Project background All Nordic and Baltic countries have a potential for development of different types of tour-ism in their regions – sport tourism, cultural tourism, historical tourism, entertainment tourism and other – because our countries have interesting traditions, unspoiled and beau-tiful nature, rich cultural heritage and active people, willing to show visitors the beauty and peculiarities of their countries.

Because of the northern climate the tourism in Baltic and Scandinavian countries is highly seasonal and this fact influences economic and social life of the northern states:

tourist service providers do not have steady means of subsistence

entrepreneurs having ideas of touristic business are in a state of uncertainty

young people with innovative ideas are leaving to other regions/countries These problems are very obvious in geographically isolated regions.

The project aims to create Sustainable and Innovative Tourism Network of Nordic and Baltic Countries consisting of stakeholders from different sectors: Adult and higher education providers, culture centers, business companies, tourism services providers, non-governmental and governmental organizations. It is the first step of the current partnership. Hopefully another Nordplus project will follow where the partners develop training materi-al for people working in tourist industry. The training material will be based on SWOT anal-ysis of tourism sector and best practice examples identified by partnership during current project.

Education, Research & Consultancy Centre from Lithuania brought the idea to Nordplus Contact Seminar in Stockholm, Sweden on 29-31 October 2013. Organizations from Iceland (Austurbru ), Sweden (Ha rjedalens Culture Center) and Estonia (Loodi Manor Nature Cen-tre) supported project idea and joined Lithuanian initiative. In the beginning of June 2014 we got the news that the project was approved, and we received the grant for implementa-tion of our ideas.

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

This is the first of four

newletters of our project

Sustainable and innovative tou-

rism network of nordic and

Baltic Countries

The main topic of this issue is

an introduction of our project

and partners with focus on Lit-

huania and our first partner

meeting in Klaipéda, Lithuania

in November 2014

The Project

Network of adult learning centres and small organisations working in the field of tourism services in geographically isolated regions of Nordic and Baltic countries.

The Network is a part of a project titled "Tourism Development Challenges in Nordic and Baltic Countries" (NPAD-2014/10050), funded by Nordplus Adult programme.

The partnership was born and network idea first discussed at Nordplus Contact Seminar in Stockholm, Sweden, in October 2013.

First partner meeting was held in Klaipe da, Lithuania in November 2014

Next partner meeting will be in Ha rjedalen, Sweden in April 2015

SUSTAINABLE AND INNOVATIVE TOURISM

NETWORK OF NORDIC AND BALTIC COUNTRIES

Newsletter 1 February 2015

Partners on first day of meeting in Lithuania at Liudvikas Réza Culture Centre in Juodkranté

Visit our website:

www.nordtournet.com

Visitors in Lithuania „Lithuania and Estonia are con-nected by a com-mon destiny that has been felt through the entire Soviet period. I have gone on many visits and travelled there in my youth as a hitchhiker several times.

The trip to Nida peninsula we had after Lithuania`s independence.

We started with bicycles from Nida and reached Lat-via after two weeks. We drove up to Klaipeda along the coastline, camped out on the beach – it was definitely forbidden, but we behaved prudently and did not leave any garbage. On the sand dunes we had a guided tour. We have always been fascinated by amber jewel-lery, knitwear and dignified Lithuanian peo-ple.“

Ene, Estonia

„My earlier memories of Lithuania date back to the end of the Soviet period. Lot of wooden sculptures, quaint handicraft and churches everywhere had remained in my memory ever since. 28 years ago all areas looked very different from each other, even our own small towns in Estonia. As shops were empty we sometimes made small shopping trips. Once, when I was student, we had a shopping trip to Lithuania. Equipped with a large empty suitcase we spent all the night in a bus, all the day in Kaunas and all the next night again on the bus on the way back. It was pretty tiring but this time the time and tiredness had a different value. – I remember my only purchase made there—except some obligatory souvenirs – was a bikini.

The first impression this time was that our countries are now much more similar than before. Globalisation and as several times before in history - we are again members of the same union. It has given us the same con-ditions for development – at least on a large scale.

It seems a bit odd that I do not know up to now any words in Lithuanian. But when we are in an international crowd, I find myself often talking with Lithuanians in Estonian. By the perception - they understand me any-way.”

Urve Künsar, Estonia.

Did you know ? According to a study made by a

French scientist in 1989, Lit-

huania is in the geographical

centre of Europe.

The Lithuanian language is

more ancient than Greek,

Latin, German, Celtic, or the

Slavic tongues. It belongs to

the Indo-European group and

is nearest to Sanskrit.

Lithuania is known as the land

of storks, the national bird for

the country, with about 13,000

pairs.

Forest covers 1/3 of the coun-

try, including many protected

regions and national parks.

Basketball is the most popular

sport. Several Lithuanians have

become NBA players, maybe

most famous being Arvydas

Sabonis.

On 1st January 2015 Lithuania

became the 19th country to

join the euro-zone.

“The first impression this time was that our countries are now much more similar than before.” Urve Künsar, Estonia.

Curonian spit Curonian Spit is a long strip of sand, which stretches 98 kilometers along the Baltic Sea. The northern and biggest part of the Spit (52 km) belongs to Republic of Lithuania, other part (46 km) - to the Russian Federation Kaliningrad region. Neringa town was esta-blished here in 1961. It consists of 4 settle-ments: Nida, Preila, Pervalka and Juodkr-ante .

White and grey sand dunes create the uniqu-eness of the landscape of the Spit. The hig-hest dune is 56 metres in high. The Spit – it is sandy land between 2 waters – the Baltic and Curonian lagoon, beloved by tourists from all over the world. Visitors are invited to accommodate in the ancient villas, et-hnographical fishermen houses, modern hotels and enjoy beautiful and clean beaches.

Estonian partners Urve and Ene

The devil at the Hill of Witches. Houses in Juodkranté.

Klaipe da and sur-rounding area Klaipėda is the third biggest and oldest town of Lithuania, founded in 1252, and one of the oldest cities on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea.

From city foundation till 1923 and from 1939–1945, it was officially named Memel. Due to political changes between 1923 and 1939, both names were in official use; since 1945 the Lithuanian name of Klaipe da is used.

Klaipe da region is very attractive for differ-ent types of tourists. Those, who like quite

rest, in the shelter of nature, can find cosy homesteads in countryside, white sand beaches with big dunes along the coast of the Baltic, nature paths in forests and re-serves. Those, who like active rest, will find widely developed network of bicycle routes, possibilities for canoeing, or Norden walk-ing. So called summer capital Palanga wel-comes visitors every year with huge number of entertainments and noisy, colourful cafes and restaurants. Lovers of cultural tourism will adore museums, manors, events of tra-ditional music, songs and dances, fairs of handicraft, traditional wooden architecture, and food heritage.

Western Lithuania fascinates visitors with its beautiful nature, culture and good ser-

vices, but tourism is highly seasonal here. That causes economic and social problems.

Klaipe da cruise ship terminal Cruise ship tourism is one of the essential tourism strands of Western Lithuania. Tourists from all over the world come to Klaipe da for 2 days and visit the most in-teresting places of the region.

In 2014 Klaipe da Seaport received significantly bigger number of cruise passengers – 57.797. Compared to 2013 the number of cruise tourists increased by 76,4 percent, i.e. 25.000 more passengers

visited Klaipe da and its surrounding re-sorts and places of interest.

Accordingly, last year Klaipe da Seaport received vessels record holders.

One of them was “Celebrity Eclipse”, the longest vessel ever to visit the port. Its length equals the length of 3 football fields and it is higher than 20-storey house. This cruise liner can accommodate maximum 3150 passengers and 1250 crew members on board.

It is expected this year even more cruise ships will visit Klaipe da, as till now already 52 vessels are registered to come and stop in the harbor. Respectively, new records are expected as well!

The Lithuanian word

for ‘thank you’ (Ačiū)

sounds like the

English sneeze word

‘Achoo!’

Visitors in Lithuania We arrived in Klaipe da late at night. The people were very welcoming and we were right away at ease. It was quite obvious that this country had been a part of the Soviet Union, with grey Soviet blocks here and there. I remember thinking „where are all the old buildings”? Then I re-membered that many buildings in Klaipe da had been demolished in the first and second World wars. In Iceland on the other hand we experi-enced an economic boost after WW2. When we went downtown we saw some beautiful old build-ings. The people are so friendly in Lithuania and they always greet you with a smile. The women are also so beautiful there! Klaipe da is also a shopping paradise for Icelanders and the shopping mall was enormous with many nice stores.

Hulda, Iceland

I really enjoyed our stay in Klaipe da, I en-joyed walking through the old town both during day and night. The soviet blocks are not pretty but they are being refur-bished with some added colour. The visit to Curonian spit was enjoyable, the wood

sculptures in Hill of Witches and the folklore they repre-sented were fascinating. The annual Neringa city birthday celebration with music and dance performed by the villagers felt a little like coming home. The village of Juodkrante , is quiet during winter but full of visitors during summer. The quiet village is charming though and is an ideal place to rest and practice your creative side without all the noise and speed of city life.

It was dark when we visited Palanga but we walked the pedestrian street to the pier

that was full of people fishing plaice from the Baltic Sea. The night was chilly, I won-der how they keep warm?

Sigrún, Iceland

Did you know ?

On 11 March 1990, the Supreme Council of the Republic of Lithuania adopted an Act on the Restoration of an Independent State of Lithuania after 46 years long occupation of Soviets. Iceland was the first country to recognize re-establishment of Lithuanian Independence (on 11 February 1991), Sweden and Estonia did that on 27 August 1991. More information can be found on the website of the Lithuanian parliament

There exists Karlskrona Square in Klaipe da Old Town. This town in the South of Sweden was the first from western world to offer its hand of brotherhood to Klaipe da,

which was at that time still struggling to free itself from Soviet occupation. Klaipe dians were extremely surprised to find out that this Swedish town, which earlier seemed so far away, is really only 349 kilometres away.

Old town of Klaipéda

Sigrún and Hulda from Iceland

Karlskrona Square in Klaipéda.

Meridianas on Dane river in Klaipéda.

Despite its location in Sweden`s less populated county Ha rjeda-len, Ha rjedalens Kulturcentrum became well-known as one of Swedens most progres-sive culture centers. It offers a fully equipped theatre concentrating on artistic events such as concerts, theatre, dance and exhibitions as well as educational project such as Ha rjedalens Summer Academy with internationally recognised artists. The latest project, an interactive sound path through the nature which strives for the goal to ex-plore and experiment with analog sound, is under development. Web: www.harjedalenskulturcentrum.com

NGO Loodi Manor Nature Centre was found-ed in spring 2013 by private initiative of five founding members. The Nature Centre is one part of the Loodi Learning and Visiting Centre that operates inside Loodi manor. The centre aims to organise seminars, events and training courses in environmen-tal education, sustainable development, traditional woodwork and natural building materials.

Website: www.loodi.ee

Austurbru was founded in 2012 by over 30 founding members, including municipalities, universities trade unions, colleges, and oth-er interested parties in Iceland. Austurbru advocates in the interest of inhabitants, communities, institutions and companies in East-Iceland. It provides a coordinated and interdisciplinary service related to economy, education and culture.

Website: www.austurbru.is

About the project partners Education, Research & Consultancy Center (ERCC) is not-for-profit, non-governmental organiza-tion located in Western Lithuania, Klaipe da city, and since year 2006 active in the fields of adult education, research and international projects. With the help of experienced staff and qualified experts we arrange placements for educational institutions from abroad, informal learning cours-es, provide guided tours and carry out international projects under Lifelong Learning, Nordplus and Erasmus+ programs both like partner and coordinating institution. The last projects are fo-cused on cultural and innovative tourism. One of ERCC aims is to struggle with this issue through the projects and discussions with stakeholders as well as informal learning courses for audiences working in the field of tourism.

Website: www.ercc.lt

News from partners Between March 5 and 8, the third issue of the folk music festival Ha rjedalspipan Revis-ited takes place at Ha rjedalens Kulturcen-trum in Lillha rdal. Ha rjedalspipan is an al-most forgotten shepherd flute that had been produced in Lillha rdal.

The 81st issue of the traditional Vasaloppet (Vasa race, cross-country skiing race) will again attract more than 40.000 participants from all over the world to Mora in Sweden on the first weekend in March.

The traditional carriage ride from Rot (Dalarna, Sweden) to Röros (Tröndelag, Norway) took place between February 3 and 17. About 20 carriages participated in the ride and they will meet more than 100 horses at the final station in Ro ros. https://vimeo.com/119075968

Winter tourism in the skiing resorts in northern Ha rjedalen is in full swing. Funa sfja llen, the biggest skiing resort in Scandinavia, includes more than 300km prepared racing tracks and attracts around 600.000 visitors every winter.

Mobile phone operator of Lithuania “Bite ” initiated innovative project named “Lithuania in Your Hands”. Connect to web-site www.lietuvatavodelne.lt from your personal computer, mobile phone or tablet and you can see amazing photos, time pan-orama and live broadcast from most beauti-ful places of Lithuania - capital city Vilnius, Kaunas, resorts of Nida, Palanga and

Druskininkai, Trakai Castle, Klaipe da har-bour, the biggest river of Lithuania - Nemu-nas. Since the start of the project, Septem-ber 2014, 200.000 people from 128 coun-tries watched in real time the most interest-ing places of Lithuania.

The 35th International Hanseatic Days take place in Estonia , Viljandi, 4.-7. June 2015. Hanseatic cities are gathering for their an-nual celebration with up to 80 towns from Iceland to Russia expected to take part in the festivities. For four days in June hanse-atic buzz turns a peaceful south-Estonian town into the centre of a magnificent medi-eval merchant world.

Mid-Atlantic trade show was held in Rey-kjaví k February 5.—7. This year instead of giving out pens, candy etc. East Iceland marketing office designed and printed a postcard. Instead of the most common landscape the picture of the card is a comic version of a reindeer. The card was a big success.

The postcard from East Iceland

Visitors in Lithuania Already the first meeting at Juodkrante on the Curonian Spit showed that all partners face the same challenges. This helped us to find very soon a common language by defining tourism and long-life learning programs in sparsely populated parts of different countries. The meeting in Liudvikas Re za Culture Centre was very constructive and productive, but showed also differences while talking about less populated places. While Ha rjedalen and East-Island seem to struggle with really small building and population density, Lithuania and Estonia present small towns not far from each other, which makes it possible for touristic attractions like HBH Juoza (in Ž ibininkai) to build bigger complexes which are even well visited during weekends beyond touristic main seasons. On the other hand all participating countries can be characterized by the tendency of their inhabitants to move to the capitals. We learned a lot about the history of Lithua-nia and visited also well-organized touristic destinations which struggle with seasonal tourism. The atmosphere of the meeting was very friendly, professionally organized and made us to look forward the next meeting in Sweden.” - Flavia Devonas, Sweden

Flavia from Sweden (right)

and our host Julija