbc area;
• Promotion of developed tourism products and project events with brochures, leaflets, website, film, press-conferences, promotion in radio and TV.

The main results of the project will be: Creating a joint capacity for offering a tourist product „Dragon boats“; Engaged local stakeholders to take part in the new tourism product offer through the management valorization plan; Promoted new joint tourism product with dragon boat events, information and publicity throughout CBC territory; organized project events with over 1720 participants.