The main goal of the project was to test different forms of cooperation between municipalities, NGOs and businesses in the sub-region of Kotor Bay.

Emphasis was placed on joint initiatives in the field of cultural tourism.

Kotor Bay has been placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list and is regarded as one of the most beautiful bays in the world. However, a concerted and inclusive approach to promoting cultural tourism in the Bay is absent. The local authorities, the NGOs and business partners identified three activities (i.e. pilot projects) around which trust and joint implementation capacity was built. Partners were assisted in identifying sustainable and cost-effective initiatives, which provided a basis for future collaboration.

The project was implemented from January to December 2007.

The municipalities of Kotor, Herceg Novi and Tivat formed working groups to provide official data about: the inventory of existing services in Boka Kotorska in the sphere of cultural tourism; lists of cultural and natural monuments on the territories of the municipalities; and other data that were necessary for the realisation of the three pilot projects. The active involvement of NGOs in this process encouraged a pluralistic form of local governance, in line with EU standards.

The project initiated inter-municipal cooperation in terms of recognising the tourism potential of cultural heritage. The results of the cooperation can be summarised in three outputs (pilot projects):

• A website of cultural events in Boka Kotorska: http://www.kulturaboka.info
• A map of cultural and natural monuments in Boka Kotorska
• A lecture/debate “Branding of Boka Kotorska”.

Coordination between the partners was provided by Expeditio. Representatives from the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation provided valuable advice and expertise in the overall process. The Royal Netherlands Embassy provided funding.