C. Macedonia Region’s ‘Path of Apostle Paul’ Project to Get EU Funding

In efforts to attract religious-pilgrimage tourism, the Central Macedonia Region announced plans to promote its “Path of Apostle Paul” project through participation in the EU’s Cultural Routes as Investment for Growth and Jobs (Cult-RInG) program.

Launched through the European Cultural Tourism Network (ECTN), the project offers funding and support to small businesses and innovative cultural tourism products and services.

“The Path of Apostle Paul”, which follows the locations Apostle Paul visited during his mission to spread the Christian word, has been budgeted at 1,374,000 euros and will be covered by Interreg Europe. The Cultural Routes program aims to promote and safeguard the cultural diversity of EU nations though a better understanding of local histories.

“Apostle Paul, or the ‘Apostle of Nations’ is a historic and symbolic figure accepted by all and whose ‘traces’ are alive in Central Macedonia. We want to highlight through this EU project his second, third and fourth apostolic missions in Central Macedonia,” Central Macedonia Region Governor Apostolos Tzitzikostas said of the project.

He added that regional authorities have made it a priority to promote culture and tourism development in parallel, creating a ‘’development policy that can increase income, create new jobs, showcase the region and establish the groundwork for entrepreneurship and investments’’.

On his missions, Apostle Paul is said to have visited Samothrace, Kavala, Philippi, Amphipolis-Apollonia, Thessaloniki, Veria, Athens, and Corinth.