Bascil Project

Since January 2023, the Pomorskie Tourist Board has been a partner in the project Bascil – Innovative Solutions for the Rural Food Production Sector to Diversify into Sustainable Culinary Tourism Services co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) under the Baltic Sea Region Interreg Programme 2021-2027.

Small rural food entrepreneurs have experienced severe financial losses due to the pandemic. Now they are facing the challenges of higher production costs due to rising energy prices and inflation. These factors have had a huge impact on the competitiveness of the local food production sector in the Baltic region.

According to statistics compiled by UNWTO – the World Tourism Organization – there is a rapid increase in the popularity of culinary tourism around the world. The people of the Baltic Sea region themselves are also increasingly interested in local products, food and culinary tourism. To keep up with this trend, there has been a demand in the tourism market for more attractive and varied culinary tourism offers and services. In Europe, the Baltic Sea region still remains little known as a destination worth visiting for its culinary tourist attractions. The active participation of food producers in the tourism industry is an opportunity to make their offerings more visible and attractive to visitors.

Project objective

The goal of the BASCIL project is to develop rural culinary tourism services in the Baltic Sea region and improve the competitiveness of local food producers by diversifying their business activities in the tourism industry.

International cooperation

It is important to gather and analyze existing information and best practices in the region. Then there will be an opportunity to create sustainable, comprehensive solutions to minimize various risks to local food producers and their networks in the Baltic Sea region. By solving similar problems and conducting a combined analysis of different opportunities, strengths and weaknesses, a synergistic effect is achieved that allows for the development of common (but modifiable as needed) solutions for these target groups.

The results of the project are generally accessible and applicable to a wider group of food producers interested in diversifying their business activities. Pilot regions and networks from each participating country are part of the project.

From the Pomorskie region, the Local Action Group Slupia River Basin Partnership participates as a pilot region.

Contact person: Marcin Heron

m.heron@pds.org.pl, +48 608 506 899