10 million for the Münsterland castles and palaces region

State Secretary Dammermann hands over approval notices

MÜNSTERLAND/LÜDINGHAUSEN. Everyone agreed: the numerous castles and palaces will make the region even more attractive in the future. Today in Lüdinghausen, the official starting signal was given for the joint project "Palaces and Castles Region Münsterland" within the framework of the Regionale 2016 with the handing over of the funding notifications. The project includes: municipalities and districts of the region, Münsterland e.V., tourism stakeholders as well as owners and operators of palaces and castles. With a total volume of 10 million euros, it is one of the largest tourism projects the region has ever initiated together.

The project focuses in particular on strengthening small and medium-sized enterprises along the popular 100 Castles Route. The hospitality industry, service providers, crafts, trade, cultural and leisure facilities are to benefit from the fact that castles and palaces are better connected to the transport and cycle path network, become more professional, more tangible and better known, expand their offers and build up a joint network.

State Secretary Christoph Dammermann from the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Innovation, Digitalisation and Energy of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia presented the notifications of approval at today's event at Burg Vischering. Dr. Kai Zwicker, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Projektträger Münsterland e.V., accepted them on behalf of the various project partners.

"Innovative tourism structures and services are an important impulse for the regional economy," Zwicker emphasised. "The tourism industry in Münsterland has developed very well in recent years, but there is a need to catch up in terms of quality, service and experience. Other regions are investing, in some cases massively. We want to make our historical treasures a high-quality trademark of the region in the long term. And in keeping with the ongoing branding process, the theme of castles and palaces sums up THE GOOD LIFE in Münsterland."

The project partners have already agreed on various sub-projects in a master plan and a project dossier, which are intended to initiate new developments and processes in the areas of infrastructure, network building, marketing and product development and optimisation.

"Our promise to the visitors of the castles and palaces is: 'Experience history up close'. This must be guaranteed," summarised Michael Kösters, general representative and tourism expert of Münsterland e.V. "For this to happen, however, many castles and palaces must become more tangible. If an interior tour is not possible, visitors should, for example, have the opportunity to at least get to know the castle or palace virtually."