ALBA IULIA’s LOCAL ACTION PLAN
-February 2015-
LOCAL ACTION PLAN Gastronomic Cities Project –URBACT II
1. Introduction
The history of Romania is best evidenced in Alba Iulia, which boasts the Alba Carolina Citadel, the most representative Vauban bastion fortification in Romania and the largest from the Central and South-Eastern Europe. Significant events took place here since Roman times, 2000 years ago, when APULUM (the ancient name of city of Alba Iulia) was the capital and the richest city of the Roman Province Dacia, until the moment of the coronation ceremony for the kings of the greater Romania.
Alba Carolina Citadel was recently rehabilitated with national and EU funds, becoming a modern tourist attraction, where visitors can breathe the air of history. The citadel was built between 1715 and 1738 according to the plans of the military architect Giovanni Morando Visconti. With walls 12 kilometers long, the citadel is constituted of a central fort and 7 bastions with Baroque gates, unique in Europe. Inside the citadel the visitor can benefit of an authentic lesson of history from the Central and Eastern Architecture, passing from Roman to all the medieval and modern architectural styles.
In the past few years, the rehabilitation works of the Vauban Alba Carolina Citadel - for which more than 60 million Euros have been invested - and the efforts carried out by Alba Iulia Municipality (City Hall) for enhancing the tourism potential and for increasing the visibility of the local heritage have been rewarded at national and international level with various awards and distinguished appreciations. The city is appreciated in Romania for several of its achievements:
Since 2014, Alba Iulia Municipality has been the first city in Romania and in Central and South-Eastern Europe to sign a contract with the World Bank, not with the purpose of obtaining a loan, but of getting technical assistance to assess the local policies, strategies, plans and projects in order to facilitate the access to the different public and private funding opportunities: http://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2014/09/11/world-bank-to- impact-the-lives-of-65000-in-alba-iulia-with-long-term-city-development
Alba Iulia Municipality became in 2013 the first city in Romania to receive a rating of financial risks from Moody’s, an international credit rating agency. According to the rating obtained, Alba Iulia Municipality is an institution with considerable credibility for all investors and has proved a good management in attracting European funds during the period 2014-2020. Alba Iulia Municipality has a strong institutional capacity for planning urban development and attracting financing resources for urban policies and projects: www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-assigns-Ba1-issuer-rating-to-Municipality-of-Alba-Iulia- -PR_286668
In December 2014, Alba Carolina Fortress was awarded the First Prize of the European Structural Funding Gala, at the "welcoming guests" section. The prize was offered to the City’s Mayor by Jyrki Katainen, European Commission’s Vice-President for Jobs, Growth, Investment and Competitiveness: http://www.proiecte-structurale.ro/conferinte/Gala-Fondurilor-Structurale-9-decembrie-2014- BUCURESTI--eID137.html http://adevarul.ro/locale/alba-iulia/distinctie-gala-fondurilor-structurale-proiectul-primariei- alba-iulia-revitalizare-laturii-vest-cetatii-vauban-1_548f3b65448e03c0fdc75263/index.html
In 2014, Alba Iulia Municipality was awarded the title “A city renewal” within the Best Cities Awards Gala 2014 by Forbes Romania for its accomplishments in the physical regeneration of the city, mainly financed through EU structural funds. https://www.dropbox.com/s/fiukmkzbmt75y2h/City%20Renewal%20Diploma.pdf?dl=0 Alba Iulia Municipality’s Mayor was awarded the title “People and ideas who move things forward Romania” within the Foreign Policy Gala Romania 2014. https://www.dropbox.com/s/w0wd6wfng7y8o8e/People%20and%20Ideas%20that%20move% 20Romania%20Forward.pdf?dl=0
In 2012, Alba Iulia Municipality was awarded the prestigious title of European Destination of Excellence (EDEN) conferred by the European Commission through the Ministry of Regional Development and Tourism for the rehabilitation and conservation works inside the citadel. Following this important recognition, the destination benefits from a permanent place on the European Commission website. http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/tourism/eden/themes- destinations/countries/romania/alba-iulia/index_en.htm Video: https://www.dropbox.com/s/dfcpbh6mhtycuc7/HD_AlbaIuliaExtra%20long.mp4?dl=0
In March 2013, Alba Iulia Municipality was awarded the Jury's Special Mention Award from EUROPA NOSTRA Organisation which is the largest European Association focused on Tourism Conservation, a pan-European network composed of more than 250 member organisations (heritage associations and foundations with a combined membership of more than 5 million people), 150 associated organisations (governmental bodies, local authorities and corporations) and also 1500 individual members who directly support the mission of the association). https://www.dropbox.com/s/m7sebbfh1qdm6bw/EUROPA%20NOSTRA%20CERTIFICATE .pdf?dl=0
The Roman - Catholic Cathedral of Alba Iulia Municipality, one of the most important architectural monuments of Transylvania is a Romanesque heritage recognised at European level, 1004 years old. Since 2012, the cathedral has been included in one of the European Routes TRANSROMANICA - The Romanesque Route of European Heritage. http://www.transromanica.com/en/news/
Since 2013, the Roman Heritage of Alba Iulia has been included in the European Cultural Route The Roman Emperors’ Route.
http://www.culture- routes.lu/php/fo_do_downld.php?ref=00006291/00006291.pdf&saveas=Workshop%203%20 Cosic%2022.11.2013.pdf
"MAREA ÎMBRĂŢIŞARE DE LA ALBA IULIA" (The Giant Hug from Alba Iulia) organized on the 29th of May 2009 gathered 10,000 people and had an important impact on increasing the visibility of the Alba Carolina Citadel at national and international level. Through this project, Alba Iulia reached a new world record - the biggest human hug known in human history officially recognized by the Guinness World Records. http://www.mediafax.ro/life-inedit/alba-iulia-a-intrat-in-cartea-recordurilor-cu-cea-mai-mare- imbratisare-4466295
Another relevant strength for the visibility of Alba Iulia Municipality's tourism potential is mirrored in the appreciation of some of the distinguished visitors of the Citadel. In this regard, it is worth mentioning the opinion of H.E. Mr Martin Harris, former Ambassador of the United Kingdom in Romania: "Romania's heritage, Romania's future. Last month I joined a group of ambassadors visiting the vast and impressive Vauban Fortress at Alba Iulia. As a historian I found this a fascinating place to visit. All the different eras of Romanian history are represented here - the original Dacian settlement, the Roman legionary fortress and the magnificent Habsburg citadel in the impregnable star-shaped configuration designed by the French military engineer Marshal Vauban.(...) But today the fortress is also a major tourist attraction - for school children learning about their history, for families enjoying a day out, for foreigners like myself keen to discover and appreciate Romania's rich architectural heritage." http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/martinharris/2010/11/04/alba-iulia-romania%E2%80%99s-heritage- romania%E2%80%99s-future/
In 2007, the fortress Alba Carolina was nominated by a national newspaper to be One of the 7 Wonders of Romania. http://www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/iata-cele-7-minuni-ale-romaniei-460624.html
Alba Iulia is the first City in Romania which had an appearance in the World Heritage Unesco Magazine. http://mirceahava.ro/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/alba-unesco.jpg) and has recently appeared in the National Geographic Traveller - in Romanian language http://alba24.ro/cetatea-alba-carolina-prezentata-in-revista-national-geographic-traveler-alba- iulia-orasul-care-revine-la-viata-158699.html
Other Media appearances in 2013 include Wizzair Magazine and TAROM Insight Magazine: https://www.tarom.ro/&files/insight-decembrie-2013-ianuarie-2014.pdf
"The Great Appearance", was also a city marketing campaign which took place inside the citadel. Through this project, Alba Iulia Municipality intended to offer 'gratitude' for the citizens living in Alba Iulia by creating a gigantic poster with portrait photos of 1,400 people living in our City, the 'community portrait' reflecting the inhabitants’ love and appreciation for the city.
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=426024944128845&set=a.329833747081299.7838 8.327358393995501&type=1&theater
HAPPY ALBA IULIA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noR-YpJRjzI
In this context, it is important to enhance the tourism potential and to find instruments feasible to increase the socio-economic development of Alba Iulia through tourism. In this respect, it is important to use instruments like gastronomy or local products to increase the city s potential in hosting tourists and becoming more visible.
2. Tourism diagnosis from the perspective of gastronomy in Alba Iulia
2.1. Methods of analysis
The data gathering process took place during the period September 2014 – January 2015 and was organised in three stages. The first stage included the collection of data from restaurants in Alba Iulia, through a bilingual questionnaire in Romanian and English. During the second stage, the data was collected from stakeholders through a customized questionnaire. During the third stage, interviews with the representatives of institutions took place.
A. DATA GATHERED FROM TOURISTS AND CLIENTS OF RESTAURANTS IN ALBA IULIA
The questionnaires were created by the project team and distributed to restaurants and hotels in Alba Iulia.
The questionnaires were distributed to:
21 customers, out of which: 14 foreign tourists 7 Romanian tourists
B. DATA COLLECTED FROM THE STAKEHOLDERS
The questionnaire was created by the project team and applied to a number of respondents. The respondents were ULSG members, a total number of 11 people, out of which:
10 representatives of private investors in the HORECA sector
1 representative of public institutions
C. INTERVIEWS WITH THE REPRESENTATIVES OF LOCAL INSTITUTIONS
FIVE interviews with the representatives of the following institutions took place: The National Union Museum of Alba Iulia; “1 Decembrie 1918” University of Alba Iulia; “Dionisie Pop Marțian” Economic College of Alba Iulia; Alba County Council One representative of the HORECA sector (hotel)
2.2. Statistical Data
The number of tourists in Alba Iulia in 2014 was of 130,927 visitors how entered the National Museum of Unification, in 2013, it was 90,000, considerable higher than in 2011 when it was 50,000 tourists.
The number of foreign tourists in 2012 at Alba County level was 13,1 thousands representing 14% of the total number of tourists.
Also at Alba County level:
The number of overnight stays in 2012 was 203.2 thousands, considerably higher than in 2010 when it was 96 thousands.
The number of overnight stays of foreign tourists was 31.6 thousand representing 15.6% of the total number of stays.
The average number of stays in 2012 in Alba County was 2.2 days, higher than in 2010 when it was 2.1 days.
The total number of tourists accommodated in 2012 (1640.4 thousands, representing 21.4% of the total number of tourists accommodated in Romania) places the Centre Region on the first position at national level.
In 2012 the number of overnights in the region was of 3648.3 thousands, representing 19.1% of the total number of overnights registered at the national level. The majority of tourists visiting the Centre Region are Romanians, although the proportion of foreign tourists was of 18%.
The geographical area of origin for foreign tourists comprises the majority of European countries but also extra-European countries such as the USA, Canada and Israel. The majority of foreign tourists come from countries such as Hungary, Austria, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
The growing potential of the number of tourists is considerable, especially on the segment of cultural tourism. Health and wellness - based tourism have a real potential for development on the external markets, while at the moment they are only exploited to a limited extent. The percentage of foreign tourists was of 16.7% at regional level.
The average number of tourists’ stays in the region in 2012 was of 2.2 days, smaller than the national average of 2.5 days, while there are considerable differences between the Counties. For example, the average number of stays in Sibiu County was 1.7 days while in Covasna County the average number of stays was of 6 days. The average number of stays for foreign tourists at regional level was with 0.2 days lower than the number of stays at national level (2.1 days compared to 2.3 days).
The analysis of the sessional cycles indicate a high concentration of tourists’ stays and overnights during the Summer period, with the peak season during the months August and July, while in March is registered the lowest level of stays and overnights.
The tourism base in the Centre Region was comprised in 2012 of 1526 accommodation units among which 269 hotels and motels, 429 touristic pensions and 594 agro-touristic pensions and other types of touristic units.
The existing accommodation capacity on July 31, 2012 was of 53,787 places, rating the region on the second place at national level. The functioning accommodation capacity was of 15459.2 thousands.
The hotel and hospitality market for businesses. The main source of demand for hotels comes from the business sector (approx. 60%), the rest being from the recreation and transit tourism, individual or group tourism. The tourist demand manifested in the last years to the level of Alba County is relatively reduced in contrast to the rest of the region.
There are seven hotels in Alba Iulia that sums up 278 rooms. In the same time with the offer improvement the price can grow and tourists, Romanian or foreign, with a cultural and historic interest can be invited. They could enjoy of everything that the Fortress offers and in the same time they could beneficiate of high quality services and they would be willing to spend accordingly.
The supply is quite low. In the city, each of the hotels has their own restaurant, plus 11 other different specialty restaurants (traditional Romanian, Chinese, Italian, and French). There is one cinema (Dacia), several clubs and an open air theatre located at the extremity of the Citadel (in need of restoration).
Housing capacities in Alba Iulia include 2 to 4 star hotels, plus a new 5 star hotel and a few B&Bs built recently. Two high standard hotels addressed to a cultural tourism with high quality services, to business or conference tourism are added to the accommodation places in the Municipality.
Alba Iulia benefits from the presence of a large number of HO-RE-CA representatives with a growing potential for the future. Tourists can delight themselves with a large variety of restaurants
and brasseries in the city offering gastronomic products ranging from traditional Romanian cuisine, to Italian, French and Chinese restaurants.
Alba is very well represented at regional and national level through its food and beverages industry. Some of the biggest companies in this field are present, among them some companies which are leaders in their field of activity at national level.
For example, companies such as Transavia (poultry meat), Albalact (milk and dairy products), Elit (meat processing), Supremia (condiments), Jidvei (wine products), Romaqua (alcoholic and non- alcoholic beverages) Alpin LUX (cookies, sweets and ice cream) are leaders at national level and their products are very appreciated and trusted by customers.
Some of the companies are well known also at international level: Transavia, Supremia, Jidvei and Romaqua.
The local supply chain is very well developed due to the presence of a large number of important food and beverages producers at local and county level.
These producers include different areas of activity such as: poultry meat, meat processing, milks and dairy products, condiments, cookies and sweets, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
Among these big producers there are also other local providers, different SMEs present at local level and offering a board range of organic food and beverage products, very appreciated by customers at local and regional level. Many of the HO-RE-CA representatives are utilizing this type of organic food and beverage products for their gastronomic services, as they are highly appreciated by national and international tourists for their quality and respect for the environment.
There are also a large number of food and beverage distribution operators present at local and County level which supply efficiently the demand of products.
At regional level there are also an important number of food and beverage producers which provide their products to all the Counties and cities in the region through distribution operators.
The presence of such a large number of economic operators in the gastronomic field represents a strong base for the development of gastro-tourism.
Alba Iulia benefits from the presence of a number of food and beverage associations such as: the Association of Producers of Traditional and Ecological Produces Alba, the Association for Vegetable Producers, the Association of Producers and Exporters of Winery beverages.
At national level there is a Federation of the Hotels’ industry in Romania which has representatives also from Alba Iulia, but also an Association of Hotels, Agencies and Restaurants.
At local level there is not a large number of associations related to hotels and restaurants as the interest in forming such type of associations has been very low so far.
Gastro-tourism is beginning to be an important pillar among the economic activities of the city. During the last years the number of tourists in the city increased considerably thanks to the rehabilitation process of the Alba Carolina Citadel but also to the marketing plan developed by the Municipality.
The number of tourists doubled in the last 3 years and the demand for good quality gastronomic products and services along with other services in the tourism industry has increased considerably.
With the increase in the number of tourists there was also a considerable increase in the number of restaurants, brasseries and hotels in the city. A 5 stars’ hotel was constructed recently while another one is due to be finished.
The perception of the citizens towards tourism and gastro-tourism is also very positive as they benefit from the high services of a large number of restaurants and brasseries.
Total number of companies active in gastro-tourism in 2008 was 35.
The turnover for activities from gastro-tourism in 2007 was 14.462.367 RON.
In 2008 the number of employed persons was 171.
In agriculture in 2008 there were 48 companies active.
The turnover for activities related to agriculture was 25.618.769 RON
The number of employed persons in agriculture in 2012 was 245.
2.3. SWOT analysis
Gastro-Tourism Strengths Weaknesses
Alba Iulia: Alba Iulia The presence of tourist attractions such as Insufficient promotion of Alba Iulia Citadel at a historical, art and cultural monuments of great local, national and international level; value inside the Alba Iulia Citadel, which can The lack of a sustainable long-term funding be a factor favouring the development of mechanism for tourism in the area; gastronomic tourism in the area; The lack of road signs and of directions placed at The organisation of traditional gastronomic the city entrance; events; Low quality of tourism services (including staff A quite high number of accommodation places hired in this field) which makes tourists look for offered by the hotels, guesthouses and villas in other destinations where there are better services Alba Iulia; for the same price; Many tourism agencies in Alba Iulia which can A quite low number and lack of diversity of contribute to the sell and promotion of tourism restaurants and food serving units inside the products related to the Alba Iulia Citadel; Citadel or in its vicinity; Attractive natural surroundings –Alba Iulia The lack of a local gastronomic product to be
Citadel offers many opportunities for walking promoted and to be part of Alba Iulia’s identity; and recreation in a natural environment both Insufficient promotion of local gastro-tourism. for the citizens of Alba Iulia and for Romanian or foreign tourists; AIDA area: The central location of the Citadel and the Insufficiently valorised touristic potential; variety of spaces within the citadel; Insufficient tourism services (especially leisure and recreation); AIDA area: The lack of a service providers’ association in the The value, beauty and diversity of the natural HORECA sector; and of the built heritage provides beautiful Insufficient financial resources to support this sights and information on the historical periods activity on a local level; of importance for the Romanian people; Insufficient promotion of the local cuisine; The varied relief allows the development of Poor quality professional training in tourism leisure tourism; services; The existing cultural objectives allow the Tourism is not organised as a planned economic development of cultural tourism; activity for which necessary investments and A variety of cultural and traditional events in potential incomes can be determined; the AIDA area; Tourism itineraries, events and service providers Diversified local cuisine; are not correlated; Environmental organisations involved in the The lack of indicators for tourists and information education regarding the protection o the natural points regarding the valuable areas, monuments of environment; nature and anthropical monuments, a calendar of Attachment of the community living in the events and their correlation with those existing at a AIDA area towards nature and their care for regional level. the environment. Opportunities Threats Alba Iulia: Alba Iulia: The economic development of Alba Iulia As regards the international market, one threat provides the premise of tourism development could be the negative perception that foreigners in the city, through the increase of the number have about Romania; of tourists, and through the increase of the The insufficient use of funds dedicated to the volume of investments; development of local tourism; The increase of the level of training and The difficulty of beginning a massive process of professionalism of tourism staff – the academic increasing accommodation standards, needed to environment provides highly qualified staff compete successfully on the international market; and professional consultancy services; The difficulty of involving the entire touristic A better valorisation of the tourist potential of sector in the support of a tourism marketing Alba Iulia Citadel, the setting up of programme that aims the entire community. recreational areas are opportunities that can contribute to the development of local tourism. AIDA area: The orientation of investors to other areas of AIDA area: interest; The tourists’ interest in the area has increased Fiscality and heavy bureaucracy for the start-up of and high quality services are needed; investments; Through the valorisation of the rich cultural The lack of a viable partnership responsible for the and historic heritage of the towns and villages organisation of tourism in the area and its in the AIDA area, the number of tourists will networking to the major regional and national
increase; itineraries; The use of EU funding programmes and The lack of experience in organising and authorities for the development of rural coordinating tourism activity; tourism; The lack of quality tourism services; The existence of locations for tourism; The approach of tourism as an ensemble of There is a potential for the development of activities that are not inter-correlated; cultural, ecclesiastical, adventure, scientific, The lack of funds can lead to an irreversible rural and agronomic tourism potential; destruction and the loss of monuments from the The development of tourism structures and cultural heritage, thus causing a loss to the heritage access roads will contribute to their inclusion fund and affecting potential tourism itineraries, into the county and regional tourism itineraries; leading to the decrease of attractiveness of the area. Planning the setup of a recreation and sports area along the Mures Valley; The creation of tourism itineraries that combine valuable natural elements with the objectives of cultural heritage thus contributing to the development of high quality touristic activity.
2.4. Main problems
The questionnaires and interviews applied to visitors and stakeholders in the HORECA sector from Alba Iulia revealed the following problems and challenges in this sector:
When asked which particular problems they have identified in gastronomic services from Alba Iulia, 18 of the tourists answered:
a. I had to wait too long to get what I ordered or for someone to come and take my order – 12 people identified this as an important to very important problem experienced in restaurants and pubs in Alba Iulia
b. Little food served (small portions) – 7 people mentioned this was an important problem
c. Unsatisfactory quality of food or beverage served – 9 people mentioned this
d. The staff did not have a professional behaviour – 12 people mentioned it
e. No traditional products/dishes available – 10 people mentioned this
f. Restaurants, pubs and hotels were dirty or not clean enough – 7 people mentioned it
g. No menu in English – 11 people mentioned it
h. The waiter/waitress did not speak English – 16 people mentioned this
Therefore, the main problem identified seems to be the HORECA staff’s inability to speak a foreign language, which is very important in tourism.
PROBLEMEPROBLEMS SERVICII IDENTIFIED GASTRONOMICE IN THE GASTRONOMIC DN ALBA SECTOR INIULIA ALBA IULIA
DelocNo PuţinSm Intr-oA problem oarecare măsură ÎnBig mare problem măsură ÎnVery cea bigmai problem mare măsură probl all em LipsaThe waiter/waitressabilităţii de comunicare did not speaka angajaţilor English într-o 0 2 7 6 3 limbă de circulaţie internaţională No menuLipsa in English unui meniu în limbi de circulaţie 2 5 7 1 3 internaţională Restaurants, pubs and hotels were dirty or not clean enough Igiena deficitară din local 6 3 5 1 1
No traditionalLipsa products/dishes unor produse locale available specifice 4 4 5 2 3
TheLipsa staff de profesionalism did not have a personaluluiprofessional angajat 4 3 5 3 4 behaviour UnsatisfactoryCalitatea slabăquality a produselorof food or consumate 4 5 6 3 0 beverage served Cantitatea mică a produselor culinare Little food served (small portions) 5 7 5 2 0
Long servingDurata time mare de aşteptare a servirii 4 2 8 1 3
Overall, the degree of satisfaction of tourists in Alba Iulia was quite high.
CareTOURISTS’ e gradul dvs.DEGREE de satisfacţieOF SATISFACTION în urma AFTER vizitei VISITINGîn Alba ALBA Iulia IULIA? NeutruNeutral Very satisfied 5% Foarte satisfăcut 43%
Satisfied Satisfăcut 52%
When asked to identify the main problems in local gastronomy and gastronomic services, the 11 representative from the HORECA sector and ULSG members replied:
- Few local producers (9 respondents out of which 5 said it was a big problem) - Lack of promotion of the local gastronomy (10 respondents out of which 7 said it was a big problem) - Tough rules and regulations in the sector (9 respondents out of which 7 said it was a big problem) - High taxation level (9 respondents out of which 6 said it was a big problem) - Lack of an association in the HORECA sector (10 respondents out of which 6 said it was a big problem) - Lack of food identity (1 respondent) - Lack of big distributors (1 respondent) - Lack of support from local authorities (1 respondent)
Some other problems identified by the people interviewed were the following:
High taxes for the HORECA sector Lack of promotion of the HORECA representatives (places and products) Shortage of staff in the HORECA & gastronomy sector, according to HORECA statistics Not very active participation of some stakeholders in the sector because of bureaucracy and the insufficient support of the authorities.
Few hotels or guesthouses, which focus on design, on uniqueness and on customized services. Insufficient support of local products. The HORECA sector in our city is not friendly enough for foreign tourists Lack of a traditional product representing the local gastronomy that could be promoted at local, national and international gastronomic events and fairs.
3. Main solutions from the perspective of stakeholders in tourism and
gastronomy
When asked what could improve the gastronomic offer from Alba Iulia, the 21 tourists questioned answered: an international cuisine, a quicker service, innovative and creative dishes, more gastronomic events, contests, more traditional products promoted, a richer offer, bigger servings, improved waiting services.
The tourists also suggested the following attractions that restaurants, bars and pubs in Alba Iulia could offer their customers: traditional music, the staff dressed in traditional costumes, interior and exterior design, more parties, live music, dancing, children’s playing activities, local wine tasting events, additional activities (trips, extreme sports and thematic events).
As the SWOT analysis revealed that Alba Iulia lacked a specific traditional product that could be used as a brand or as a symbol of our local gastronomy, we asked the HORECA respondents and representatives of local institution with an interest in gastronomy and promoting local gastronomic products, to name one traditional product that they believed to be representative of Alba Iulia and that could be successfully promoted. The majority of respondents identified the traditional local pie (‘pup’) filled with different fillings (mostly cabbage but also with potatoes, cheese) as the traditional product. Other products identified but with a lower frequency (1-2 respondents) were ‘lapte de pasare’ (the dessert originating from Austrian cuisine known as ‘floating island’), ‘balmos’ (cornflower boiled in milk with sour cream), ‘jumari’ (small crispy pieces of fried pork fat with a layer of meat), bread with a
lard spread, ‘inturnatul de carari’ (a shepherd’s dish made from cauldron-boiled cheese and sour cream), ‘caltabos’ (sausages based on liver with consistency from fine (pâté) to coarse), grilled aubergine salad, local cheeses, ‘sarmale’ (cabbage or vine leaves filled with ground meat, rice and spices), pies cooked on a baking stone (filled with apple, cheese, cabbage or potatoes), ‘ciorba de fasole’ beans soup served in a bread bowl with red onions, ‘miel la ceaun’ - lamb in cauldron, cooked outside.
As food goes well with a beverage, we asked the HORECA respondents to name a traditional beverage that could become a brand for Alba Iulia. Most answered “wine” and namely white wine from the Alba county region.
When asked if innovation could lead to the development of businesses in the field of gastronomy, 10 out of 11 answered yes and mentioned some innovations that could be made: adjusting to the international tendencies in the field, the use of local brand products on advertisements and promotional material made and sold in Alba Iulia, re-interpreting of traditional dishes. Also, they were asked if a historical character could be used to promote local gastronomy, 6 out of 11 said yes and named the historical figures of Michael the Brave, first unifier of the Romanian people who set the first country capital to Alba Iulia, the peasants who revolted and were killed in Alba Iulia, national heroes Horea, Closca and Crisan or the first king and queen of Greater Romania, crowned in Alba Iulia, king Ferdinand and queen Maria.
The representatives of institutions in Alba Iulia interviewed also proposed some very interesting solutions for the problems identified. For instance, one respondent mentioned that “As a link to tourism sector, it will be nice to use new technologies to make the HORECA sector in our city friendlier for foreign tourists. As the language can be a barrier sometimes, a mobile solution like scanning a QR code on the menu - can be used to instantly translate the menu in the tourist native language. As some restaurants don't have their own resources to realize the translation, this service can be imagined as a service offered by the municipal tourist information center.” He also mentioned that local products could be supported by “realizing a local labeling system and a distribution chain through local stores (like Dacia, in AIba lulia), in order to bring those products closer to the clients.”
Another respondent mentioned that “An increased number of boutique hotels or guesthouses, which focus on design, on uniqueness and on customized services” could be a solution for the development of the HORECA sector in pour city. He also mentioned that local products could be supported by “contracts signed between tourism facilities and the local producers (of fruit, wine, dairy, meat) so they can supply restaurants and hotels with their fresh products; through the development of social and economic structures to promote local crafts; through the organization of gastronomic fairs and contests.”
We also found that a solution for the development of the HORECA sector was to “lower taxes for the HORECA sector and promotion of the HORECA representatives (places and products) during gastronomic events organized abroad.” Also, local products could be supported by “fighting against unfair competition, by supporting the production and recognition at a local level through promotion campaigns”.
The questionnaires and interviews applied to visitors and representatives of the HORECA sector in Alba Iulia, although not as many as to constitute a true research of the HORECA sector and of the local gastronomy, were meant to give us a picture and some ideas of the main problems and of the possible solutions, so as to help the sector develop and meet the more and more demanding needs of both Romanian and foreign visitors of Alba Iulia, and thus help the boosting new tourism industry in Alba Iulia encouraged by Alba Iulia Municipality.
4. Best practice models
Oktoberfest is the world's largest funfair held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16-day festival running from late September to the first weekend in October with more than 6 million people from around the world attending the event every year.
The Oktoberfest is an important part of Bavarian culture, having been held since 1810.
The Oktoberfest is known as the Largest Volksfest (People's Fair) in the World. In 1999 there were six and a half million visitors to the 42 hectare Theresienwiese. 72% of the people are from Bavaria. 15% of visitors come from foreign countries like the surrounding EU-countries and other non-European countries including the United States, Canada, Australia and East Asia.
Other cities across the world also hold Oktoberfest celebrations, modelled after the original Munich event.
Large quantities of Oktoberfest Beer are consumed, with almost 7 million litres served during the 16 day festival in 2007. Visitors may also enjoy a mixture of attractions, such as amusement rides, sidestalls and games, as well as a wide variety of traditional food such as Hendl (roast chicken), Schweinebraten (roastpork), Schweinshaxe (grilled ham hock), Steckerlfisch (grilled fish on a stick), Würstl (sausages) along with Brezen (pretzel), Knödel (potato or bread dumplings), Käsespätzle(cheese noodles), Reiberdatschi (potato pancakes), Sauerkraut or Rotkohl/Blaukraut (red cabbage) along with such Bavarian delicacies as Obatzda (a spiced cheese- butter spread) and Weisswurst (a white sausage).
A waitress with Hacker-Pschorr, one of the traditional beers allowed to be served at
Oktoberfest. She wears a dirndl, a traditional women's dress of Bavaria.
The Oktoberfest is known as the Largest Volksfest (People's Fair) in the World. In 1999 there were six and a half million visitors to the 42 hectare Theresienwiese. 72% of the people are from Bavaria. 15% of visitors come from foreign countries like the surrounding EU-countries and other non- European countries including the United States, Canada, Australia and East Asia.
Only beer conforming to the Reinheitsgebot, and brewed within the city limits of Munich, can be served at the Munich Oktoberfest. Beers meeting these criteria are designated Oktoberfest Beer.
The breweries that can produce Oktoberfest Beer under the criteria are:
Augustiner-Bräu Hacker-Pschorr-Bräu Löwenbräu Paulaner Spatenbräu Staatliches Hofbräu-München
Oktoberfest Beer is a registered trademark by the Club of Munich Brewers, which consists of the above six breweries.
Puerto Vallarta International Gourmet Festival
Puerto Vallarta International Gourmet Festival (The Festival Gourmet International Vallarta) is an annual culinary festival held in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, every November since 1995. There were 35,000 visitors to the festival in 2006.
The festival was the idea of Thierry Blouet of Cafe des Artistes, Heinz Reize of Hotel Krystal and Sivan Muller of Nestle. They launched the first Puerto Vallarta Festival in 1995 (November 18-26). Six five-star hotels, six restaurants and twelve invited chefs participated in that festival. During the last eleven years of the festival, about two hundred featured chefs have participated in the event.
Every year the Festival invites culinary professionals from all over the world to cook and to demonstrate their cuisines (Video: http://vimeo.com/81068899 ). The Festival is supported by local restaurants. During the Festival, international and local food and beverage professionals run events around town, with each of the participating restaurants hosting a guest master chef and creating its own events to complement its food offerings.
Events during the festival include the Sunday Festival Gourmet Brunch, Wine Tasting, and Cheeses of the World. There are also Chef's Table and Winemakers' dinners hosted by restaurants. The traditional Gala Dinner, called The Spirit of Mexico, concludes the Festival.
Taste of Chicago
The Taste of Chicago (mostly known as The Taste) is the world's largest food festival, held annually in mid-July in Chicago in Grant Park. The event is the largest festival in Chicago. Non-food-related events include live music on multiple stages, including pavilions, and film performances. Musical acts vary from local artists to nationally known artists like Carlos Santana, Moby, Kenny Rogers or Robert Plant. Since 2008, The Chicago Country Music Festival no longer occurs simultaneously with Taste of
Chicago as it departed the Taste of Chicago for its own two-day festival typically held in the fall. Rides are also present, such as a Ferris wheel and the Jump to Be Fit.
Taste of Chicago History: This popular culinary celebration started in 1980, when a group of restaurateurs pitched a Fourth of July food festival idea to the mayor of Chicago. Back in those early days, the event was held along the Chicago River , in a three-block area on N. Michigan Avenue. The time also coincided with a building boom on N. Michigan Avenue, dubbed “The Magnificent Mile.” But the overwhelming success of the first event boosted the venue over to Grant Park, commonly known as Chicago’s “front yard,” for more space to accommodate the crowds of folks wanting to taste the best of the city’s restaurants. Since then, the Taste has grown to be one of the largest tourist attractions in Illinois.
Devora, es Burgos
“Devora, es Burgos” represents an extraordinary gastronomic event organized by the city of Burgos each year. The Strategic Plan City of Burgos, the Burgos HO-RE- CA Federation and Burgos city Council organize each year (In 2014, it was held the 3rd Edition) a gastronomic tourism weekend called "Devora, es Burgos", an integrated promotional campaign developed in a weekend format, including special prices for menus, tapas, hotels, shuttles connecting the city with wineries from Ribera del Duero and Arlanza and agro food factories, show-cooking by Burgos chefs, children space on food culture,…everything connected to special prices to cultural resources: The objective is setting up a tourism product that linked together the cultural and gastronomic offer in Burgos. Accommodation is offered at 25 Euros per person including breakfast, and special menus at the best restaurants for 25 Euros per person. Burgos 25 is a great opportunity to experience the beauty of the city of Burgos through its gastronomy and it works as an engine event for the whole city strategy on gastronomy.
The objective of the events is the increase in the number of tourists in low level seasons through the development of a local gastronomic-culinary event which would strengthen the touristic potential of a Municipality while involving all relevant stakeholders: tourists, local inhabitants, the HORECA sector and the public administration.
Devora, is Burgos takes advantage of low season tourism. In 2014 edition, it was held the weekend just before Easter holidays, and the approach is to having a tourism pre-campaign for that festivity, having a word of mouth promotion and taking into account the last minute decision of this kind of weekend short trips.
The target group for this action are the tourists and local inhabitants. The Direct beneficiaries are the tourists who benefit from excellent touristic services and very interesting gastronomic-culinary events during a whole weekend. The Indirect beneficiaries are the local inhabitants, HORECA stakeholders and the Local Administration of the Municipality. Other indirect beneficiaries are the local companies, NGOs, etc. Different activities and a rich gastronomic diversity for every taste are offered during the event, including a sport competition – a way to promote healthy lifestyle – or children activities diversify and complete the target audience, not only foodies but a whole variety of tourists and citizens. An activity such as the Devora Dialogues attracts people that maybe are not directly interested in Gastronomy but are keen on the well-known figures and the popular topic related, for example, in 2014, sports. Besides, offering discounts for cultural activities the event offers a full tourism experience.
Following the slogan Devora, is Burgos, different tags/labels were created for the different promotional weekend activities:
Devora, es Burgos 2014 Devora en Burgos: Devour in Burgos/Hotels Enjoy the best hotels in Burgos at a single price: 50 euro for a double room with breakfast. Reservations are made at each hotel, with 'Burgos 25' reference. Dónde devorar/Where to devour/Restaurants 25 Euro per person, the menu includes four courses and local wine from Ribera or Arlanza. Mini Devora/ Mini Devour/Tapas Specially designed tapas, with local wine (Ribera or Arlanza), beer or water for 2,5 Euro.
Show Cooking Cooking Show developed by local Chefs and producers from Burgos Diálogos de gastronomía/ Gastronomy dialogues 5 very well-known sport figures –from different sports disciplines- had a smart and cool talk on diet and sport. (Each Devora edition, the dialogues topic is changing, always maintaining the philosophy: Gastronomy combined with another popular topic) Devora bus/ Devour bus Bus transfers to Burgos province wineries in Ribera and Arlanza. You do not have to worry about anything; we take you and bring you.
Devora catas/Devour Wine tastings The local wine expert Paco Berciano offers three unique tasting wines from Ribera and Arlanza local wines. The expert tours the wine landscape through five Burgos wines. Devora Cultura/ Devour Culture Prices discounted at the Cathedral, Museum of Human Evolution and Book Museum. All customers from the hotels and restaurants (included in the Devora promotion) have a reduction in the price tickets to the Cathedral, the Human Evolution Museum and Book Museum during the Devora weekend, through an identification card. Devora infantil/Devour Children Peque Chef and Devora en familia (Devour in family): Children cooking contest and cooking workshops (for family audience). Devora Industria/Devour Industry Shuttle buses to visit the facilities and production process of local food companies: Cardeña cold meat and San Miguel Beer Company. Devora kilómetros/ Devour Kilometres World Heritage running Tour: 5 Kilometers running circuit led by local Olympic runner Diego Ruiz. The route goes through the protection zone surrounding Burgos Cathedral that Unesco is analyzing for approval. (City centre circuit). Amigos de Antonio vs Amigos de Miguel/ Antonio´s friends versus Miguel´s friends Two Chef teams contest, seven TV-Programme Top Chefs together with Burgos Chefs. A professional jury together with a popular jury deciding the winner. The Chefs elaborate four microplates, two of which with Burgos products.
Devora, es Burgos aim is getting citizens and tourists’ participation and involvement. The philosophy is: If you are not invited to dinner, you are part of the menu. This citizenship participation is very real in different ways such as: enjoying special menus and tapas (enhancing consuming), and also hotels as tourists, participating in the wine tastings, attending the Chefs cooking contest (a popular jury was selected through the Social Networks), participating with the children in the family audience activities, attending the Gastronomy dialogues, fulfilling the cultural facilities of the city, visiting wineries and agro food local companies.
The whole combination gives an extraordinary street livelihood to the city, beneficial for the city, its image and its economic development. Overall, the Devora e Burgos event represents undoubtedly a very tasty and succesfull event!
5. Action Plan
(objectives, activities, involved institutions, possible funding sources, target group)
GASTRONOMIC CITIES ACTIONS
DIGITAL INFORMATION PLATFORM FOR TOURISTS GASTRONOMIC CITIES PILOT PROJECT
ACTION AREA (NATIONAL/COUNTY/LOCAL LEVEL) LOCAL-COUNTY-NATIONAL-INTERNATIONAL LEVEL
DESCRIPTION OF THE POTENTIAL PARTNERS / RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS TO BE INVOLVED
HORECA REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE LOCAL-COUNTY LEVEL ALBA IULIA MUNICIPALITY MASS-MEDIA VOLUNTEERS COMPANIES
DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION
SHORT JUSTIFICATION/ MAIN PROBLEMS (10 lines) Alba Iulia Municipality lacks an integrated platform with relevant information which could respond to the visitors’ needs when it comes to choosing accommodation, a restaurant, or an event they might be interested in. At present, Alba Iulia has a great tourism infrastructure, with a high tourist potential, and the number of tourists has increased over the last years. Before the rehabilitation works of Alba Iulia Municipality, there were only 30 000 tourists/year in Alba Iulia, and today, we have more than 400 000 tourists /year. In this respect, we need to improve our local services in tourism; helping tourists find useful information about the place they visit is a challenge for the municipality. The application and the digital platform is a first step towards providing a relevant database with all the necessary information that a tourist would like to find. The application will be free, and every tourist will be able to install it on their mobile. Moreover, tourists will be able to use the application on two digital platforms installed in 2 different public spaces.
ACTION OBJECTIVES GENERAL Increasing the quality of services for tourists coming to Alba Iulia. OBJECTIVE
Realizing an innovative database with relevant and useful information for tourists. SPECIFIC Involving all the stakeholders in Alba Iulia Municipality to provide and OBJECTIVES update the database from the application
DURATION 5 years
On 25th March the application will be ready for use and functional in Romanian and English
ACTION TARGET GROUPS/ DIRECT & INDIRECT BENEFICIARIES
The target group for this action will be: the local HORECA stakeholders: hotels and other HROECA facilities –restaurants, bars and cafes, wineries, chefs, local producers, Event organizers in Alba Iulia, public authorities, institutions of public interest etc.
The Direct beneficiaries will be the tourists but also the citizens who might want to find relevant information about Alba Iulia.
ACTION ACTIVITIES
1. Creation of the application which will provide: Presentation of the objectives, major tourist events and activities in the city; it will include relevant tourist attractions to a non-Romanian speaker. Presentation of attractions in Alba and proximal regions of Alba Iulia, to boost foreign tourists to spend the night in the city and spend several days exploring the surroundings Presentation of tourist attractions depending on the type of tourist and his interests: for example tourists, families, tourists interested in traditions, tourists interested in sports Presentation of Alba with the most important tourist attractions and presenting historical region of Transylvania and the most important tourist attractions of the region Practical information for foreign tourists who come for the first time in Romania, as well as information regarding air, rail and road to help them to reach Alba Iulia with ease Information about accommodation in the city and the county, and an overview of restaurants in the city and county, with contact details Information about important events that take place throughout the year in Alba Iulia.
Other requirements:
The application will be available for users of smartphones such as Apple and for those who use Android; the administrator will sign the application in both iTunes and Google Play, so anyone interested can download the application. The application will be delivered turnkey, including both the functional and system navigation and structuring of information and the design, and the design of the main page of standard applications and pages
The application will use content created by original text and multimedia content provider whose use not covered by copyright law or content made available by the city of Alba Iulia The application will include hosting and its administration for 12 months with the possibility of extending the hosting and management services after this date The user will be able to geo locate on the map and be guided to the point of interest, which can be a tourist attraction, a general interest objective, accommodations and dining The user will have access to a calendar of events taking place in the city in that period and next The user will be notified when the application is modified or when new content appears relevant
2. Promotion of the application through mass-media and through social media
ACTION RESULTS, INDICATORS
1. A functional platform ready to be used in Romanian and English language by the citizens, national tourists and international tourists. 2. An efficient communication campaign to make the application useful
ACTION RISKS AND RISK MANAGEMENT Risk Risk control measures
Low degree of use of the application The communication campaign will provide a clear image of the benefits of using this kind of application. The application will be easy to use, even for people with no competences in the field of ICT
ACTION IMPACT
Visibility
The action will be visible in the local-regional press from the beginning. Also on social-media channels
Social, economic, benefits created by the action for the local community (short/medium and long term) This application will be a first step towards a good collaboration between the stakeholders in the city. The stakeholders will understand that they will need to be active on updating the data base in the application but also to collaborate with other relevant stakeholders to increase the number of tourists. The application could increase the visibility of Alba Iulia and contribute to increasing the number of tourists. Moreover, from the economic point of view, the application could bring an important impact on the local business in fields like souvenirs, restaurants, hotels, and other economic activities in Alba Iulia, at short and at long term.
SUSTAINABILITY Valorisation and exploitation of results – long term The application could become an example of good practices for other cities. Moreover, in Alba Iulia, the application could improve with the time, and to have an even larger cover of interests, according to the user’s needs. Alba Iulia Municipality will take care of the management of the application for at least 5 years from now.
COMPETENCE NEEDED FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ACTION (logistic/ material/ human resources) Expert in creating and managing such an application Project Management Team from Alba Iulia Municipality HORECA representatives willing to be active Partnership with mass-media
ESTIMATED BUDGET The budget corresponding to this, including creating and management of the app, 2 digital platforms for public spaces, and maintenance for 12 months is 15 000 Euros.
POTENTIAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Gastronomic Cities Project –as a very small contribution for communication Local budget Volunteering
CREATION OF A HORECA ASSOCIATION AT ALBA IULIA MUNICIPALITY LEVEL – Started during the implementation of the project
ACTION AREA (NATIONAL/COUNTY/LOCAL LEVEL) LOCAL-COUNTY LEVEL
DESCRIPTION OF THE POTENTIAL PARTNERS / RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS TO BE INVOLVED
HORECA representatives from the local-county level Alba Iulia Municipality
DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION
SHORT JUSTIFICATION/ MAIN PROBLEMS (10 lines)
Gastronomic tourism represents an important development generator for Alba Iulia Municipality. Rich agricultural resources of wine and food products significantly support this development orientation. There is strong links between food producers at local level while weekly agricultural fairs already exist. Nevertheless, there are also problems in the gastronomic field at local level. There are no or very weak associations of hoteliers and restaurants, no chefs or sommeliers association, very week cooperation of HORECA sector and also other stakeholders that are indirectly linked to tourism and gastronomy. There is also no appropriate quality of services, not appropriate culinary school and weak policy support of municipality administration. Although the number of HORECA stakeholders at local level has increased in recent years, they are not associated in any formal way, making it also difficult for the Municipality to relate with them and to cooperate in the field of support to tourism development, quality standards, training needs assessment and HR development and tourism promotion. Moreover, the local HORECA stakeholders are not cooperating enough at the moment in order to contribute efficiently to the perspectives for a sustainable tourism development. One of the main consequences derived from this is the low level of services offered to tourists/customers and the huge differences between the standards of services provided by the different HORECA actors. Another consequence is the low communication between the HORECA actors which find it difficult to cooperate due to the low level of trust, which leads to a low level of implication in the development of new touristic products at local level. Furthermore, the Municipality finds it difficult to encourage the different stakeholders to get involved in the development of local tourism and to cooperate towards this objective.
ACTION OBJECTIVES
GENERAL Increased cooperation between local HORECA stakeholders with the aim of developing gastronomic-tourism and gastronomic based activities OBJECTIVE at local level
SPECIFIC - Increasing the level of cooperation of local HORECA stakeholders through the establishment of a HORECA Association OBJECTIVES - Supporting the development of the Association through inviting
different stakeholders to associate through the HORECA Association
DURATION
The HORECA Association will be created at local level during the first months of 2015. By the end of the Gastronomic Cities we will have a formal agreement between the Municipality of Alba Iulia and relevant stakeholders from the ULSG, willing to propose the Association project to be adopted by the Local Council in the month of March.
ACTION TARGET GROUPS/ DIRECT & INDIRECT BENEFICIARIES
The target group for this action will be the local HORECA stakeholders: hotels and other accommodation facilities – B&B, private rooms, pensions, restaurants, bars and cafes, wineries, chefs. The Direct beneficiaries will be the HORECA stakeholders who will benefit directly from the creation of the Association. The Indirect beneficiaries will be tourists who will benefit from the increased services of the HORECA stakeholders, the local inhabitants of Alba Iulia Municipality and the Municipality itself who will have a strong partner to relate with in the tourism field. Other indirect beneficiaries will be the local companies, NGOs, etc..
ACTION ACTIVITIES
A 1. Identification of local HORECA stakeholders interested in the creation of an Association;
A 2. Working meetings with upper stated HORECA stakeholders – individually and in groups to discuss the idea, working areas and organization;
A 3. Elaboration of draft working programme of HORECA association;
A 4. Elaboration of a draft Statute for the future HORECA Association;
A 5. Organizing an introductory meeting with stakeholders to present the idea of creating a HORECA Association;
A 6 Presenting activities, response of stakeholders and draft documents to the Municipality and to get their support
A 7. Organizing official meeting - Assembly with the HORECA stakeholders willing to become members of the Association;
A 8. Adopting of Working programme and Official Statute for the local HORECA Association;
A 9. Disseminating the newly created local HORECA Association in the press and Mass-Media;
ACTION RESULTS, INDICATORS
1. Invitation to become HORECA association member sent to at least 20 stakeholders 2. Assembly with HORECA Association held with at least 10 participants and support of the Municipality 3. HORECA Association created with at least 5 HORECA members 4. Working programme and Statute of HORECA association adopted on the Assembly 5. Minutes from the Assembly 6. Short report of all 9 upper stated activities with photos 7. Press releases sent to the local press
ACTION RISKS AND RISK MANAGEMENT Risk Risk control measures
One of the risks would be the low interest of The risk would be managed by the Municipality HORECA stakeholders in becoming members who would support the creation and maintenance of the Association. of the HORECA Association.
ACTION IMPACT
Visibility
The action will be visible in the local-regional press from the beginning. The press will be informed in
order to promote the creation of the Association and to inform the local stakeholders about the action. A press release will be also sent to the local press after the establishment of the HORECA Association to inform the citizens and also other potential stakeholders who would be interested to become members of the Association. Moreover the HORECA Association will also create a Facebook Page in order to promote the activities of the association and to increase its visibility at the local-regional level.
Social, economic, benefits created by the action for the local community (short/medium and long term) The benefits for creating the HORECA Association are considerable. Firstly the Association would have a single voice and a constructive approach towards developing tourism and other related activities in a sustainable and innovative manner. On the short term there would be an increased connectivity between the local HORECA stakeholders who would have a good platform for discussions with the opportunity of developing into different directions. There is also a high potential for organizing gastro-touristic events in the short term. In the medium-long term the HORECA local stakeholders would change their mentality in the way that they will start working together instead of viewing each other only as competitors. Furthermore they will increase the standards of quality of services provided to tourists and will become more involved in the promotion of the city as an excellent touristic destination. They will also support the organization of different events in the gastronomic field and will initiate actions and activities in the tourism field which will increase the visibility of the city as a top touristic destination. Moreover, they will become more involved along with the Municipality to promote the development of touristic products at local level and also to support and collaborate with the Municipality in its initiatives with regard to tourism development and for organizing touristic events. Overall the Municipality will greatly benefit in the long term as the increase of services in the tourism sector will increase the visibility of the city and will attract a large number of tourists thus contributing to the local economic and social development.
SUSTAINABILITY Valorisation and exploitation of results – long term The HORECA Association will become an important actor with a relevant role in the long term development of the tourism perspectives of the Municipality. The Association will grow in time as more and more stakeholders will become interested in its activities and thus will become part of the association, thus increasing its perspectives for the future.
The Municipality will have an important partner to relate with regarding the development of the tourism activities within the city and will benefit from increased support from the association in order to develop further the tourism strategy of the city. The Association will considerably increase collaborations between the different HORECA stakeholders and will lead to improved cooperation actions and increased services provided in the tourism field.
COMPETENCE NEEDED FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ACTION (logistic/ material/ human resources) 1 meeting room at the Municipality Draft programme and statute of the Association At least 5 stakeholders from the HORECA sector Project Management Team
ESTIMATED BUDGET The budget corresponding to this action will mount to 1.000 EUR
POTENTIAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Funding opportunities will come from the HORECA stakeholders who are members of the HORECA Association and who will pay a contribution for the functioning of the association. Thus the Association will be self-sustained.
GRAPE JUICE FESTIVAL WITH LOCAL WINE PRODUCERS
ACTION AREA (NATIONAL/COUNTY/LOCAL LEVEL) LOCAL-COUNTY LEVEL
DESCRIPTION OF THE POTENTIAL PARTNERS / RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS TO BE INVOLVED
Local Producers representatives from the local-county level Alba Iulia Municipality Alba County Wine producers Association Volunteers
DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION
SHORT JUSTIFICATION/ MAIN PROBLEMS (10 lines) Promoting local products represents an important potential development generator for Alba Iulia Municipality. The resources of wine and food products significantly support this initiative. There are strong links between food producers at local level while weekly agricultural fairs already exist. Nevertheless, there are also problems in the gastronomic field at local level. Even if there are some small initiatives, there is no serious collaboration between the representatives of the local producers and other stakeholders in the local community that could influence the promotion of local products. As mentioned before, the Municipality finds it difficult to encourage the different stakeholders to get involved in the development of local tourism and to cooperate towards this objective, but local food and drinks festival could encourage the cooperation between different stakeholders. Moreover, during the ULSG Gastronomic Cities Project meetings, there were some solutions addressed by the ULSG members. One Local wine producer suggested that a Grape Juice festival in Alba Iulia could be very useful for the sustainable of Alba Iulia tourism development through gastronomy, and the festival could become one of the measures to be implemented successfully in the future, in collaboration with the local wine producers and local authorities.
ACTION OBJECTIVES
GENERAL Promoting local production of grapes throughout collaboration between the local wine producers, civil society and local authorities OBJECTIVE in Alba Iulia Municipality, starting with 2015. - Increasing the number of gastronomic events organized at Alba Iulia level between the local authorities and local producers throughout organizing a brand new festival during the months of September 2015 in Alba Iulia.
- Increasing the level of cooperation of local HORECA and local producers stakeholders by promoting together the new festival at local SPECIFIC level starting with the month of May 2015. OBJECTIVES - Increasing the active citizenship by involving 10 volunteers to take part to the organization of the festival in September 2015.
DURATION
10 March-1 May –Identifying the relevant stakeholders to be involved
May 2015-September 2015 – Promotion of the event
September 2015 – Organizing one week grape juice festival
ACTION TARGET GROUPS/ DIRECT & INDIRECT BENEFICIARIES
The target group for this action will be: - the wine producers - local HORECA stakeholders The Direct beneficiaries will be the local producers, the citizens and the local authorities.
The indirect beneficiaries will be the tourists who can also taste the services and products of Alba Iulia’s local producers. Other indirect beneficiaries will be the local companies, NGOs and other stakeholders.
ACTION ACTIVITIES
A 1. Identification of local stakeholders interested in organizing the event;
A 2. Working meetings with stakeholders – individually and in groups to discuss the idea, working areas and organization;
A 3. Elaboration of draft program and a list with necessary human and material resources;
A 4. Proposing the structure and the place of the event
A 5. Approving the collaboration for organizing the event in the local council meeting
A 6. Disseminating and promoting the event in the Mass-Media and social media;
A 7. Organizing the event with the help of the relevant stakeholders
A 8. Evaluation of the event
ACTION RESULTS, INDICATORS
- 1 collaboration approved in the local council between the local authority and the local producers - 1 successful publicity campaign to promote the event - 10 wine producers involved in the organization the event - 10 volunteers involved in the organization of the event - 1 successful grape juice festival organized - 1 natural juice created in front of the people attending - More than 4000 Attenders
ACTION RISKS AND RISK MANAGEMENT
One of the risks would be the low interest of wine producers to actively participate. Risk would be managed by the Municipality who would support the motivation of the stakeholders to be involved in this event.
ACTION IMPACT
Visibility
The action will be visible in the local-regional press from the beginning. The press will be informed in order to promote the organization of the event and in order to attract the local stakeholders to get involved. Moreover the event will have its own Facebook Page in order to promote the activities and to increase its visibility at the local-regional level.
Social, economic, benefits created by the action for the local community (short/medium and long term) At short and long term the event will have a social impact on the collaboration between the stakeholders and the local authorities and the civil society. Also, the social impact of the event on short term will be reflected on the number of participants at the event, and the quantity of grape juice crated. The event will also have an educational part, people attending will learn how to create the juice themselves at home. The economic impact at short term will only be reflected on the profit obtained by the producers for selling the juice. On long term the event will have an impact on the visitors, if the event will be successful and will grow from one year to another, and it will be reflected on the local economy.
SUSTAINABILITY Valorisation and exploitation of results – long term The event, if successful, the event will become an important pillar in the long term development of the tourism perspectives of the Municipality. The event will grow in time as more and more stakeholders will become interested in its activities.
The Municipality will have an important partner to relate with regarding the development of the tourism activities within the city and will benefit from increased support from the association in order to develop further the tourism strategy of the city based on promoting local products.
COMPETENCE NEEDED FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ACTION (logistic/ material/ human resources) 1 public square dedicated to organizing the event Local producers involved Staff from the municipality to actively participate 10 volunteers Necessary equipment for creating the juice Necessary equipment for keeping the juice fresh during the festival Sanitary approvals
ESTIMATED BUDGET The budget corresponding to this action will mount to a maximum of 3.000 EUR
POTENTIAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Funding opportunities will come from the Producer stakeholders Local budget Sponsors
SOCIAL GASTRONOMIC EVENT FOR VULNERABLE GROUPS IN ALBA IULIA
ACTION AREA (NATIONAL/COUNTY/LOCAL LEVEL) LOCAL-COUNTY LEVEL
DESCRIPTION OF THE POTENTIAL PARTNERS / RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS TO BE INVOLVED
HORECA representatives from the local-county level Alba Iulia Municipality Social structures Mass-media Volunteers
DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION
Home of the elderly SHORT JUSTIFICATION/ MAIN PROBLEMS (10 lines) The lack of collaboration between relevant stakeholders for the sustainable development of the city represents a challenge for Alba Iulia Municipality. The impact of any action undertaken by the local authorities will be more significant if relevant stakeholders who could influence its realization in a way or another will get involved. During the ULSG meetings, there was an idea coming from one Chef, who was actively involved also in transnational visits organized during the project implementation. Inspired of one of the study cases that she saw of the project partners (Korydallos), she suggested the realization of a gastronomic social event for vulnerable people to which organization she, together with other chefs, will voluntary
participate.
ACTION OBJECTIVES
GENERAL Increasing the quality of social services in Alba Iulia through an efficient collaboration between stakeholders and Alba Iulia Municipality in the OBJECTIVE month of December. - Establishing collaboration between the Municipality, the HORECA Representatives and Representatives of the local producers and companies for organizing 2 different social gastronomic events for SPECIFIC vulnerable groups at the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016. OBJECTIVES - Active participation of 3 voluntary chefs in the organization of 2 different social gastronomic events for vulnerable groups at the end of 2015 and the beginning of 2016.
DURATION
June 2015 – first contact with all the stakeholders (3 chefs, 5 local companies, HORECA representative, local producers, sponsors, theatre groups, music groups, etc.)
July 2015 Creating the structure of the events
August 2015 Approving the collaboration and the organization of the event in the local council
September 2015 –December 2015 Publicity of both events
December 2015 – Social dinner for the Elderly Home in Alba Iulia Municipality
April 2016 – Social fund raising event for 100 people, for a social cause – to be determined by the stakeholders
ACTION TARGET GROUPS/ DIRECT & INDIRECT BENEFICIARIES
The target group for this action will be the local HORECA stakeholders: hotels and other HROECA facilities –restaurants, bars and cafes, wineries, chefs, local producers. The Direct beneficiaries will be in 2015 the 100 beneficiaries of the Elderly Home and the
beneficiaries of the social cause in 2016. The Indirect beneficiaries will be families of the direct beneficiaries, the stakeholders involved, the local community, as it will represent as well an example of active citizenship among the local community, mass-media, civil society, etc.
ACTION ACTIVITIES
A 1. Identification of local HORECA stakeholders interested to actively get involved;
A 2. Working meetings with upper stated HORECA stakeholders – individually and in groups to discuss the idea, working areas and organization, identifying the resources that any of the stakeholders can activate for the realization of the activity;
A 3. Elaboration of draft programme of the two events;
A 4. Promotion of the events in the local mass-media and in the social media communication channels;
A 5. Approving the collaboration with the stakeholders in the local council
A 6. Organizing the event in the Home for Elderly, for Christmas, the chefs will cook as voluntary, and the ingredients will be provided by local companies, or sponsors,
A7. Organizing the social cause dinner, in 2016, during which the chefs will cook voluntary, using ingredients received from sponsor, companies and local producers. A music group or a theatre group will voluntary perform and the participants will pay an entry fee. Moreover, during the event, a call for chefs will be organized. The 3 (or more) voluntary chefs will try to convince the audience to buy him for a day, in order to cook at home. During the auction, the participants will pay for the chefs, and finally, the winner (the person who paid most) will take the chef home, and the chef will voluntary cook one dinner for his family.
A8. Donating the money for a social cause (social service)
ACTION RESULTS, INDICATORS
1. More than 5 HORECA representatives involved in organizing the 2 events; 2. 100 beneficiaries from the Elderly Home benefiting from a special Christmas Evening 3. A minimum of 3 chefs voluntary involved in the 2 events 4. A minimum of 5 Companies involved 5. One music or theatre group voluntary performing per event 6. Improved social services due to the amount of money donated for the social cause after the dinner
ACTION RISKS AND RISK MANAGEMENT Risk Risk control measures
One of the risks would be the low interest Risk would be managed by the Municipality who of HORECA stakeholders in becoming would support the involvement. active. Moreover, we will try to have a partnership with the mass-media and through this communication channels we will do our best to convince more stakeholders to get involved.
ACTION IMPACT
Visibility
The action will be visible in the local-regional press from the beginning. Also on social-media channels
Social, economic, benefits created by the action for the local community (short/medium and long term) The most important benefit for the community is in social development at short and long term. Vulnerable groups will benefit of actions leaded by stakeholders who can collaborate at long term in organizing such events which could influence the social development of the community and the improvement of social services in Alba Iulia Municipality, for vulnerable groups.
SUSTAINABILITY Valorisation and exploitation of results – long term The collaboration is meant to be at long term, and tis kind of events ar meant to become a good practices example that could be multiplied by other relevant stakeholders as well. If successful, the event could be repeated each year.
COMPETENCE NEEDED FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ACTION (logistic/ material/ human resources) At least 5 stakeholders from the HORECA sector At least 3 chefs volunteers Project Management Team from Alba Iulia Municipality Sponsors Infrastructure for organizing the social event for a social cause One artistic group performer volunteer for the 2 events Food donations Partnership with mass-media
ESTIMATED BUDGET The budget corresponding to these 2 events is up to 5000 euros
POTENTIAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES Funding opportunities will come from the HORECA stakeholders, donations, products donations, ingredients, volunteers, other funds.
TRAINING COURSES FOR STAFF EMPLOYED IN HORECA SECTOR – CREATING A TRAINING CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE IN GASTRO-TOURISM
ACTION AREA (NATIONAL/COUNTY/LOCAL LEVEL)
Local level
DESCRIPTION OF THE POTENTIAL PARTNERS / RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS TO BE INVOLVED
Employers in the HORECA field from Alba Iulia; The Agency for Employment of Alba County; The ˝1 Decembrie 1918˝ University of Alba Iulia; Alba County School Inspectorate; Training companies in the HORECA sector (e.g. SC THR SRL etc.); Chambers of Commerce and Industry of European Countries.
DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION SHORT JUSTIFICATION/ MAIN PROBLEMS Alba Iulia has a tourism potential determined by the large number of historical, cultural, natural and anthropogenic values, especially in urban areas, with a potential for constant attraction of Romanian and foreign tourists throughout the year, thereby supporting regional economic development, the growth of tourism economy and investments, the diversity and qualitative improvement of sustainable jobs supply and demand. In the whole national economy, gastro-tourism acts as a stimulating element of the global economic system, assuming a specific demand of goods and services. Also, tourist demand leads to an offer adjustment, which materialises in the development of tourism structures and stimulation of related services. Tourism activity in the area creates a demand for a wide range of goods and services purchased by tourists and tourism companies and it thus requires training in the field of hospitality industry, as the specialized workforce currently provides low quality services. Also, given the historical and cultural heritage of this area of national and international importance, it needs personnel trained and specialized in this field. According to the strategic documents of medium and long term development, local authorities would like the area to become a gastronomic and tourist destination of excellence, to attract foreign and national tourists, and to support the emergence and evolution of economic activities specific to gastro-tourism.
ACTION OBJECTIVES GENERAL Acquiring skills in the "tourism of excellence" to foster the competitiveness and facilitate access to employment of the Staff OBJECTIVE employed in HORECA sector from Alba Iulia
SPECIFIC Improving professional skills by providing training packages in the hospitality sector; OBJECTIVES Developing transnational actions and measures to increase competitiveness in the field of "Tourism Excellence".
DURATION 2 years
ACTION TARGET GROUPS/ DIRECT & INDIRECT BENEFICIARIES Direct beneficiaries: Staff employed in HORECA sector from Alba Iulia; Unemployed citizens of Alba Iulia; Indirect beneficiaries: Employers in the HORECA field from Alba Iulia; National and international tourists of Alba Iulia Municipality; The citizens of Alba Iulia.
ACTION ACTIVITIES
1. The creation of the Training Centre of Excellence in Gastro-Tourism in Alba Iulia in order to improve professional skills in tourism and gastronomy; 2. The accreditation Centre qualifications and specializations in the HORECA sector (e.g. Sommelier, chef, head of the hall and restaurant, initiation in English and German); 3. The organization and development of training courses in gastro-tourism at the Training Centre of Excellence in Gastro-Tourism; 4. The organization and development in the Centre of practical demonstrations with national experts (renowned chefs and sommeliers).
ACTION RESULTS, INDICATORS 1.The Training Centre of Excellence in Gastro-Tourism in Alba Iulia created and established in Alba Iulia; 2. The Training Centre of Excellence in Gastro-Tourism in Alba Iulia accredited in qualifications and specializations in the HORECA sector 3. Training courses in gastro-tourism organized and developed at the Training Centre of Excellence in Gastro-Tourism; 4. Practical demonstrations with national experts (renowned chefs and sommeliers) organized and developed at the Training Centre of Excellence in Gastro-Tourism.
ACTION RISKS AND RISK MANAGEMENT Risk Risk control measures
Low quality consultancy services Careful monitoring of consultancy contracts, of deadlines, of quality and performance indicators in the tender book and attached technical offers, a penalty system for the Consultant, stopping payments and making formal and content corrections.
Appeals to the public procurement A carefully documented set up of tender books, in procedures accordance with the OUG 34/2006, quick and clear answers to the requests for clarification from potential tenderers, issuing pertinent, swift and clear opinions to CNSC’s questions, a swift rerun of the procurement procedure once CNSC has ruled on the appeals.
ACTION IMPACT Visibility
Posters, flyers, postcards, pens, key-chains, portfolios, 300 customized block-notes, DVDs and roll- ups will be edited, multiplied and disseminated; there will be press releases, a Facebook page, a radio and a TV ad, a web page, card holders. The project’s activities and results will be disseminated through press conferences.
Social, economic, benefits created by the action for the local community (short/medium and long term) The proposed action will contribute on a short and medium term to the improvement of professional skills through the HORECA professional training modules provided within the Training Centre of Excellence in Gastro-Tourism and through the development of transnational measures and actions in view of increasing competitiveness in the field of “tourism of excellence”. On a long term, this initiative will allow Romania and Alba Iulia Municipality to use the advantages of a modern, flexible labour market that is adapted to the current needs.
SUSTAINABILITY Valorisation and exploitation of results – long term The applicant will allocate the amount of money needed to continue such activities and to develop new measures of employment for the unemployed, from its own budget and based on an administrative decision. The project activities - information and counselling services, training sessions will continue after the grant ends. Fundraising will be supported in order to find the resources necessary to continue the project after the funding is over. All purchased goods remain in the Applicant’s possession and will be used for the same purpose after the funding is over. The activities proposed by the project will generate multiplier effects that will ensure long-term benefits for the target group. By turning the Training Centre of Excellence in Gastro-Tourism into a legal person, transfer of knowledge but also of skills is ensured by delivering integrated programmes that cover the need for personnel qualified according to international standards, an aspect of great importance to promote tourism potential of Romania with multiple opportunities for further development. Also, the beneficiaries, by acquiring these skills and an excellence level in hospitality training, will have a wider access to the tourism labour market and not only. All services provided by the project are aimed at the development of skills, behaviours and attitudes that will be used by the target group throughout their life. The results and experience gained in the action be integrated into the policies and strategies of Alba Iulia Municipality. Continued provision of training services by the applicant will bring the necessary financial resources for self-funding and for other projects.
COMPETENCE NEEDED FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ACTION (logistic/material/human resources) Logistic/Material Resources : 1 meeting room with all equipment needed for the project team meeting, 3 desks, 10 computers, 2 printers, Internet connection, one landline, fax machine. The Centre: 1 building, fire extinguishers, break-in prevention system, furniture (desks for the offices,
desks and chairs for the lecture room, furniture for the archive room), IT equipment, furniture for training and qualification courses (kitchen furniture, kitchen equipment), appliances, dishes, flipchart, office materials, books, training materials, a car. Human Resources: Management team : 1 project manager, 1 legal advisor, 1 financial responsible, 1 assistant manager, Implementation team: 4 vocational councillors, 1 work group leader, 2 training programme experts, 1 PR expert, 2 translators, teachers of modern languages and specialty courses. Auxiliary and administrative staff: 1 secretary, 1 driver, 1 receptionist, 1 building administrator, 1 cleaning person. ESTIMATED BUDGET 800,000 Euro
POTENTIAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES POCU – The Operational Programme Human Resources 2014-2020; Transnational European Funds; Embassies of economically developed countries; The World Bank.
ROMANIAN CAPITAL OF GASTRONOMY
ACTION AREA (NATIONAL/COUNTY/LOCAL LEVEL) National level
DESCRIPTION OF THE POTENTIAL PARTNERS / RELEVANT STAKEHOLDERS TO BE INVOLVED National Association of Cooks and Pastry Chefs in the Tourism Sector in Romania; Association of Sommeliers in Romania; Association of Journalists and Tourism Writers in Romania; Relevant media representatives.
DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION SHORT JUSTIFICATION/ MAIN PROBLEMS
Gastro-tourism is beginning to be an important pillar among the economic activities of Romania.
The perception of the citizens towards tourism and gastronomic tourism is very positive as they benefit from the high services of a large number of restaurants and brasseries. There is no real support to gastronomy or tourism from national and regional policy. The general attitude of inhabitants towards tourism and gastronomic tourism is positive although there is no real culture to enjoy in gastronomic services due to several historic factors. However, the inhabitants perceive the development of gastro-tourism along with the increase in the number of tourists in the city as benefit for the economy and are supportive towards the further development of tourism activities.
The importance of creating a national event that can underline the contribution of the gastronomic sector for the development of tourism at both a national and a local level and increase Romania’s attractiveness as a tourism destination.
ACTION OBJECTIVES
GENERAL The development of a national event called the Romanian Capital of OBJECTIVE Gastronomy to promote the local gastronomy.
The development of a national competition held in Alba Iulia, between Romanian cities in order to win the annual title of Romanian SPECIFIC Capital of Gastronomy; OBJECTIVES The positioning of Alba Iulia Municipality as a key player in Romanian gastronomy; The raising of the citizens’ awareness on the importance of gastronomy and its link with tourism.
DURATION 10 years
ACTION TARGET GROUPS/ DIRECT & INDIRECT BENEFICIARIES Direct beneficiaries: Relevant NGOs and Associations in HORECA sector; The tourists of Alba Iulia Municipality and of the winner city;
The employees from the HORECA sector of Alba Iulia Municipality and of the winner city; Relevant companies from the HORECA sector of Alba Iulia Municipality and of the winner city; Indirect beneficiaries: The citizens of Alba Iulia Municipality and of the winner city; Public institutions of Alba Iulia Municipality and of the winner city; Relevant national and local media representatives.
ACTION ACTIVITIES
1. Setting up the local organisation team; 2. Creating / registering the brand name of Romanian Capital of Gastronomy; 3. Setting up the evaluation committee, composed of Relevant NGOs and Associations in HORECA sector, Relevant national and local media representatives, Public institutions; 4. Promoting the competition at a national level; 5. Receiving the cities’ projects and organising the project presentation event; 6. Presenting the projects over a two-day event; 7. Awarding the title of Romanian Capital of Gastronomy during a Gastronomic Gala Event; 8. Promoting the winner of the competition.
ACTION RESULTS, INDICATORS 1. A local organisation team composed of 8 members; 2. The brand name of Romanian Capital of Gastronomy created/registered; 3. An evaluation committee, composed of Relevant NGOs and Associations in HORECA sector, Relevant national and local media representatives, Public institutions; 4. The competition promoted at a national level; 5. At least 5 city projects received and evaluated; 6. At least 5 projects presented in a two-day event; 7. The title of Romanian Capital of Gastronomy awarded during a Gastronomic Gala Event; 8. The winner city of the competition promoted.
ACTION RISKS AND RISK MANAGEMENT Risk Risk control measures
The beneficiaries’ lack of interest in the Awareness raising, motivation and co-interesting the project people defined in the project as direct beneficiaries to participate in the project activities, focusing on the importance of promotion, marketing, event organisation and participation in tourism fairs and
exhibitions.
The media’s lack of interest in the project Awareness raising, motivation and co-interesting the media to participate in the project activities, focusing on the importance of promotion, marketing, event organisation and participation in tourism fairs and exhibitions.
Miscommunication between the members of Constant, transparent communication at all project the implementation team and the members management levels, transparency, equal treatment of of the evaluation committee. employees, clear and exact tasks in speaking and writing, encouraging team work, friendly and polite talks to the beneficiaries of the project and to the contractors, clear and concise explanations and clarifications, expressed by the project team members at the request of beneficiaries or contractors.
ACTION IMPACT Visibility Monitoring and evaluating creation work, graphic design and the quality of promotion proposals on all types of previously described promotional support, Management of approving promotional materials; Establishing and maintaining positive cooperation relationships with institutions/organisations or partners; Designing and implementing a PR strategy; Proposing concepts and methods for an efficient project promotion; Organising press-conferences; Organising participation in tourism fairs and exhibitions; Promoting the project on relevant web-sites; Updating the project’s web-site; Press releases and media coverage; Coordination of promotion-related activities of other departments such as sales, graphic design, media, financial and accounting or research; Preparing and negotiating promotion and advertising or sales contracts; Networking with suppliers, distributors or customers for the promotion campaigns and programmes; Outputs: One database with relevant information in gastronomic tourism One website Newsletters One documentary film – 10 minutes One T.V. ad One radio ad One video – 45 seconds
Audio-video advertisement insertions; Street billboards and advertising totems; Flyers; Press conferences
Social, economic, benefits created by the action for the local community (short/medium and long term) On a short term, the tourism activity intensely promoted and well organised creates a demand for a wide range of gastronomic goods and services later purchased by tourists and tourism companies.
Local tourism creates opportunities of local and national economic increase and contributes to the creation of new jobs by capitalising on the cultural, historical and natural heritage. Also, an important part of the newly created jobs is a regional opportunity for the employment of women. The use of sights and attractions through a careful, just, consistent and constant promotion can contribute to Alba Iulia’s and the winning city’s economic growth by helping local companies to emerge and develop, thus turning low economic competitiveness areas into attractive areas for investors.
On a long term, this initiative associated to quality and sustainable investments in tourism and culture will allow Romania and Alba Iulia to use the advantages provided by the tourism potential and by the cultural heritage of Alba Iulia and of its historical fortress. Investments in tourism and culture will allow the winning city and Alba Iulia to use the advantages offered by their touristic potential and cultural heritage in identifying and strengthening of their own identity in order to improve their competitive advantages in high value sectors and high quality and cognitive content on both traditional and on new markets.
SUSTAINABILITY Valorisation and exploitation of results – long term Project sustainability will be ensured through a number of specific activities, such as: allocating funds for the beginning and continuing of implementation (needed funds for financing and guarantee of the necessary cash flow; keeping the two advertising and promotion coordinators employed by Alba Iulia Municipality as they will continue the tourism marketing activity for the Fortress and will be involved in the organisation of touristic events in accordance with the type of proposed events; allocating the necessary human resources for analysis, testing and training activities.
Another sure and credible project funding source is the Municipality’s annual budget. Constant fundraising will ensure the necessary financial resources for the action to continue.
COMPETENCE NEEDED FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE ACTION (logistic/material/human resources)
The success of the project is ensured by the synergy of human, financial, material and time resources. The Local Council of Alba Iulia will place at the project’s disposal 1 administrative office space with desks and shelves for storing the project’s documents. The office building is located in Alba Iulia and it is equipped with state-of-the-art PCs, colour printers, Internet access and a colour multifunctional copy machine. Location of the event – Alba Carolina Fortress.
ESTIMATED BUDGET 1,500,000 Euro
POTENTIAL FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES The Regional Operational Programme 2014 -2020; Transnational European Funds; The embassies of economically developed countries; The World Bank; Company sponsorships
6. Final remarks, conclusions
tbc
7. Attachments
Questionnaires and interviews