From June 17th to 21st, students of Tourism and Recreation as well as Tourism Management, together with Dr. Jolanta Rodzoś, Professor at UMCS (Dean of the Faculty of Earth Sciences and Spatial Management, Department of Socio-Economic Geography), and Dr. Andrzej Tucki (Department of Regional Geography and Tourism), participated in the international Erasmus+ BIP program "ROAD-BASED TOURISM ROUTES – paths to territorial cohesion, sustainable tourism, and heritage enhancement," which took place at the University of Coimbra (Portugal). The event was hosted by Professor Carlos Ferreira from the Department of Tourism Geography and his team.

The BIP program gathered a total of 30 participants from four universities (the others being Mid-Sweden University and Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi). The main theme was the aspects of developing and promoting a tourist product, such as a tourist route exemplified by Route2 (rotan2.pt) in central Portugal.

The program included theoretical issues presented by experts from the United States (Robert Fojtik from DMO Choose Chicago – Route66), Iceland (Eyrún Jenný and Þórný Barðadóttir from the Icelandic Tourism Research Centre – Ring Road), as well as field trips showcasing valuable experiences of stakeholders.

Student participation in the program aligns with the strategy of internationalizing education. It contributed to expanding knowledge about sustainable tourism development and regional cultural heritage management strategies, as well as deepening intercultural competencies.

Andrzej Tucki

Photo by author