31 iulie 2025

Discover Rural Moldova Like Never Before: The EU-Backed Village Travel Bot Gets Smarter and Closer

Just in time for the peak travel season, Village Travel Bot, a Telegram bot for discovering Moldova’s rural gems countryside developed with the European Union’s funding, is getting an upgrade. The improved search and booking options, new content and 170+ destinations make Bot’s new version smarter and more immersive than ever.

Village Travel Bot is designed for self-guided travelers eager to explore Moldova’s authentic villages. The bot recommends unique spots based on your interests and location, bringing journeys to life with cultural curiosities, local legends, and interactive content in text, audio, video, and quiz formats — all at your fingertips. It makes Moldova more accessible for guests from abroad, being available in more than 45 languages. User may access the Village Travel Bot online at villagetravel.md or directly in Telegram (https://t.me/VillageTravel_bot).

Village Travel Bot is more than just a travel tool; it’s your personal travel assistant and local guide in one place. With a simple, friendly chat, the bot helps travelers uncover hidden spots, suggests places to visit based on their interests, and lets them create customized routes that match their mood. It also connects visitors with local businesses so they can easily book accommodation, meals, or activities. Today, Village Travel Bot covers more than 170 destinations across 65 villages, each enriched with uncommon facts, interactive stories, and multimedia content that bring Moldova’s rural history and traditions to life.

Tatiana Arcan, Project Manager and Co-Founder of InnoVillage, scaled up the Village Travel Bot within her 2025 Eastern Partnership Civil Society Fellowship, “I believe in a future where every rural community — no matter how small — is digitally connected, culturally valued, and economically resilient. With this Fellowship, my team and I are amplifying the voices and stories of Moldova’s villages and accelerating rural innovation. This is not just about technology — it’s about empowering people, preserving identity, and building bridges between tradition and digital transformation.”

Launched only one year ago, the Village Travel Bot has already been recognized by tourists and Moldovan service providers. “Village Travel Bot has already helped us connect with new guests who want not just to visit, but to feel the traditions, taste local recipes, and take a piece of Moldova’s soul back home,’ says Mădălina Jaloba, administrator of the agrotourism guesthouse La Mădălina in Selemet, Cimișlia. “Tourists from Poland, Spain, the UK, Germany, Turkey, Ukraine, Romania, Italy, Norway, Hungary, Switzerland and more come to our guesthouse to discover the authentic Moldovan vibe. They are happy to have a virtual assistant that tells them about nearby attractions in their own language! The bot is extremely useful for travelers who go on hikes or explore the countryside on their own, without a local guide.

Village Travel Bot is part of the European Union’ broader effort to support civil society activists in the Eastern Partnership (EaP) countries through its EaP Civil Society Fellowship programme implemented by the EU-funded “EaP Civil Society Facility” project. More information about the EaP Civil Society Facility and EaP Civil Society Fellowship is at eapcivilsociety.eu.

For further information or more details about "Village Travel Bot", please contact Tatiana Arcan, Project Manager at AO “InnoVillage,” at innovillage.md@gmail.com, or +37360985329. 

For further information or more details about the EaP Civil Society Facility please contact Elena Palivoda, Communication Expert of the EU-funded EaP Civil Society Facility project at elena.palivoda@eapcivilsociety.eu. 

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