Project is contributing to sustainable use of natural and cultural resources in mountain region of programme area. These Southern Carpathians Mountains (spread in Caras-Severin and Mehedinti counties in Romania and Bor district in Serbia) are attracting more and more visitors and at this moment there are no comprehensive framework and guidelines of sustainable tourism development. People living in Caras-Severin and Mehedinty counties as well as in Bor district are aware of great tourism potentials Carpathian Mountains has. As mountainous area, this region is fully related to the Carpathians, its resources and its particularities. Carpathians natural and cultural values can be harmed by uncontrolled development of tourism, thus making tourism development unsustainable and short-term business activity. This will lead to unsustainable usage of natural and cultural resources and will harm income generators of business sector in the region.  Development of sustainable mountain tourism with cross-border approach will empower stakeholders in tourism and environmental sectors and provide long-lasting tourism product based on smart usage of heritage making RO-SER Carpathian cross-border area unique mountain destination.

Tourism industry is economic activity which generates significant amounts of profits. Thus, stakeholders are sensitive and proactive when new ideas on tourism business appear. Project is establishing cross-border sustainable tourism product which will ensure long-lasting tourism activities, with minimized chances for fast destruction of key attractors (natural and cultural heritage) of the area. Local tourism business is still not well prepared for upcoming sustainable tourism activities and there is a need to get closer to these initiatives – its particularities and possibilities for diversification of the offer.

The overall project objective is to support development of local tourism businesses and sustainable use of natural and cultural heritage by providing framework, guidelines and trainings for new touristic product of cross-border mountain tourism.

The Project is intended to overcome the natural and cultural geographic and language barriers, in order to transform the border from a line of separation into a place for communication and cooperation. Project will:

• Bring new knowledge to tourism stakeholders -through elaboration of the Study on development of sustainable mountain tourism in Romanian-Serbian Carpathian cross-border area
• Enable key stakeholders from the public, private and civil sector in fulfilling their roles in effective and innovative development of cross-border sustainable mountain tourism - through establishment of “Stakeholder’s cross-border network on Mountain tourism development”
• Strongly support capacity building on sustainable usage of on natural and cultural resources in the field of cross-border sustainable mountain tourism development – through undertaking two trainings.