People Powered Tourism Kick-off: we’ve officially launched our project in Szeged!

We are off to a powerful start! On 6–7 May 2025, the People Powered Tourism project — representing 14 project partners and 12 associated partners from 10 countries — officially launched in the vibrant city of Szeged, Hungary. Nearly 40 participants came together for two days of sharing, learning and planning. The energy was high, the conversations were inspiring, and the motivation to co-create a new kind of tourism was truly tangible.

Day 1

The event kicked off with introductions and open discussions about partner expectations and ambitions for this exciting 3-year journey (April 2025 – March 2028). After a short overview of the project’s objectives, expected results, and intervention logic, the spotlight turned to what makes this initiative unique: the visitor economy.

During the Transnational Masterclass, participants explored what it really means to put communities at the heart of tourism. We dove into key concepts and draft deliverables:

🔹 The joint methodology for capacity building, mapping and community training

🔹 A benchmark study on community-sourced visitor economy services (including an upcoming study visit to Vienna!)

The day continued with an interactive workshop focused on defining principles for selecting pilot areas, collecting local practices, and exchanging perspectives on community-driven tourism.

And to wrap it all up — a guided walking tour of Szeged, the City of Sunshine… which, ironically, greeted us with clouds! Still, the weather couldn’t dampen our enthusiasm or team spirit.

Day 2

The second day zoomed in on the project’s legal and operational framework, including budget monitoring, flexibility rules, and reporting schedules. We also touched on communication tasks and walked through the structure of our planned activities and outputs.

What’s next?

The kick-off confirmed it: we have an incredibly experienced and motivated partnership ready to collaborate across borders, share ideas, and bring the visitor economy to life in meaningful, community-centred ways.

We’re now setting the foundation for the pilots, tools and roadmaps that will shape a stronger, greener and more inclusive tourism future in the Danube Region.