Novi Sad, 22 April - The President of the AP Vojvodina Assembly, Dr Balint Juhász, attended today the presentation of recommendations how to better use cultural heritage for tourism and economy development, within the interregional project „COMMHERITOUR“.
Special focus was placed on enhancing the underutilised cultural and craft heritage in rural and peripheral areas, with the aim of strengthening its role in local economic development and improving the quality of life of local communities.
President Juhász pointed out that an important fact is often overlooked — that heritage is not a burden of the past, but a significant economic opportunity. He emphasised that Vojvodina, as a strong and stable region contributing around one-third to Serbia’s total GDP, reaffirms its role as one of the country’s key economic pillars. In addition to its agricultural strength, it also possesses rich cultural and craft heritage, which represents an important, yet still underutilised, development resource.
“We must be honest — this resource is still not used sufficiently. The problem is not that we lack value, but that we fail to connect it, place it on the market, and pass it on to new generations. In other words, we have potential, but we have not yet transformed it into development. This is precisely why the “COMMHERITOUR” project matters — it introduces a model that connects knowledge and the market, turns craft into a product, and heritage into economic value,” said President Juhász.
He added that around 500 craft enterprises currently operate in Vojvodina, employing approximately 2,000 people, indicating an existing foundation for development, but also significant room for further growth. He also stressed that the goal is to transform these potentials into new jobs, tourism routes, and opportunities for young people through the preservation of knowledge, development of tourism products, and stronger cooperation — making crafts part of the economy of the future, while giving development a clear identity and long-term sustainability.
The main project partner from Serbia within the COMMHERITOUR programme is the “European Affairs” Fund of the AP Vojvodina. The project brings together a total of 12 partners from several countries of the Danube region, including Hungary, Slovenia, Czechia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Romania and Montenegro. Alongside President Juhász, the event was also attended by Ognjen Dopuđ, Director of the “European Affairs” Fund, as well as other representatives of the expert, civil and public sectors.