20-3-2025

Wild Forest Tourism – Interreg Central Europe project

The Wild Forest Tourism project is an Interreg Central Europe initiative aimed at developing sustainable tourism in wild forests across Europe.

It brings together seven partner organizations from five countries to create a common strategy for nature-based tourism while ensuring biodiversity protection and local economic development.

Project Partners and Pilot Regions

The project focuses on four pilot regions:

• Kočevje, Slovenia
• Poloniny National Park, Slovakia
• Gesäuse National Park, Austria
• Northern Făgăraș, Romania

These regions were chosen due to their valuable primary forests and economic potential for sustainable tourism development.

ERA’s role

The European Hiking Federation (ERA) is an associated partner in the project, contributing through:

• Knowledge sharing: Promoting best practices in sustainable hiking tourism.
• Trail development & quality standards: Ensuring high-quality and responsible hiking experiences.
• Communication & sissemination: Engaging ERA’s European-wide network to raise awareness and share project results.

Project status

The project application was submitted in December 2024 and has successfully passed the formal and administrative compliance check. It is now in the financial capacity assessment phase, with final funding decisions expected in 2025.