Urban Talks 2.0 featured discussions on the potential of the Styr River in Lutsk on the 4th of July. Andrii Pylypiuk, the founder of Splav Lutsk, shared his ideas for developing water tourism.
Splav Lutsk is an organization that facilitates kayaking, canoeing, and SUP boarding in Lutsk. Andriy started it in the spring of 2022 when many businesses closed due to the war. He came up with ideas to get people to enjoy water tourism. For example, he organized kayaking at sunrise or sunset, with coffee and cheese tasting. As the nights got longer, he started night river trips with lanterns.
The river became more attractive. This is evidenced not only by the steadily increasing number of those who are interested in kayaking or paddleboarding but also by requests for specialized equipment for professionals, as many people are taking it up professionally now.
Styr River has great potential. However, there is a need to improve infrastructure around the riverbanks and create conditions to encourage locals to use the river for recreation, tourism, and sports. And we can’t do that without the City Council’s support
So he proposes the next to developing the Styr River's tourism potential:
- to build piers for water access along the river within the city;
- to set up campsites, glamping facilities, and building hotels along the riverbanks;
- to install lighting to illuminate both the shoreline and the river during night paddles;
- to develop eco-trails;
- to provide access to active sports and tourism throughout the year;
- to host a national SUP-surfing competition in Lutsk.
Rivers in Volyn region have great potential to become special places for recreation and sports activities for both locals and tourists. To achieve this, we need to establish a network of active leisure clubs. We need to expand these clubs and involve more people. Despite the numerous water bodies in the region, there are only a few clubs specializing in river trips. Typically, there might be 1-3 clubs per river, but there are few in all our region. This is a problem
Background:
Urban Talks is a series of city lectures and discussions organized as part of the Urban Vision Lutsk project. Renowned architects, urban planners, and civic leaders from Ukraine and Europe come to Lutsk to share their expertise and insights on urban development. But ‘Urban Talks’ is more than just expert presentations; it also involves engaging with local residents and sparking new ideas.
Urban Vision Lutsk is the first comprehensive urban study of Lutsk, aiming to create a strategic vision plan and future development strategy for the city. The project is initiated by the Algorytm platform, implemented with the NGO ‘Urban Reform’, ORG Permanent Modernity, misto.reboot, and supported by the Lutsk City Council.