Klaipėda-ambitions unveiled

Klaipėda is located in an attractive tourism zone.The strategic priority of the municipality to develop tourism products, active recreation, cultural, ecological and conference tourism resulted in launching large infrastructural projects. They improved the infrastructure of the quays for sailing vessels, the maintenance system of beaches, the access to cultural objects. Currently, the city carries out several large infrastructural projects, mostly co-financed by the EU funds.

With the aim to develop the incoming, cognition and conference tourism, a project "The Recreation, Construction and Readjustment of Klaipėda Castle Bastion Complex" is being implemented. It also includes the development of the Lithuania Minor History Museum and public events infrastructure. Klaipėda Castle Place is among the most historically valuable heritage objects in the Lithuanian coastal area. The Castle was the cradle of the city - for this reason the authorities, architects and archeolo-gists resolved to reconstruct it. The objective of the project is turning the territory of the Old Klaipėda Castle and the Dane river embankments into tourism and entertainment center for the whole Lithuania and the region, attractive with revived true valuables of history, archeology, museums, maritime culture, quays for entertainment vessels, cafés, restaurants, a conference center, small hotels, a fish market and ancient workshops. The feasibility study has already been carried out, and the project currently is in its first stage.

Klaipėda successfully develops the infrastructure of seaside cycling tracks and camping. Irresistible coastal nature invites hundreds of Klai-pedian families and foreigners to enjoy biking along perfect cycling roads that reach further on to Latvian seashores. Last year a four star European standard camping opened its gate as the result of a project "The Development of Accommodation Services in Klaipėda by Establishing a Camping on the Seashore".

Till 2011 a project "The Arrangement of Klaipėda Leisure Park and its Adjustment to Tourism and other needs" will make the existing park shine anew: the greenery, the park lanes, illumination, benches, tennis courts, new sites for family relaxation, playing-fields, cycling tracks and skateboarding grounds - everything will serve for a high quality recreation. The cycling tracks of the park will provide an excellent access to the sea directly from the city center.

Tourism is inseparable from culture, therefore the city expects much from the project "Klaipėda Tobacco Factory Reconstruction and Application to Cultural Industries". The result of the project will be a real Acropolis of our habour city culture, where under one roof dashing creators of modern arts and small and medium entrepreneurs will work in cultural industries attracting tourists to various outdoor events and workshops.

All those projects alongside with large private ones transforming ship building and cargo handling areas in the city center into the most modern recreation, culture and residential areas will definitely make Klaipėda's most ambitious vision to be among the most attractive tourism destinations in the Baltic Sea Region.