Danube Watch 3/2019 - The Tour International Danubien & the ICPDR

T he Tour International Danubien (TID) is a canoe and rowing exploration excursion and is organised on a not-for-profit basis by the water sport and tourism organisations of the countries through which the journey takes place. It extends for over 2,500 km, from Ingolstadt to Sfantu Gheorghe at the Black Sea and goes from the end of July until the beginning of September, during which daily stretches of up to 60km will be tackled. Packs will be taken along in the boats. Participants will camp over night at 62 different camp grounds along the way.

The beginnings of the TID reach back to Bratislava in the year 1965. Back then, it was almost impossible to travel abroad. A group of young tourists came up with the title “International Danube Boat-trip of friendship” and thereby recieved the necessary official permission. The first trip set off in 1965 from Bratislava to Budapest, and then in 1967 to Belgrade. Beginning with the 5th trip, the name was changed to “Tour International Danubien (TID)”. Statutes were adopted and the trips went farther and farther to (above all, western) nations.

From the TID statutes: The goal of the trip is for the participants to get to know each other as well as to experience in person the different peculiarities of the Danube countries through which they will travel, such as their cultures and economic and national peculiarities. To this end, the TID serves the deepening of friendship between peoples and the consolidation of general world peace. The TID should further develop water-tourism.

The trips can be begun and ended at any designated campground along the way. Anyone can design the length of their partaking within the frame of the timeframe. Information about the conditions for taking part and the personal conditions can be found on the homepage of the individual national organisers.

Contact with the ICPDR reaches back to 2005. At the time, the 2nd Danube Day took place in Ingolstadt at the same time as the opening of the 50th TID. With the Water Management Office of Ingolstadt as the organiser, an extensive cooperation was secured. The ICPDR provided t-shirts with logos for all the TID participants to enjoy. The TID participated with an info-stand with charts and exhibits. A guestbook was also presented which was taken along the entire length of the journey and in which the current participants wrote at each staging area. It acted as the ambassador of the ICPDR's Danube Declaration. The complete guestbook was handed over to the ICPDR at its Autumn Conference on 12.12.2005 in Vienna by a TID delegation.

During the book's time in Vienna on the Danube Island, it was possible for participants to visit the offices of the ICPDR at UNO-City and inform themselves about the organisation's work.

In 2020 the 65th TID will take place. The diverse impressions of such a trip can be seen in photos at:
www.tour-international-danubien.org

For the future, further harmonising of the formalities regarding border-crossings, traffic regulations for speed boats in the Djerdap upstream from Orsova, as well as sponsorship for the sanitation and toilet facilities at the various staging areas (preferably by a small Danube community organisation) are hoped for.

Author Manfred Ganzer, (Nuremberg, Germany) is a honorary member of the German Rowing Association and has been active in various roles within the TID Organisation.