Tobacco Museum
Brief description
In Telečka, a village twenty kilometres from Sombor, Tobacco Museum was opened in a private house owned by Ištvan Kovač. The Kovač family is traditionally involved in the production and processing of tobacco.
Ištvan Kovač's grandfather moved to Telečka 150 years ago because he received the land to grow tobacco. He established this business, later to be inherited by his son and then his grandson. In order to preserve family tradition and to present the development of production and processing of tobacco, Ištvan Kovač opened museum in his old house. The museum has on display over 100 exhibits, and some of them are more than 150 years old. The exhibition includes tools for tobacco processing and tobacco products, cigarettes, cigars, perfumes, glue, bronzing colour for tanning. Tourists have a chance to see how some tools work as well as to buy souvenirs and products made of locally grown tobacco. This is the only tobacco museum in Vojvodina Province, as well as in whole Serbia.
Objectives
Promotion of agricultural production and preservation of tobacco production tradition that this settlement has had for more than 120 years.
Benefits
Municipality of Sombor and Tourism Organisation of Sombor can offer those landowners who grow tobacco presentation of their products since it makes a great opportunity for the increase in the level of the economic and tourism values. It is a unique opportunity to present tobacco as a brand to broader audience on the fairs of tourism in Novi Sad, Belgrade, Budapest etc.
Telečka local community has a great advantage from the settlement promotion and it as well has a chance to brand tobacco as the main agricultural product of this settlement.
Ištvan Kovač, the owner of Tobacco Museum, benefit from selling tickets to museum visitors, as well as from selling souvenirs/products made of local tobacco.
WHY is the best practice considered as good
Tobacco Museum represents the example of a good practice because it presents and preserves the tradition of production and processing of tobacco. By existence and maintenance of the museum, this tradition will be a long time preserved from oblivion, and is presented to tourists and locals. The fact that tourists might get involved in the process of tobacco harvesting and sticking would have more than positive results on local agricultural production and culture. Local manufacturers would thus save additional labour and as well consequently make profit.
WHAT are the measurable results
Number of tourists that visit Museum.
New opportunities created on the local level
Strengthening of agricultural production and development of tourism.
Financial resources
Financial resources required for the implementation of the best practice are divided into two categories:
- financial resources necessary for Tobacco Museum maintaining (arrange exhibition area, labels on the exhibits should be written in Serbian, English and Hungarian, open souvenir shop, new entrance in Museum should be arranged, as visitors enter the Museum through backyard of family house, place road signs which direct visitors to Museum),
- financial resources needed for Museum promotion (create Museum web site, create brochures in Serbian, Hungarian and English).
Possibility of tansferring the best practice
Creation of the promotional package tours is focused on the promotion of local community and agricultural production and can easily be applied as a pilot project in other destinations.
It is very important that as many agricultural producers as possible as well as the local community are involved in the project in order to ensure positive economic and socio-cultural effects in both local community and broader territory.
Help from the municipality of Sombor is economically justified.