Tourism development in border regions has been state-centric, characterized by hierarchically organized centralized state institutions, including the regional and local administrative districts.

Bordering regions in Serbia, Romania and Bulgaria need some joint, cross-border approach since:

• There is a common administrative border between them;
• Tourism is common development priority for all three border regions;
• Tourism and as well natural and cultural setting doesn’t consider state or any other borders;
• Lack of regional integration in the tourism sector and a baseline for improvement of the competitiveness of tourism in ROSEB Initiative area;
• Natural and cultural potentials of the area are a significant comparative advantage and an important development asset stretching across the border;
• We have to change border discourse – from barriers to resources.

Various Territorial Analysis indicates that tourism is a growing sector but the growth is not associated anyhow with the trilateral CBC region as a tourism destination. On the one hand, the area have own problems and challenges in developing tourism that certainly affect negatively the development of overall tourism in the ROSEB Initiative area.
On the other hand, there is a tourism potential that is currently not utilized. Such potential is significantly correlated with the urgent needs to overcome challenges that this trilateral CBC region is facing. Uniting the forces from three sides, the challenges would be better approached and problems solved in comprehensive manner.
To achieve sustainability, tourism actors have to recognize both external and internal accelerators for tourism in a desired area, possibly manifesting in tourism planning where has to be shown a wariness of the possibly negatively circumstances affecting natural and cultural heritage. In the context of border regions, natural and cultural heritage in neighborhood countries has to be respected at highest level.
First round of discussion was leaded by one responsible organization from each of the participating bordering regions:

• RARIS – Regional Development Agency Eastern Serbia, Serbia
• Vidin Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Bulgaria
• ARoTT - Romanian Association for Technology Transfer and Innovation, Romania

As a result of such consultation process ROSEB Initiative was redefined in line with the inputs gain from the stakeholders.