From a Small Danube Village to an International Audience: Kóspallag Featured by Euronews

Some stories begin long before the cameras arrive.

Earlier this year, we have reported about the small Hungarian village of Kóspallag marking the launch of the People Powered Tourism project's pilot action series. Hosted around the pilot developed by project partner BURST, the visit brought together project partners from Slovenia, Ukraine and Hungary, alongside tourism experts and influencers, to explore how authentic rural traditions, community knowledge and nature-based experiences can become the foundation of sustainable tourism development.

Only a few months later, these very same experiences reached an international audience.

The internationally renowned broadcaster Euronews selected Kóspallag as one of the highlights of its Grand Voyager – Exploring Budapest programme. After discovering Hungary's vibrant capital, presenter Lilly Douse travelled beyond the city to experience a different side of the country – one shaped by forests, craftsmanship and local communities. The programme features several locations closely connected to the pilot reviewed during the peer visit, including wild food foraging, an organic garden and a traditional basket-weaving workshop.

The filming and local co-ordination were organised by our project partner BURST together with Humtour, whose close collaboration with local actors helped bring Kóspallag's unique story to life on screen. Their work demonstrates how committed local partnerships can transform authentic community experiences into internationally recognised tourism assets.

For the People Powered Tourism project, this is exactly what success looks like.

Our mission is not only to develop innovative pilot actions, but to empower local communities to take ownership of them, ensuring that the experiences created during the project continue to thrive long after the project has ended. Sustainable visitor economy development means that local people are able to maintain, promote and further develop these services independently, creating lasting benefits for their communities.

Seeing Kóspallag featured by Euronews is an encouraging example of this ambition in practice. It shows how a pilot action can generate genuine momentum beyond the project itself, with local experiences continuing to attract interest, inspire visitors and gain international visibility through the commitment of local people.

If you would like to see the story for yourself, watch the Grand Voyager – Exploring Budapest episode by Euronews, where Kóspallag appears as one of the programme's memorable rural destinations.

https://www.euronews.com/travel/2026/07/15/grand-voyager-exploring-budapest