The winners of the Best in Tourism of the Prešov Region for 2020 are known. The Regional Tourism Organisation (KOCR) North-East of Slovakia will award three organisations and one personality.
The 7th edition of the Best in Tourism poll differed significantly from the previous ones, mainly due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. While in other years individual entities, organisations, associations and personalities could be nominated in five categories (Tourism Personality, Best Product, Best Facility, Best Tourism Employee, Craft has a Golden Bottom), in this year's survey the KOCR Northeast of Slovakia announced two categories:
- Lifelong contribution in the field of tourism
- AntiCovid
This year's Lifetime Achievement Awards in the field of tourism go to Ernesto Rusnák, a well-known hiking trail marker, who is, among other things, the author and co-author of many publications and also the builder of the lookout tower in the Levočské Hills.
- About Rusnák
Tagging
The appointee has been a trained signwriter since 1989. He started marking hiking trails several years before. When cycling came to the fore, he became actively involved in its development. For eighteen years he was the national chairman of the cycling section of the Slovak Tourist Club. Within it, he annually arranged Slovak cycling rallies throughout Slovakia. In many years he was assisted by local cyclotourists, but there were also years when he himself was the chairman of the organizing staff of the event. He is still actively marking hiking and cycling trails. Every year he renews hiking signs on almost 100 km of hiking trails and on more than 100 kilometres of cycling routes in the Spiš region, but mainly in the Levoča region. It was he who designed the complete marking in the Levoča Mountains after the abolition of the Javorina Military District in 2010. There are over 150 km of marked cycle paths and over 50 km of walking trails in this mountain range alone. In the Levoča region, a total of 600 km of walking and cycling paths are renewed, marked and maintained.
Publication activity
During his years in the tourism industry, he has written over 250 different articles on tourism and travel in professional journals, daily and periodical press. His private collection of old tourist literature, which is one of the largest in Slovakia, is also interesting. He is the author and co-author of several books. The most important in this field is a 180-page publication in enlarged A4 format "How tourist huts and shelters in Slovakia were built". It was there that he used his archival collections. In 2020 he published a publication "On two wheels", in which on 164 pages he and his co-author described the history of cycling and 41 Slovak cycling events. He plans to publish another representative publication this year "History of Levoca tourism", in which the history of Hungarian, Czechoslovak and Slovak tourism will be presented. The second publication this year will be a history of international winter tourist gatherings.
- List of books: https://www.martinus.cz/authors/ernest-rusnak
Public utility investment activity
Within the framework of various projects, it has provided the processing, assembly and installation of almost a hundred three-dimensional tourist maps in the districts of Levoča, Kežmarok and Stará Ľubovňa, from the village of Osturňa to Dúbrava pod Braniskom. Another of its activities is the installation of wooden signposts at the junctions of hiking and cycling trails. His biggest project at the moment is the construction of a 35-metre high observation tower on the top of Javorina - Marčulina, the total cost of which exceeds 170,000 euros. The construction of the 1st stage is implemented within the Interegg Programme. In 2020, the construction of the reinforced concrete ground floor was secured. The elaboration of project documentation for this activity was self-funded. It is also financing part of the construction from its own resources.
In the AntiCovid category, KOCR Northeast of Slovakia will award three organisationswhich, in the context of the pandemic situation related to the COVID-19 disease, have made the greatest efforts to retain both staff and visitors.
The Best in Tourism award in the AntiCovid category goes to:
- OOCR "Šariš" - Bardejov- for improving and investing in the tourist infrastructure in the region - The result of the activities of the OOCR "ŠARIŠ"- Bardejov in recent years is, for example, that the length of the renewed marked hiking trails in the vicinity of Bardejov and the Bardejov Spa reaches a length of almost 40 km. The latest project of OOCR "ŠARIŠ"- Bardejov is the revitalization of the hiking trails "Čerešňa" and "Tri studničky". Another project during 2020 was a plan called [article:12489;, "Restoration and revitalization of medicinal singletrack." ]
- Department of Culture and Sport of the High Tatras - team led by Ján Bendík - for the realization, adaptation and transformation of events in the conditions of Covid-19 for the visitors of the High Tatras - Ján Bendík and his team did not give up even during the first wave (Tatra Cultural Summer - chamber 2020) and divided the series of large, annual events into several smaller, more intimate ones, which took place mostly outdoors on every single summer weekend. Apart from the amazing TALES OF THE TATERS, where two presenters read fairy tales interspersed with musical inputs by local musicians, there was also a SUMMER CINEMA or CHILDREN'S THEATRE - all according to the current hygiene measures. In spite of all expectations, the cultural autumn had to be in a different spirit (Tatra Indian Summer) and even here the Department of CULTURE AND SPORT did not give up and organized several interesting events for locals and tourists, tailored to the ever-changing sanitary measures.
- Vihorlat Observatory in Humenne- for the implementation of attractive CR products for visitors to its facilities especially the Astronomical Observatory at Kolonický sedlo, which recorded record attendance in 2020.
"The tourism industry is experiencing the most difficult period in the history of the Slovak Republic as a result of the pandemic. A number of accommodation and catering establishments have had to close, with hundreds of employees losing their jobs. The years 2020 and 2021 are crisis years for tourism. However, there are still some 'heroes' of today's times who continue to contribute to the development of tourism in the Prešov Region. We would like to reward every employee working in this sector who is the breadwinner of their families. Every one of them deserves the Best in Tourism of the Prešov Region award. However, we have selected the winners from the nominations that have been received at our address by the end of 2020 in order to maintain the status of the competition. We wish all workers, organisations, entities, during this period, every strength for the days ahead, so that they do not lose faith in a better tomorrow," Martin Janoško, Executive Director of KOCR Northeast Slovakia, describes the course of the competition and evaluation.
In the event of the largest Slovak tourism exhibition - ITF Slovakiatour 2021, which is tentatively scheduled for 13 May 2021, the winners will receive their awards at this event in Bratislava.
The Best in Tourism of the Prešov Region award is organized by Regional Tourism Organisation North-East of Slovakia since 2014. The main task is to appreciate and motivate people who work in tourism in the Prešov Region, help in its development and can be a role model for others thanks to their qualities.
Overview of the winners of the Best in Tourism of the Prešov Region (2014 - 2020)
Author František Baláž
