Virtual 3D tours in the border region by CBCTours project

In the current economic and tourist environment, the development of quality tourism related to the local cultural heritage is of particular importance. The CBC Tours project (registration number: SKHU/1801/1.1/001) implemented within the framework of the Interreg V-A Slovakia-Hungary Cooperation Programme will contribute to this endeavor by creating a cross-border development including an integrated and interactive tourism platform to enable tourists visiting the territory to take virtual tours of the region’s famous sites. The aim of the project is to involve non-profit organisations and small and medium-sized enterprises in the Slovak-Hungarian border regions in order to increase the attractiveness of the border area by creating a service sustainable in the long term. 

Due to the travel difficulties caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, the consortium implementing the project has decided to inform the Slovak and Hungarian regional press about the progress of the project via an online press conference instead of the traditional press event. The unusual press event took place on May 26, 2020. 

Multilingualism and interactivity
The consortium implementing the project (comprising of two Hungarian and one Slovak SME) has created an integrated tourism platform and application to provide those interested with organised, easily accessible and multilingual (Hungarian, Slovak and English) information about the region’s natural and cultural heritage sites, as well as related services and businesses with the help of 3D virtual tours and additional interactive data. On the https://cbc.virtualtours.city/ webpage 100 interesting and attractive touristic sites are already available from the Hungarian side of the border and 100 points of interest from the Slovak side of the border are currently being digitally photographed in 3D to make them also suitable for virtual walks on the platform.

The mobile application to be created within the framework of the project will help visitors to the area during their trip. To facilitate the accessibility of the application, 200 QR codes will be placed near border crossings and frequented tourist sites.
The project offers two important advantages over the currently available tourist information resources. One of them is multilingualism (Slovak, Hungarian and English) and the other is interactivity. By making it easier for visitors to access more accurate information in their own mother language through the project's innovative solutions, the number of visitors to the area for touristic purposes is expected to increase. The consortium partners are confident that the CBC Tours project will further strengthen tourism in the area and that many people from the region will visit the interesting sights on the other side of the border, discovering the experiences at their fingertips. In addition to the touristic benefits, the project implemented can also promote the development of social and economic cooperation in the border regions, as well as contribute to the creation of new jobs. 
The Cross-border HU-SK virtual tours - CBC Tours (registration number: SKHU/1801/1.1/001) will be implemented in 16 months, between 01.06.2019. and 30.09.2020. The maintenance period is 3 years and the total budget is EUR 377,894 out of which the ERDF contribution is 85%.

Contact and further information:

Krisztián Huzsvai
Project manager
SZSZBMFÜ Szabolcs-Szatmár-Bereg Megyei
Területfejlesztési és Környezetgazdálkodási
Ügynökség Nonprofit Kft.
H-4400 Nyíregyháza, Benczúr tér 7.
e-mail 

János Kovács-Gajdács 
General Manager
One PR Tanácsadó Kft
2451 Ercsi, Rákóczi út 62.
e-mail
web: www.oneonone.hu

More about the project: 
http://www.skhu.eu/funded-projects/cross-border-hu-sk-virtual-tours
http://cbctours.com/