Village Travel Bot, the innovative digital tool developed by the NGO InnoVillage with the European Union’s support, continues its collaboration with the Customs Service of the Republic of Moldova through a significant expansion of its national visibility. Following the success of the first year of partnership, two new border crossing points, Chisinau Airport and Sculeni, will display the information about the Village Travel Bot, inviting Moldova’s guests to discover authentic destinations right from the moment they enter the country.
Village Travel Bot is designed for travelers who prefer to organize their own routes and wish to explore the authenticity of Moldovan villages in an interactive way. The platform recommends locations based on users’ interests and geographical position, enriching their travel experience with fun facts, local legends, and interactive content in text, audio, video, and quiz formats — all accessible directly from a smartphone. The service is free to use and can be accessed via the official website or directly on Telegram: https://t.me/VillageTravel_bot.
Alexandru Iacub, Director of the Customs Service, shared his view on the initiative, “The Customs Service supports initiatives that contribute to promoting the image of the Republic of Moldova and bringing visitors closer to our national values. The collaboration with Village Travel Bot offers guests the opportunity to discover, right from the border, the cultural diversity and authenticity of our rural communities. We are confident that such partnerships add value to the travel experience and support the development of tourism in Moldova.”
In August 2025, Village Travel Bot underwent a major technical upgrade, becoming available in over 45 languages and offering an enhanced experience with advanced semantic search, local stories and curiosities with automatically generated audio narrations, and direct connections to rural businesses across Moldova.
Tatiana Arcan, Project Manager and Co-founder of InnoVillage, who has continued to expand the platform within the framework of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Fellowship 2025, stated, “We greatly appreciate the collaboration with the Customs Service for their openness in supporting the promotion of local tourism through the Village Travel Bot Moldova Plus project. Expanding the platform’s visibility at border crossing points helps make rural Moldova a more accessible destination for the country’s guests. Thanks to this support, Moldova is becoming a place where every visitor can discover authentic sites and local culture — in their own language, directly from their phone!”
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 [email protected], or +37360985329.
