Matej Bel University (UMB) joins a new Horizon Europe project – SECreTour
Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica is part of the SECreTour project, funded by the Horizon Europe programme. This project aims to promote sustainable development in peripheral and rural areas through cultural tourism. It involves collaboration with a total of 11 partners and 8 pilot projects from across Europe, including Slovakia.
Through collaboration with universities, regional parks, non-profit organisations, and businesses from countries such as Ireland, Denmark, France, Spain, Switzerland, Italy, Hungary, Slovakia, Albania, and Slovenia, SECreTour seeks to strengthen local communities and encourage a fair, creative, and sustainable approach to regional development.
The project’s objective is to introduce new perspectives for sustainable development in rural and peripheral regions while demonstrating the transformative power of tourism in fostering economic growth, preserving culture, and building communities. The priority is to support local communities, diversify their income, and raise the visibility of rural and peripheral areas. SECreTour focuses on preventing the negative impacts of "overtourism" and promoting alternative tourism business models through the Fair, Creative, and Sustainable Tourism (FaCS-Tourism) approach, developed in partnership with Heritage Communities.
UMB is not new to this area of research. SECreTour builds on the completed Horizon 2020 project INCULTUM, in which MBU participated from 2021 to 2024.
UMB is engaged in SECreTour with its pilot project, “Renaissance of Mining-Related Cultural Heritage and Heritage Communities in Central Slovakia.” This project aims to create a unique business model for the cultural pilgrimage route, the Barbora Route, which connects significant mining sites in Central Slovakia. It also seeks to encourage the development of new tourism products and services through a hackathon organised in collaboration with the Banská Bystrica Self-Governing Region and the Development Agency of Banská Bystrica. This pilot project builds upon MBU's previous activities in the INCULTUM project, specifically the pilot project "Mining Treasures of Central Slovakia.” The objective of the previous pilot project was to establish a participative digital platform, "Mining Treasures of Central Slovakia" (www.banickepoklady.eu), which maps and promotes the mining cultural heritage of the region.
Beyond the pilot project, UMB leads a work package within SECreTour focused on the exploitation and sustainability of project outcomes.
The project launched with a “kick-off meeting” at MBU in Banská Bystrica
The SECreTour kick-off meeting, organised by Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica from 6–8 June 2024, established a strong foundation for future collaboration and the successful implementation of project activities.
The first day of the SECreTour kick-off meeting was dedicated to intensive working sessions among consortium members. Discussions focused on project management, collaboration and networking between partners, as well as communication and dissemination activities. The individual pilot projects to be implemented within the SECreTour project were also introduced.
Photo source: Darina Rojíková
The second day began with a tour of Banská Bystrica, where consortium members had the opportunity to learn about the history and culture of the city. The group then moved on to Špania Dolina, where they explored the village and its mining heritage. The afternoon programme featured an interactive working session using an intervision approach, focusing on building heritage communities and applying innovative business models to support cultural development and cultural tourism in peripheral and rural areas.
Photo source: Darina Rojíková
On the final day of the kick-off meeting, project partners visited Banská Štiavnica, where they explored the rich cultural heritage of the town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, gaining a comprehensive view of the pilot project being implemented by MBU within this project.
Photo source: Darina Rojíková
This project is supported by the European Union's Horizon Europe programme under grant agreement no. 101132584.
