Kosice region to launch new tourist sites

Over EUR 1.2 million will be spent for the development of tourism in the Region of Ko¹ice this year, which is a significant leap upwards. The regional tourism organization is planning new trips, regular tourist trains, larger investment projects, as well as activities related to the Ice Hockey World Championship.

A significantly higher amount of public funds will be spent in the area of tourism in the Ko¹ice Region this year than the last year. This was said at the opening press conference of the Ko¹ice Region at the ITF Slovakiatour 2019 Travel Fair in Bratislava.

"The Ko¹ice Region is so diverse that all types of tourists would find in it their favourite destination. The number of visitors and overnight stays has been rising year after year; last summer, over 11% more guests were accommodated in the facilities in this region than in the same period of the year 2017. Our shared task is therefore to continuously improve the level of infrastructure, products, and services, support active entrepreneurs or associations, and inspire other entities by providing them with examples of good practice. For these reasons, the Ko¹ice Self-governing Region spending on tourism will exceed the sum of € 1.2 million this year which is significantly more money than last year. I believe this fact clearly reflects our methodology and approach to tourism as an area of high-potential economy“, says the Ko¹ice Self-governing Region President Rastislav Trnka.

Ice Hockey World Championship

As he added, exceptional projects, activities, and publicity have been successful in increasing the attractiveness of this region as a tourist destination. Improving transport accessibility, offering trips, developing tourist infrastructure and services, as well as the Ice Hockey World Championship-related activities. These are the main aims of the regional tourism organization Ko¹ice Region Tourism for the year 2019. „The Ko¹ice Region‘s exhibit will once again be among the largest at the international fair in Bratislava. On an area of 154 m2, we will present the most important thing that characterizes our region this year. In view of the destination, it is the theme of the ice hockey championship, as Ko¹ice will become the capital of the Slovak - „Ice Hockey“ Republic for almost two weeks. As for the exhibitors at our stand, the concept reflects what we consider to be the cornerstone of tourism advancement - cooperation and partnership. Therefore, our regional tourism organizations include representatives of air transport - Turkish Airlines, LOT, Eurowings, and Ko¹ice Airport“, said Lenka Vargová Jurková, the KRT Executive Directress. As she said, a number of novelties is already being prepared for tourism in the Ko¹ice region this year.

Tourist train

This February, the project of an extraordinary tourist train, the Ice Express, was launched in its winter version, which commutes every Saturday. During the main season, the Gemer, Ice, and Tokai Express will be introduced one by one. The KRT is also planning a new offer of all-day organized trips with the programme, the construction of the Promenade by the Zemplínska ©írava Lake or the reconstruction of the cable way to Geravy. In connection with the Ice Hockey World Championship, this organization is preparing short experience trips on which both international and national visitors will have a chance to spend their leisure in case their team will have a day off. The championship activities will also be accompanied by a fun online campaign linking the hockey and the destination of the Ko¹ice Region.

Flights

Ko¹ice International Airport is a major actor in the field of passenger transport in the Ko¹ice region, which will be an important hub in the context of the World Championship. Despite the perturbations of flight destination cancellations (Doncaster, Sheffield, Cologne, Tel Aviv, and recently Bratislava), the airport has also been growing in the number of passengers and the number of frequencies on regular flights. „It was a year of records for us, when we checked in 542,000 passengers. Significant year-on-year leap was achieved by regular air carriers as well as the summer charter season, when the number passengers grew by 40 percent on a year-onyear basis. Since April, Ryanair, the largest airline in Europe with a flight to/from London, will launch its operations in Ko¹ice. So Ko¹ice will enjoy the services of seven airlines. Ko¹ice may be reached from over 500 destinations globally thanks to stable network carriers, which opens up this region to the world, and that is, with respect to the ice hockey championship, excellent“, said Tomá¹ Janèu¹, a member of the Ko¹ice Airport Board of Directors.