ligatne
TRANSCRIPT
Good Practice Cases in Sustainable Tourism DestinationsLigatne village (Latvia)
ITEMS SECTIONS DESCRIPTION PICTURES
NAME OF THE ORGANIZATION SUBMITTINGTHIS PRACTICE CASE
NameInese Okonova
Contact [email protected]
Name (in EN) of the destination
Ligatne
Administrative Organizations and Country
Ligatne region local government
Tourism Organizations Culture and Tourism Centre of Ligatne
Surface7,4 km2
Resident population 1,000
Tourism Arrivals 170,000
Tourism nightsunknown
WHO Name of the leading organization
Culture and Tourism Centre of Ligatne
Websitewww.visitligatne.lv
WHY The reason for action 1815 Konrad Kyber and Justus Storch, 2 German tradesmen from Riga
came to Ligatne village and founded a Paper-Mill.
1890-ties factory is owned by the Mentzenforff family and an exemplary workers’ village and a developed social system is developed.
1960-ties industrialization in the USSR reaches its peak. 1 000 workers are employed in the mill
1990-ties USSR collapses, majority of factories in Latvia are going bankrupt, unemployment is growing, people are leaving towns and heading to the capital- Riga and abroad, the industrial village preserving its look from end of 19th Ct is undervalued, wooden architecture considered as old barracks
Issues and challenge Paper-Mill facing bankruptcy or major changes;
Village facing modernization or reconstruction and preservation; People facing moving to Riga, emigration or adoption to the new
environment Successful co-operation of local authority and private business Local community benefits from tourism development; nature
benefits from eco-friendly production
HOW 1. Owners of the Mill takes a decisive action and change the raw-material used in the production from wooden pulp to waste-paper moving to re-cycling .
1.1. The Mill gets involved in the tourism development allowing guided tours in the production and showing both the industrial heritage and also nature-friendly solutions of nowadays.
2. Municipality takes a decision to preserve the local industrial and cultural heritage and develop tourism as one of the priorities.
2.1. Major project, co-financed by ERDF is launched to build two tourism trails aimed to focus on cultural heritage of Paper-Mill
village;2.2. Tourism information centre is founded;2.3. Local people are trained to work as the guides;2.4. Marketing and public relation activities are commenced
RESULTS Benefits1) 10 local people getting additional income working as guides in
Ligatne village - Indra Ramāne (29)
mother of 4 years old daughter and 6 years old son, used to live in Latvian biggest resort town Jurmala, moved to Ligatne in 2009, works for tourism information for a half-time and is the best guide in Ligatne for children
- Edgars Viņķelis offspring of the Paper-Mill workers in 4th generation. Craftsman, demonstrates the wood-curving skills to the tourists of Ligatne and works as a guide.
- Rasma Vanaga (retired)Used to work as an economist in Paper-Mill, ended her career as the Deputy-Director of the Mill. Since 2006 works as a guide in Ligatne, the first person who understood the potential of the village as a tourism destination.
2) number of tourists visiting tourism information centre increased from 3 204 in 2010 to 11 459 in 2011 and 17 714 in 2012.
3) 2 new cafeterias opened, winery of local fruit and berry wines founded, 8 craftsmen selling souvenirs to the tourists, wood-working and eco-lifestyle park opened to the public
4) Paper-Mill of Ligatne continues to work successfully being the only working paper producing factory in Latvia and using only waste-paper as the raw-material.
5) 5. Together with other municipalities lying in the territory of the Gauja National Park a tourism cluster is founded and a new tourism brand «Enter Gauja» developed.
Recognition and Awards In 2011 Ligatne village wins the European Destinations of Excellence award.
Theme of the year: reconstruction of physical sites.
REFLECTION Multiplier effect and transferability
Efforts taken by the local government have given the local people trust that tourism will be supported and a chain of new services have been founded connected to the tourism
Lessons learned and critical success factors
Success of each individual player in such a small community depends on the efforts of others: if someone is successful, we all are winners, if someone fails, we all are losing. Only a common strategy aimed to reach long-term goals is going to be successful!