Partners from Croatia, Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia met at the 1st Multilateral Walkshop and 3rd internal thematic meeting within the INSiGHTS project – \u201cIntegrated Slow, Green and Healthy Tourism Strategies\u201d. The meeting took place in Arandjelovac, Serbia on the 28th \u2013 30th June 2017 and was hosted by Regional Economic Development Agency for \u0160umadija and Pomoravlje from Kragujevac, Serbia.The focus of the walkshop was on good practices of promoting healthy lifestyle and eco-consciousness in tourism. The first evening partners experienced presentation of vineries and wine tasting during dinner with local products. This included a virtual presentation of the pilot territories, a promotional video of the tourist destinations of Arandjelovac and Topola and the landscapes of Sumadija and Pomoravlje, and also a promotional film \u201cSoulfood Serbia\u201d. On the second day partners visited the park of Bukovi\u010dka spa and received historical and cultural background information during a short guided tour. Partners also went to a local horse club in Arandjelovac and discussed the experience of hiking-nature sightseeing with the facilitators. They also visited Oplenac – the Royal Winery in Topola, which is an excellent example of presentation of local products to groups of tourists, and they saw the historical heritage of St George church and mausoleum of royal dynasty of Karadjordjevic.
\nDuring the official meetings partners discussed the progress of the work packages on Local Strategies, of the Status Quo reports and the next steps within the project. There was also a session for the local stakeholders within the walkshop organized by Regional Economic Development Agency for \u0160umadija and Pomoravlje from Kragujevac, Serbia. The director of the agency Nenad Popovi\u0107 presented the project and the regional situation in the field of sustainable tourism. There were also representatives of national institutions present at the event: Biljana Filipovi\u0107 from the Ministry of Ecology, Slobodan Petrovi\u010d from the Development agency Serbia and Aleksandar Denda from the Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications. Prof. Ulrike Pr\u00f6bstl-Haider from BOKU University from Vienna presented tourism concepts and pointed out the importance of unique and authentic tourist experiences in certain destinations.
\nThe first bilateral meeting in Plovdiv, Bulgaria took place in the middle of June. The area was visited by representatives of Regional Economic Development Agency for \u0160umadija and Pomoravlje from Kragujevac, Serbia. Within the \u201ccritical classroom\u201d partners analysed strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities of Plovdiv area and the region of \u0160umadija and Pomoravlje. The next bilateral study visit will take place in Slovenia in September 2017 and LAG Central Istria will host the next multilateral meeting in Pazin.<\/p>\n