On March 26th, 2025, the Association LAG Danube Delta, hosted the Living Lab Danube Delta in Tulcea, aiming to foster dialogue among key regional stakeholders and promote sustainable development strategies for the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve (DDBR). The event served as a platform to co-design, co-create, and co-validate innovative approaches for the future of Underwater Cultural and Creative Sustainable Tourism (UCCST) at both policy and operational levels.
The Living Lab gathered 30 participants representing all four core stakeholder groups—policy and governance, industry and tourism businesses, academia and research, and civil society—to collaboratively explore the region’s development priorities and emerging tourism strategies. The Romanian team opened the event by presenting TOURAL’s objectives, activities, and insights gathered from local stakeholders through an online questionnaire.
Structured discussions were facilitated using a range of participatory tools and knowledge-transfer techniques developed by the Task Leader in coordination with the pilot region leader. These tools were designed to ensure that pre-identified priorities were validated against local realities and to enable participants to shape actionable, community-driven solutions for sustainable tourism in the Delta.
The opening session also featured key presentations by local organizations actively shaping the Delta’s cultural and environmental landscape:
- The Association Ivan Patzaichin – Mila 23 showcased its efforts to transform a small fishing village into a cultural hub with the creation of the Ivan Patzaichin Memorial Museum (muzeu.ivanpatzaichin.ro). The association also emphasized the need for public consultation in the drafting of the new DDBR Management Plan.
- A representative from the Businessmen’s Association in the Danube Delta (APTDD) highlighted tourism as a central economic driver for local communities while warning of potential risks under current pressures.
- The Association Discover Jurilovca (visitjurilovca.ro) detailed their support for local entrepreneurs and initiatives to preserve multicultural traditions across the Delta region.
Three core priorities emerged from the Living Lab’s interactive group work, each aligned with specific tourism development verticals and future-oriented visions for the Danube Delta. The first group focused on the protection of natural resources from the influx of tourists, under the title “DANUBE DELTA – NATURE & RESPONSIBILITY”, linked to the Nature Heritage Tourism (NHT) vertical. The second priority addressed the extension of the tourism season to promote year-round travel, envisioned as “(DANUBE) DELTA – 4 SEASONS (BACK TO ROOTS)”, and connected to Cultural & Creative Tourism (CCT) and Silver Tourism (ST). The third group emphasized the development of cooperation networks between public and private stakeholders, with the goal of fostering integrated planning and communication, framed under “DANUBE DELTA – SUSTAINABLE TOURISM (THROUGH COOPERATION AND COMMUNICATION)”, also aligned with the Nature Heritage Tourism (NHT) vertical.
The Danube Delta Living Lab reaffirmed TOURAL’s mission to empower communities, protect cultural and natural heritage, and co-create tourism models that serve both people and planet. It showcased the strength of transnational collaboration in identifying scalable, locally rooted strategies that balance environmental responsibility and socio-economic resilience.
