News Archive

All-inclusive regional cooperation and Common Regional Market deliver results
21 Oct 2022

Berlin/Sarajevo – The Western Balkans (WB) Foreign Ministers approved three regional agreements - on Freedom of Movement with Identity Cards, on Recognition of Higher Education Qualifications, and on Recognition of Professional Qualifications for Doctors of Medicine, Dentists and Architects ...


Bregu: Support of Western Balkan citizens to regional cooperation remains stable at 76%
24 Jun 2022

Brussels – “While many things change, our public and business perceptions surveys remain a truthful source of sentiments across the region. At times, the results surprise us, sometimes they serve as a wake-up call, while on other occasions they confirm that our efforts are not in ...


Bregu: As long as we continue to subscribe to dialogue, compromise and cooperation, we invest in long-term stability, security and prosperity
09 Jun 2022

Thessaloniki – “Under the political guidance of SEECP and in consultations with all relevant actors and stakeholders, RCC identified those gaps in which the region should invest with technical as well as political capital. These all fall under the category of sustainable development, ...


Champion of Regional Cooperation to round off 14th RCC Annual Meeting
08 Jun 2022

Sarajevo/Thessaloniki – Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is to hold its 14th Annual Meeting on Thursday, 9 June in Thessaloniki. RCC Secretary General Majlinda Bregu will present the RCC Annual Report and major accomplishments and results of the organisation in the past year while putting ...


Bregu: Removing barriers is the first step in positioning Western Balkans at the world tourism map 
12 May 2022

Tirana – “Tourism has a vast potential as a major catalyst for job creation and a driving force for economic growth and development especially for tourism dependent regions like ours. In 2019 more than 12 million people visited Western Balkans, which brought us a profit of 7.2 billion ...


RCC to host Western Balkans Ministerial Conference on Tourism Development
11 May 2022

Tourism has a great potential to accelerate progress and transform threats into opportunities



16 Jun 2021

Antalya – “Last year, ruled by the pandemic has definitely showcased the extent of our interconnectivity and interdependency and demonstrated that in cooperating, we boost our strengths and resilience. It is clear that regional socio-economic integration is crucial for regional ...


Western Balkans endorses Tirana Declaration to Support Tourism in the Region
08 Apr 2021

Sarajevo/Tirana – Ministers and representatives of the six Western Balkans (WB) governments endorsed the Tirana Declaration on supporting sustainable tourism recovery and growth in the region, at the high-level regional conference marking the finalisation of the Regional Cooperation Council ...


Tirana Declaration endorsement to mark the finalisation of RCC’s Tourism Development and Promotion project
06 Apr 2021

Sarajevo, Tirana – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and its Triple P Tourism Project are organising a 2-day Regional Conference - Tourism as a Key to Sustainable Development which will kick off on 7 April marking the finalisation of the RCC’s EU funded Triple P Tourism Development ...


Bregu: 77% of Western Balkans citizens agree that the relations in the region are better than a year ago
11 Mar 2021

Sarajevo/Tirana – “The months since our last meeting in October have been difficult with the onset of new Covid-19 waves and new variants of the virus turning things topsy-turvy with a downward spiralling. In terms of regional cooperation, the big good news was the success of the ...


Adapting Tourism Products for New Priority Markets webinars
05 Mar 2021

Elite Travel Group in association with RCC Triple P – Tourism Development and Promotion Project funded by the EU started a series of free webinars on 3rd March 2020 aiming to provide a rapid response for the post-pandemic Western Balkan tourism sector to restart.


Bregu: Futourismo is a new hope to help our region recover its tourism
02 Mar 2021

Tirana/Sarajevo – Seven teams from the Western Balkans: •    Guidi for app Veni, Vidi, Guidi  •    BIB for 'Be in Balkan' Mobile Application,  •    Digital Clinic for e-Health Tourism •   ...


Six Western Balkans projects aimed at helping region’s tourism to be awarded 15.000 EUR each, at a ceremony tomorrow
01 Mar 2021

Sarajevo/Tirana – On 3 February 2021, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and its Triple P Tourism Project launched the 1st regional FUTOURISMO competition, seeking innovative digital solutions that will help mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the heavily affected ...


RCC launches FUTOURISMO, regional competition to boost tourism in the Western Balkans
03 Feb 2021

Sarajevo - The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) and its EU funded Tourism Project are organising the first Western Balkans FUTOURISMO competition, seeking innovative digital solutions that will help mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in the heavily affected sector of tourism. 


RCC: Supporting Western Balkans tourism through art
05 Jan 2021

Sarajevo - The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) nurtures a beautiful blossom in its midst, with a substance more resilient than any form we try to give to our incentives, the project that promotes tourism, the natural beauties and unique art of our blessed countries.



16 Jul 2020

Sarajevo – Miron Lukač on behalf of Portal World Team from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albana Mucaj on behalf of the Kallz Training Center Team from Albania, and Dritan Mollanji on behalf of Symmetric Team from Albania were awarded for their best innovative solutions for Smart Tourism, Digital ...



15 Jul 2020

Sarajevo -   1st Regional BALKATHON ends tomorrow, 16 July 2020, with selection of the 3 best innovative digital solutions out of 88 applicants from the Western Balkans, at the final online session.



25 Jun 2020

Tirana/Sarajevo/Prishtina – The two meetings have been held today within the South East European Cooperation Process (SEECP) - the meeting of the SEECP Ministers of Foreign Affairs and the RCC Annual Meeting, which RCC co-organised with the outgoing Kosovo SEECP Chairmanship-in-Office ...



24 Jun 2020

Sarajevo – “The regional cooperation continues to grow in prominence with an overwhelming majority of citizens supportive of its role in improving the political, economic and security situation in their home economies - 77%, and 65% of them believes that what brings WB citizens ...



23 Jun 2020

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) will present 2020 edition of Balkan Barometer on Wednesday 24 June 2020. This annual public and business opinion survey of the RCC examines the perception and expectations on life and work, prevalent socio-economic and political trends & ...



08 Jun 2020

Sarajevo – “These are very difficult times for the Western Balkans’ tourism as the consequences of the global corona virus pandemic took the highest toll on travel and tourism industries. For our region it is especially important to find the ways to support these industries and help them ...



18 May 2020

18th May is International Museum Day and today we are coming together to celebrate the history, art and cultural heritage throughout the museums in the Western Balkans. Museums around the world have closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, meanwhile their virtual tours are still open and ...



14 May 2020

Sarajevo – “For all its aggressiveness, the COVID-19 crisis also offers glimmers of hope. It has connected Western Balkans even more, this time in a fight against an invisible enemy. It has persuaded us that cooperation should be resilient. It has created a common awareness that ...



06 May 2020

Sarajevo/Tirana/Zagreb - Now, almost 4 years after we initiated the work on Regional Economic Area (REA) the region is ready to embark on the next phase of deepening regional economic cooperation assure the WB6 economies to have ownership first, and bringing the region closer to the EU internal ...



18 Apr 2020

Sarajevo – “As this pandemic keeps billions of people at home, one sector is already feeling the pinch - tourism.  One in five booked trips to Western Balkans planned for 2020 is cancelled. And this makes situation notoriously difficult, knowing that tourism contributes to 10.2% of ...



04 Mar 2020

Sarajevo – “With the award of the eight new grants to be implemented over the next six months throughout the Western Balkans, we have reached the total number of 36 tourism development and promotion grants, which well exceeds the originally set target to have some 30 development ...



08 Jan 2020

RCC’s Women Empowerment - WE- campaign continues featuring remarkable women from the Western Balkans and brings you Uta Ibrahimi - “At the beginning they told me climbing was for men and I did a lot of work to prove them wrong and change that mentality. You can do the same, just listen ...



02 Dec 2019

SARAJEVO – As the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) implemented and EU funded Tourism Development and Promotion Project enters its final stage, the RCC published the 3rd Call for Proposals for the award of tourism development grants in the Western Balkans. The total value of the call is ...



22 Nov 2019

Durres – “Today, with presenting the results of the completed 12 and awarding 16 new grants for the tourism development and promotion in the Western Balkans, we are showing you a part of the success story from this region, and it is not a success of policy-making or GDP but of the people. ...



08 Nov 2019

Non-governmental organisations from Albania, Kosovo* and Serbia joined today Via Dinarica regional coordination structure during a meeting organised by the RCC implemented and EU funded Tourism Development and Promotion Project in Tirana.



07 Nov 2019

It is 11 o’clock on an idle Monday and about to start raining in a tiny village of Rekë e Allagës in Rugova Mountain, all green with pine trees. Fetije Nikiqi is well under way to prepare cheese pie in a wooden stove while Hozefa Indorewala looks to the sky from the porch thinking just how ...



10 Jun 2019

SARAJEVO – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC), under its Tourism Development and Promotion EU funded project, launched today the second in a row grant call for projects developing the tourism offer in the Western Balkans. While the grants scheme totals EUR 1.62 million, this second tranche ...



08 Jun 2019

PEJE/PEČ  - Community Development Fund, beneficiary of the RCC implemented and EU funded tourism development grant scheme, organize today a FAM trip for tour operators and media to inaugurate 6 newly developed sections of Via Dinarica trail in Kosovo* connecting it with the trail portions ...



07 Jun 2019

PODGORICA - A new attraction for hikers of Via Dinarica’s White Trail passing through Tara River Canyon in Montenegro was presented today in Podgorica. 



07 Jun 2019

ZUBIN POTOK - A brand new regional hiking trail running across Mokra Gora Mountain from Montenegro, across Kosovo* to Serbia was inaugurated today in Zubin Potok. The trail was developed by the Institute for Territorial Economic Development – InTER through an RCC implemented and EU funded ...



06 Jun 2019

TIRANA – Stunningly beautiful nature of the Accursed Mountains settled between Albania, Kosovo* and Montenegro just got its cultural edge. From now on, colourful legends, verbal history, songs, dances, crafts and cuisine of local communities living in remote mountainous villages are going ...



05 Jun 2019

NOVI SAD – With the summer at our door, the Western Balkans cultural tourism offers just got richer. EXIT Foundation, a beneficiary of the RCC implemented and EU funded tourism development grant scheme and a winner of the RCC’s champion of regional cooperation award, launched today in Novi ...



05 Jun 2019

DANILOVGRAD - Danilovgrad Municipality, through an RCC provided and EU funded tourism development grant, has revived three fortresses in three Western Balkans economies. 



30 May 2019

Subotica – The latest Western Balkans tourism attraction – a 500 kilometres long horseback riding route running from Vojvodina in the north to Hercegovina in the south – was inaugurated today in Subotica. 



18 May 2019

Skopje - Starting today, visitors of the Skopje Old Town, Čaršija, will be able to experience it in a completely new way. Coming to their service is the mobile application – Skopje Gems - that provides seven guided cultural tours through Čaršija and takes visitors to the doorsteps of ...



14 May 2019

SARAJEVO - Among the Western Balkans cultural tourism routes that the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)’s Tourism Development and Promotion project is currently developing, is the so called Balkan Monumental Trail that encompasses region’s iconic World War II (WWII) monuments. 



10 May 2019

Sarajevo – The time has come for the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) to announce the winners of its #looking4summer photo/video contest featuring summer beauties of the South East Europe (SEE), which were selected in a joined excercise of Instagram and Facebook users and the RCC crew. ...



07 May 2019

SARAJEVO - Sarajevo Meeting of Cultures (SMOC), beneficiary of the RCC implemented and EU funded Tourism Development and Promotion Grant Scheme, presented today in Sarajevo a new regional tourism route based on cultural diversity of the Western Balkans. 



29 Apr 2019

Brussels – For the past few days Brussels replaced its political foretoken as a European political centre and became a hub for Western Balkan art and culture. The 13th edition of Balkan Trafik! Festival (BTF), which took place 24-28 April, promoted the best of the Western Balkans (WB) and ...



26 Apr 2019

SARAJEVO – 13th edition of the Balkan Trafik! Festival which promotes cultures of the South East Europe through theatre, literature, cinema, music, graphic arts, gastronomy, street art, and workshops is taking place in Brussels from 24 to 28 April 2019.



25 Apr 2019

Belgrade – Planning of most viable itineraries along the two new Western Balkans cultural routes that are currently under development was the main topic discussed by the representatives of tourism agencies and tour operators from the region, at the meeting organized by the Regional Cooperation ...



19 Apr 2019

BELGRADE - Danube Competence Center (DCC), beneficiary of the RCC Tourism Development and Promotion Project’s grant scheme, funded by the European Union, introduced yesterday in Belgrade the new and upcoming Western Balkans branch of the Roman Emperors and Danube Wine Route’s called the ...



12 Mar 2019

Berlin – Over the last five days, 19 tour operators from the Western Balkans promoted the regional tourism offer at a joint Western Balkans – Powered by RCC.int stand at the world’s leading travel trade show, ITB Berlin, which gathers some 10,000 exhibitors and over 100,000 visitors.



04 Mar 2019

Utrecht – Over the last three days, ten tour operators from the Western Balkans presented the best of regional adventure tourism offer at the Fiets en Wandelbeurs fair at Jaarbeurs in Utrecht, Netherlands, within the Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) EU-funded, Tourism Development ...



22 Feb 2019

Belgrade – The RCC’s Tourism Development and Promotion Project introduced today the three new Western Balkans cultural routes and presented the development work done by the three tourism grants recipients at the largest international tourism fair in the South East European – IFT Belgrade.



06 Dec 2018

VIENNA – The South East Europe Tourism Expert Group (TEG) endorsed a joint plan establishing the regional cultural and adventure tourism routes for the Western Balkans six, at the meeting held in Vienna today. 



14 Nov 2018

Podgorica - The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)’s Tourism Development and Promotion Project prepared and presented the new joint regional umbrella identity concept dubbed “Western Balkans - Crossroads of Civilisations”, at the WB  Tourism Focus Group meeting held today in Podgorica.



09 Nov 2018

Sarajevo - The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)’s EU-funded Tourism Development and Promotion Project has awarded the first twelve, out of 30 + grants in total value of EUR 548,000, in Sarajevo today. These grants are awarded to the best project proposals received through the public call ...



22 Oct 2018

Sarajevo – Regional Cooperation Council’s (RCC) Tourism Development and Promotion Project took the tour operators from the six Western Balkans economies to the annual Adventure Travel World Summit (ATWS), which was held in Montecatini, Italy  last week, to promote their offers and ...



09 Aug 2018

Sarajevo – For the second year in a row, the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) is the international partner of the Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF), as a patron of the 'Heart of Sarajevo' award for the Best Student Film. The festival kicks-off tomorrow, 10 August 2018, and includes filmmakers ...



15 Jul 2018

Sarajevo – Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) Secretariat launched today 1.62-million-euros worth grant scheme that will be utilised to improve infrastructure and quality of services along regional cultural and adventure tourism routes. 



28 Jun 2018

SARAJEVO – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) officially marked the beginning of its 3-year project dedicated to the development and promotion of tourism in the Western Balkans, in Sarajevo today. The project will help six Western Balkans economies to diversify and consolidate their cultural ...



27 Jun 2018

Sarajevo – The South East Europe Tourism Expert Group (TEG) adopted “Crossroads of Civilisations” as a regional tourism identity that will be applied throughout all the routes development efforts in the framework of the Regional Cooperation Council (RCC)’s Tourism Development and Promotion ...



27 Jun 2018

Sarajevo – The Regional Cooperation Council (RCC) will launch its project on Tourism Development and Promotion in the Western Balkans on 28 June 2018, in Sarajevo, presenting its team, planned activities and expected results.