On July 8, 2020, representatives of Jelgava City Council, Jelgava Regional Tourism Information Centre, as well as Joniškis and Siauliai Tourism Centres met in the Tower of Jelgava Holy Trinity Church to start work on Interreg V-A Latvia-Lithuania programme 2014-2020 project N^o LLI-464 “Development of the joint cross-border heritage tourism product “SUN ROUTE” implementation activities. The project will run until May 31, 2022, and during its implementation it is planned to develop a new tourist routes, introduce different interactive solutions, as well as create a joint offer for all three cities thus attracting more tourists.

The aim of the project is to increase the number of visitors and overnight stays in the programme area by developing joint tourism offer “SUN ROUTE” with common sun related cultural and natural heritage objects. The total budget of the project is 840 290, 86 EUR, including EUR 714 247, 22 EUR (85%) of the European Regional Fund funding.

During the implementation of the project from June 1, 2020 to May 31, 2022, a joint tourism offer “SUN ROUTE”, having four sub-routes for each of the seasons, will be developed uniting various tourism, cultural and natural heritage objects, sights and recreation places related to the sun theme. And it is planned that the first major project event will be the Winter Solstice Festival in Jelgava in December 2021.

Implementing planned project activities, the tourism offer in Jelgava will be enriched by new interactive solutions – two panoramic cameras with touch-sensitive displays in the tower of the Holy Trinity Church, as well as two screens in the hall on the 7^th floor of the tower, which will be specially adapted for people with special needs. The urban environment of Jelgava will be supplemented with two interactive stands – by the tower of the Holy Trinity Church and in the Post Island – where information about Jelgava, developed route, city sights, objects, as well as a city map will be placed for Jelgava residents and city guests. The city will also have eight new pedestrian and five car information signs. During the project, city guides will receive a new mobile audio equipment for excursions.

Joniškis and Siauliai tourism information centres will also get new equipment – furniture, cameras, as well as various interactive solutions. The environment of the two Lithuanian cities involved in the project will also be supplemented by new stands and information signs, as well as interactive stands and maps adopted for visually impaired and blind people.

By developing the new tourism offer, as well as promoting it, it is planned to increase the number of tourists in the project area by 5,000 by the end of 2022 and to ensure a further increase in the number of tourists by 7,000 by 2025.