The central Slovak town of Banská Štiavnica looks set to be part of the prestigious United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Underground Europe tourist map. This was confirmed for the news agency TASR by UNESCO Sustainable Tourism Specialist Peter Debrine. The completely preserved and picturesque medieval town was proclaimed by UNESCO to be a World Heritage Site on December 11, 1993. The decision on Banská Štiavnica's is expected to be formalised after a planned meeting between the Mayor of Banská Štiavnica Nadežda Babiaková and a representative of UNESCO in March in France.
Tourism, coupled with visits to those historic sites inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, is expected to support the local economy and contribute to social development and the equalisation of living standards within the affected regions. The aim is to attract foreign tourists, mainly those from the USA and China.
The Underground Europe tourist map places Slovakia as a pilot country within the V4 group of countries (Slovakia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland) and focuses on items of world heritage which include tunnels, caves, mines and the hidden stories of people who helped build Europe. "It is not just that these places are pretty, they are also especially important for the evolution of humanity," said Debrine, on a working visit to Slovakia.
His visit is related to preparations for the conference on sustainable tourism to be held on May 4-5 in Bardejov. The focus should primarily fall on the implementation of sustainable tourism in Slovak conditions. Its main objective is to protect the heritage while improving economic development.
