South baltic project SB MANTA

In order to create new sustainable tourism products for tourists, involving them in the management of natural and cultural heritage values ​​of the South Baltic region, seven partners from Lithuania, Poland and Germany prepared a project application and received funding from the 2021–2028 Interreg VI-A South Baltic Cooperation Programme for the joint project SB MANTA (South Baltic natural and cultural heritage assets management as Tourist Attraction), No. STHB.03.01-IP.01-0012/23-00.

The goal of the project - to create new kind of tourism product for people searching for places to experience unspoiled nature and show that South Baltic protected areas are such destinations. Participation in management processes, such as nature restoration and leisure by education may occur one of the most appreciable source of visitors satisfaction and should be developed and promotoed jointly by units responsible both for nature management and tourist development. Developing the management of protected areas as a tourism product would provide additional alternatives for tourists, create new sustainable tourist destinations and bring more benefits to local communities. This is in a line with South Baltic programme’s specific objective 2.1. “Increased development of the South Baltic area’s natural and cultural heritage assets into sustainable tourist destinations”. SB MANTA objectives: 1. Creation of the content of a tourism product based on the maintenance of protected areas 2. Development of a South Baltic cross-border tourist offer based on involvement of visitors in protected areas management. 3. International evaluation of trends and market for promotion of new tourist system in protected areas.

The project will aim to ensure that the institutions responsible for the management of natural and cultural heritage approve the developed model and thus expand and improve solutions to its management problems.

The total value of the SB MANTA project, which is being implemented from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2027, is 1,660,925.30 EUR, the project is financed by the European Regional Development Fund.

Project partners:

Lead Partner - Administration of Lithuania Minor Protected Areas (Lithuania);

Partner No. 1 - EUCC Baltic Office (Lithuania);

Partner No. 2 - West Pomeranian Voivodeship (Poland);

Partner No. 3 - Wolinki National Park (Poland);

Partner No. 4 – Słowiński National Park (Poland);

Partner No. 5 - EUCC – Coastal Union Germany (Germany);

Partner No. 6 - Curonian Spit National Park (Lithuania).

The project is financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the Interreg South Baltic Programme 2021–2027.

This article has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The content of this article is the sole responsibility of the Administration of Lithuania Minor Protected Areas. It can under no circumstances be taken to reflect the opinion of the European Union.