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Description
Our company provides hotel services and offers recreational and sports services on Lake Solina in the Bieszczady Mountains. We are seeking opportunities to stand out in the market and gain sustainable competitive advantages at a time when customers gradually turn away from mass tourism, instead opting for individual tourism, benefiting from nature and tradition, away from the crowds. The unique location of the White Sails Solina Hotel, the only hotel in the first line by the lake, allows us to expand our business with an innovative virtual tour service of the Solina village flooded in 1967 following the construction of the river dam. It will be based on chartering vessels equipped with virtual reality goggles. The essence of this service will be to provide clients with an unforgettable, unique experience thanks to the VR technology, and to combine it with Solina’s tangible and intangible heritage. We will prepare an animation of the old village of Solina, presenting at least 30 buildings, five villagers, five animals and a flowing river.
Under the investment we will have a floating pier constructed and a sewage system connected to collect waste from the yachts, install PV panels to power the pier and vessels, and purchase 3 electric-powered boats, 3 solar catamarans, 2 sailing yachts, as well as VR software and 16 pieces of goggles.
PV panels will be used to generate electricity to avoid CO2 emissions of 18.31 tons per year. We expect that the expansion of our current services will increase the number of bookings at our resort. It is estimated that 20-30% of all those using the service will be hotel guests.
Summary of project results
Despite several years of presence on the tourist services market, Połoniny-Kurort has managed to develop a strong position. Currently, the applicant''s activity is closely related to the tourist services market. The company offers accommodation services in tourist facilities, including the White Sails Solina hotel, which is the only facility on Lake Solina, with direct access to the lake, located on the first shoreline. Before the project, White Sails primarily offered accommodation services. The acquired experience and observation of the changing market and tourist trends prompted the owners of the facility to look for niches that would allow them to develop and distinguish their offer on the market and gain lasting competitive advantages. Currently, there is an increasing interest in active forms of spending free time on the tourist services market. There is a gradual shift away from mass tourism towards individual tourism, which is characterized by various, specific needs resulting from the desire to maintain physical and mental condition, practice hobbies and experience strong experiences.
The planned investment, which results in the implementation of an innovative tourist service into the applicant''s offer, is a response to the constantly increasing investment demand for high-standard tourist and recreational facilities, especially in very attractive places with unique natural values.
The aim of the investment is to introduce to the market a new, innovative service of a virtual walk around the flooded village of Solina based on the charter of vessels equipped with VR glasses. The service in question will enable customers to charter a selected vessel for a cruise on the waters of Lake Solina. During the cruise, participants will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in history using VR technology and virtual reality glasses and be transported to the village of Solina, which was flooded years ago to create the Solina Lagoon. The type of innovation introduced in the project is product-service innovation. The use of VR technology to make cruises on the Solina Lagoon more attractive should be considered an innovation. At the same time, using resources already belonging to the applicant and the tangible and intangible heritage of the region. Looking through the prism of the specific nature of the tourism industry, this is a service that has never been seen before on the Polish tourism market.
Activities carried out in the project:
1) Establishing a team to manage the project;
2) Preparation and conduct of procurement procedures in accordance with the Regulations and Guidelines for awarding contracts.
3) Purchase of a floating pier and a yacht waste collection point. The new infrastructure in the form of an ecological floating pier is used by individual customers mooring vessels without a crew, i.e. mainly tourists staying in the area of Lake Solina, including water sports enthusiasts and sailors.
4) Purchase of new fixed assets: purchase of floating units, i.e.: solar catamaran - 3 pcs., sailing yacht - 2 pcs., electric boat - 3 pcs., purchase of 18 virtual reality glasses, purchase of a device for collecting waste from yachts - 1 set, purchase of a photovoltaic installation.
5) Purchase of dedicated software necessary for the proper implementation and subsequent operation of the service based on VR technology.
6) Test launch of the application and then implementation of a new virtual walk around the flooded village of Solina into the offer of the White Sails Solina hotel based on the charter of yachts equipped with VR glasses using the technical and technological base
7) Conducting promotional and information activities related to the project. In order to promote the assistance provided under the Norwegian Funds, as well as to ensure transparency, Połoniny-Kurort informed about the project to the widest possible audience at the appropriate national, regional or local level, including relevant stakeholders.
8) Creation of a new job position.
The project stages presented above were implemented in such a way that as a result of their implementation, legal, technical and organizational capabilities were obtained to achieve the goal of this project.
The implementation of the project''s objectives contributed to both the development of the company and the economic development of the region in which it operates, demonstrating a positive socio-economic impact. The target group for this service will be tourists visiting the Bieszczady region for tourism and recreation purposes, including young people, adults, families with children, and the elderly. A significant group of recipients are water sports enthusiasts, including sailors. A new tourist product based on the possibility of taking a virtual tour during a cruise will meet the tourist needs of consumers, which increasingly concern the tourist offer in line with the 3xE paradigm, i.e. education, excitement, entertainment. As a result of introducing the innovative tourist service Połoniny Kurort Sp. z o. o. obtained:
1) Increase in the company''s revenues and profits due to the introduction of a service not previously offered to the market. The introduction of a completely new service to the market, significantly different from the applicant''s current offer and distinctive on the tourist services market, contributed to an increase in revenues and profits in the company.
2) Implementation of new technology in the company - as a result of the implementation of an innovative service, a new virtual reality technology was used in the Company. A new, innovative service is provided based on VR technology, resulting from the implementation of this investment.
3) Creation of new jobs. Introducing a new service to the market requires creating a new job. The person employed in the new position is responsible for serving customers who want to use the service of a virtual walk around the flooded village of Solina based on the charter of vessels using VR glasses.
4) reducing pollution of the natural environment, including inland waters.
In addition to the above benefits, the investment has an unquestionable impact on improving the natural environment by including renewable energy solutions in the project (photovoltaic installation) and creating the first waste collection point from yachts located in the Solina Lake area.