Global warming, environmental damages and decreasing biodiversity play a crucial rule in the gradual disappearance of bees. We can state, the drastic decrease in the number of bees indicates the severity of environmental problems well.

Also Albert Einstein’s prediction says: if bees get extinct, humanity will be able to live only 4 years longer than these tiny insects. Whether it is an urban legend or not, one thing is certain: if bees disappear, we can say goodbye not just to honey, but also to coffee and chocolate and to all plants which need pollination by insects, thus pollination by bees.

The aim of the project, name: Bee2Be (Cross-border touristic routes of honey & bees), ID number: HUHR/1601/2.1.3/0008, submitted within the scope of the Hungary-Croatia Cross-border Co-operation Programme, which has won support, is not just the development of tourism together with beekeeping and apicultural products, the increase of honey and apicultural product consumption and the popularization of their advantages on health, but also the development of a consciousness aiming especially at the protection of bees.

The project realized by the partnership of the Municipality of "Baranya" County, the town Verőce, the Verőce Tourist Organisation and the Development Agency of the town Verőce makes the border region more attractive and competitive with new apicultural touristic points. Within the scope of the project, 15 bee farms in Hungary and 20 bee farms in Croatia were marked as tourist attractions, that is, beekeepers participating in the programme can show the life of the bees and the practice of beekeeping live in form of a bee-safari trip.

Beyond the development of tourism, the project intends to emphasise also the fact that apicultural products offer a great alternative as healthy food. Honey, as one of the most natural sweeteners, plays a central role in preserving and maintaining health with its active biological ingredients.

The project implementation duration: 20 months (start of the project implementation: 01/06/2017)

The full budget of the project is 252,314.37 EUR. The project is realized with 85% ERFA support.