[Mirco Bordin]

Nuovo Circondario Imolese (NCI) is an intermunicipal public authority located in the Emilia-Romagna Region, within the metropolitan area of Bologna, Italy. NCI coordinates Tourism Development, European projects and joint territorial development activities on behalf of the municipalities of the Imola area.

NCI is interested in joining an existing consortium under the 7th Interreg Euro-MED Call for Sustainable Tourism transfer projects.

Our main areas of interest are:
sustainable management of tourism flows linked to major cultural, sporting and music events;
smart visitor-flow monitoring and data-driven destination management;
sustainable mobility, accessibility and safety during major events;
reduction of the environmental footprint of tourism and events, including energy and water consumption, waste prevention and circular solutions;
sustainable management and enhancement of major event venues, including the Imola Motor Racing Circuit and the Music Park Arena;
slow, cycling and outdoor tourism, particularly in the Santerno Valley and in the rural and hilly areas surrounding Imola;
integrated valorisation of natural, cultural and landscape heritage;
climate-resilient tourism and improved connections between urban, rural and natural destinations.

[Ognjen Radišić]

Dear Mr Bordin,

I am reaching out on behalf of the City of Teslić (Bosnia and Herzegovina) to express our interest in exploring a partnership under the ongoing Interreg Euro-MED Multi-Programme Mechanism Coordinated Call on Sustainable Tourism.

The City of Teslić is a municipality in northern-central Bosnia and Herzegovina with approximately 38,000 inhabitants and a distinctive territorial profile comprising an urban centre surrounded by numerous dispersed rural settlements, mountain landscapes and valuable natural assets. Tourism is one of the key drivers of our local economy, with particular strengths in spa and wellness tourism, rural tourism, mountain tourism and outdoor recreation. Accordingly, the development of a sustainable, resilient and environmentally responsible tourism sector is one of the strategic priorities of our municipal Development Strategy.

Over the past years, the City of Teslić has actively supported sustainable tourism development through initiatives such as Via Dinarica (Phases I and II), Eco Food Tour, and other projects focused on promoting natural and cultural heritage, strengthening local tourism businesses and improving tourism infrastructure.

We have extensive experience in implementing international projects in cooperation with organisations such as the European Investment Bank, Czech Development Agency, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), UNDP and USAID. Furthermore, Teslić is currently a partner in the Interreg Euro-MED project WATERVILL – Innovative solutions for enhancing village water supply and addressing water scarcity in resilient rural and mountainous areas, where we collaborate with partners from across the Mediterranean, including the Polytechnic University of Valencia. We also participate in the NetZeroCities initiative as a Mission-Minded City and are a mentee city within the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI). These experiences have strengthened our capacity to transfer, adapt and capitalise on European good practices while working effectively in international partnerships.

We see particularly strong complementarities between your priorities and our current strategic initiatives. We share a common interest in promoting slow, cycling and outdoor tourism, strengthening sustainable connections between urban, rural and natural destinations, and reducing the environmental footprint of tourism through climate-resilient and resource-efficient approaches. We believe that cooperation between an Italian and a Western Balkan municipality would provide an excellent opportunity to demonstrate how successful Interreg Euro-MED solutions can be transferred and adapted across different territorial and governance contexts.

Furthermore, sustainable tourism is closely linked with the implementation of our Sustainable Energy and Climate Action Plan (SECAP), where tourism development is connected with climate adaptation, sustainable mobility, energy efficiency and the protection of natural resources. Through our participation in the Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI), we are also strengthening our local circular governance framework and exploring the introduction of circular business models among tourism operators, with a focus on resource efficiency, waste prevention, sustainable value chains and reducing the environmental footprint of tourism activities. We believe these ongoing initiatives strongly complement your objectives related to climate-resilient tourism and environmentally sustainable destination management.

Teslić’s distinctive territorial profile offers an excellent demonstration area for validating these approaches. The combination of a compact urban centre, dispersed rural settlements, and a diverse tourism offer creates favourable conditions for testing integrated solutions that combine sustainable tourism, climate adaptation, circular economy and low-carbon mobility.

This would provide valuable evidence for the transferability of project results to other rural and mountainous destinations across the Mediterranean and the Western Balkans.

The cooperation between an Italian public authority and the City of Teslić would demonstrate the transferability of successful Mediterranean practices across different territorial and governance contexts.

We would greatly welcome the opportunity to discuss potential areas of cooperation and explore how the City of Teslić could contribute to your consortium.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration.

Kind regards,

Ognjen Radišić
City of Teslić
Department for Local Economic Development and EU Integration
Investors Cooperation Officer
📧 ognjen.radisic@gradteslic.com

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