The Thematic Route of Castles

The project Thematic Route of Castles aims to raise the touristic potential of the border areas of Satu Mare and Zakarpattya by developing a cross-border thematic route that promotes local culture and historical heritage using ICT technologies, exchanges of experiences and small infrastructure works. Tourism at borders lacks a common development strategy and tourist packages. The regions of Satu Mare and Zakarpattya are all rich in castles and mansion houses, some of them already rehabilitated, others in poor conditions, but all lacking visibility and attracting a low number of tourists. The creation of a joint cross-border thematic route represents a solution for bringing these cultural assets to the fore and develop the cross-border tourism that can contribute to the economic development of the border regions.
The main activities of the project can be summarized as being: INVEST, DEVELOP, PROMOTE AND COMMUNICATE, and include investments works at one of the castles included in the route, the development of the cross-border thematic route through a mobile phone application and AR, promotional activities (route maps, brochures, movies, social media page ) and communication activities (exchanges of experience). The project is a soft one with some small infrastructure components.
The main beneficiaries of the projects are tourists, while the final beneficiaires are the local communities included in the thematic route. The inovative character of the projects resides in the use of ICT to promote cross-border tourism and in the cross-border character of the thematic route, as rarely thematic routes have been created along the borders of Romania and Ukraine.