Hungary is undisputedly important at international level as regards the rider traditions that underpin the horse-tourism. The basics of equestrian tourism are available, the sector operates in a regulated way, in addition, the Hungarian Horse Tourism Public Benefit Association has been operating a voluntary quality assurance system for more than 15 years (patkós certification system). However, there is a lack of a single range of products and the integration of fragmented rider services into a national system. The changes that have taken place in recent years create positive conditions for our project: — As the legislative environment changes, there has been a significant positive change in numbers and quality among riders. Compared to previous practice, not only the infrastructural background of the riding schools, the professional competence of the persons providing the service, but also the suitability of the horses participating in the service could be ensured and checked. In the two regions concerned, 106 MLTKSZ members and 78 horse riding service providers are registered. — Further significant progress in terms of the feasibility of this project is that the amendment of the Forest Law has removed the legal barriers to networking of the developments, and that the rights of use of forests previously only for pedestrians were extended to riders and cyclists: Since 11 June 2013, it is possible to ride on any forest road without damage, where it is not prohibited, contrary to previous regulations — only where there is a designated riding road, it is prohibited anywhere else. — On the basis of data from the HCSO, it can be concluded that the number of tourist trips of the population and the amount of tourism expenditure has been steadily increasing for three years, exceeding the level before the 2008 economic crisis by 2016. Although the rate of travel abroad is constantly increasing, statistics also show that there is a growing demand for shorter, 1-3-day programmes with higher spending for active leisure. It can therefore be assumed that with the expansion of the domestic offer, domestic tourists can be encouraged to spend their leisure time in Hungary. In this regard, a number of government measures are underway, including an additional supply element that allows for a “rest of the place” by the active equestrian tourism network. The direct objective of our project is to create a coherent, sustainable, “quality-proof” active equestrian tourism network in the regions of Northern Hungary and Northern Great Plain, in order to actively and ecotourise the natural treasures and human-made values of Hungary. Our sub-objectives: — Development of the horse-riding route (designation of routes in these two regions, establishment of rider stops along the route) — Establishment of a marketable product: the development and market introduction of a single theme and a range of services of the same type and quality are strategic goals to which our project contributes: — To create acquaintances and safe access to the two regions, including on horseback; The development of an integrated network of environmentally friendly leisure activities in nature — Prolongation of the tourist season and increasing the number of Hungarian guests in the two regions — The development of the local economy as a result of the involvement of the equestrian operators is the result of the implementation of the present programme, an active equestrian tourism network covering the North-Hungarian and Northern Great Plain regions, which makes it possible to interoperability between service points in a way that fills the gap. A unique Hungarian model in the field of equestrian tourism will be established, as the basis of service packages, which operates in a network and is connected to other tourist attractions with uniform quality assurance. Through the development of appropriate infrastructure and related services, equestrian tourism can be used to solve the territorial and seasonal concentration of domestic tourism. Horse-tourism services, like other ecotourism services, are also seasonal in nature, but they can play an important role in extending the tourist season and diversifying tourist seasons, as the high season of these services covers the spring and autumn periods. The offer is innovative, as it creates complex service packages and guaranteed programmes that do not exist so far, which reflects the needs of the market in a targeted way, and provides a single information system that uses state-of-the-art information communication techniques and directly involves the rider and other tourist operators. Planned activities 1. During the project development phase — Continuous improvement and updating of the strategy (MLTKSZ) — Developing the conditions for cooperation with operators: workshops, development of the professional/legal/financial and accounting conditions of the cooperation (MLTKSZ) — Investment to be carried out in 30 loc...