After the successful celebration of the 1st European Congress on Rural Tourism in 2003, this 2nd Congress will be a new opportunity to obtain first-hand information on this extremely varied activity in Europe. Organized by EuroGites - European Federation of Farm and Village Tourism with the strong support of the Governments of Ukraine and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, under patronage of the WTO-World Tourism Organisation and of the Vice-President of the European Commission Mr. Günter Verheugen, it has been designed to offer a complete range of experiences under the general leitmotiv of "Development and Integration through Rural Tourism".

The objective of this Congress is to provide again a meeting point and discussion forum for the Rural Tourism Entrepreneur, but also for public and private authorities involved in rural development. After consulting with 30 regional and national Rural Tourism organisations, it was decided that this year's Congress will focus during 2'5 days on the following aspects:

• Rural Tourism and Sustainability
• Benefits of Rural Tourism for the local communities
• The European Perspective of Rural Tourism
• Traditions and Tourism - a symbiosis for progress
• Development strategies for Rural and EcoTourism

They will be presented and dealt with in a very practical way, giving again preference to hands-on experience from more than 20 different countries and regions, with special attention to the needs and situation of the transitional economies in the Center and East of Europe. These five blocks of plenary sessions will be complemented by country presentations that show the experience and reality of this rural activity in 10 different countries of Europe.

Representatives of Rural Accommodation and Rural Tourism Organisations from all over Europe, from Georgia to Iceland and from Finland to Portugal, have already confirmed their presence.

Participating countries will additionally have the opportunity to present their offer on a common stand at the parallel Rural Tourism Exhibition "The Ukrainian Village welcomes" on the same premises.

After the Congress, a choice of Study Tours to four different regions of Ukraine will be optionally available.

For further details regarding program, travel, venue place, etc. a specific congress website is available. This information is also included in the file that can be downloaded from this page (see upper left frame).