Hosted by the Port Governance Agency, the regional workshop "RCI in the Middle Danube Region (HU/HR/RS)" was successfully organised on 9 November in Belgrade. The event, co-organised by the Port Governance Agency, Port Authority Vukovar and the Hungarian Federation of Inland Ports, brought together representatives of port operators, shipping agents, tourist organisations, national and local authorities as well as tour operators to discuss the prospects of international passenger transportation on the Danube.

The current situation in the river cruising industry in the Republic of Serbia, Croatia and Hungary was presented, with a special focus on development plans and the development of new international passenger terminals. The Agency highlighted its previous work in terms of investments in new terminals on the Danube and Sava. Srdja Ljesevic, head of Center for port operations, stressed that there are seven operational international passenger terminals in Serbia, and that the Agency plans to open two more on the Danube River and two on the Sava river. PGA also presented the "Awake the Danube" project. The aim of the Agency’s project is to promote and develop cruising, through the connection of cities in Upper and Lower Danube in Serbia.

During the meeting, a panel discussion was held, where the participants discussed perspectives for sustainable cruising in the Middle Danube. The panellists analysed the development of passenger traffic in the aftermath of the pandemic, as well as the untapped potential that arise due to the the growing interest of tourists. In addition, future initiatives to introduce renewable energy sources at international passenger terminals were presented. The panellists invited local self-governments and tourist organisations to actively work on developing and further promoting their offer, given the many potentials of the Danube for tourism.

It was concluded that investments, regional cooperation, new development projects and the promotion of nautical potentials play a key role in enduringly improving passenger traffic on the Danube.