Innovation Areas

Be.CULTOUR transversal innovation approaches

Be.CULTOUR has identified four transversal innovation approaches linked to the project’s objectives towards circular cultural tourism in the Pilot Heritage Sites, as well as four recent emerging trends in the visitor economy due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

CIRCULAR TOURISM

Circular economy in the tourism sector is mainly linked to the reduction of the negative environmental externalities of the tourism industry, such as pollution and generation of waste, but it goes beyond this by embracing the wider notion of sustainability.

Circular economy models in the tourism sector are related to the effort for reducing wastes and natural resources consumption (energy, water, soil, biodiversity), enhancement of green transport means, recycling and reuse of materials and products, as well as the promotion of locally based food and craft products.

Moreover, circular models are related to the reduction of tourism pressure on over-exploited territories, overcoming mass tourism, seasonality and “stop-and-go” tourism, promoting less-known and lesscrowded destinations, but also overcoming tourism dependency by diversifying the local economy and avoiding focusing on only one economic sector or tourism typology.

HUMAN-CENTRED, FAIR AND RESPONSIBLE TOURISM

Human-centred services and products are generally linked to placing ‘real’ needs of people and communities at the centre of the design process, overcoming extreme standardisation and providing diverse, tailor-made experiences, considering the special needs of the person. This concept can be effectively applied to develop inclusive tourism services and products. For example, the concept of cultural tourism “for all” is based on inclusive products and services addressing people with special needs. Human-centred tourism is also based on the enhancement of human capital including skills and the entrepreneurial capacity, empowering local communities to take advantage of the benefit of sustainable tourism and enhancing local entrepreneurial innovation ecosystems through cultural tourism. From the point of view of tourism service providers, human-centred businesses are committed to respect human rights paying attention to tourism workers rights, and avoiding any exploitative measure of people in tourism-related activities. Finally, from the point of view of the visitor, the human-centred tourism is linked to fair and responsible tourism behaviour, paying attention to contributing to places sustainable development and avoiding exploitative behaviours.

CULTURAL EUROPEANISATION

The travel experience in Europe can be an opportunity to explore the extremely rich and diverse European culture, history and identity, promoting educational and recreational activities focusing on European identity, culture, history and values, as well as the development of European Cultural Routes and European Heritage Labels.

Cultural Europeanisation focuses on a shared sense of belonging based on the common history and cultures expressed in European tangible and intangible cultural heritage and landscapes.

SMART DESTINATION MANAGEMENT

ICT, AI, 5G and IoT systems can be used for better tourism flow management to avoid overcrowding, enhance accessibility and safety, and foster evidence-based policies to enhance local communities’ wellbeing, as well as the visitor experience. This includes the development of applications for enhanced travel experience, for example to visit less-known and less-crowded places, discovering ‘hidden treasures’ or accessing creative and unconventional guides to places. Through digital tools, visitors and residents can also be facilitated to become active actors of local sustainable development policies, expressing their preferences and needs and thus participating in enhancing local context, going beyond tourism by embracing regional/local sustainable development.

Be.CULTOUR innovation areas reflect potential unique selling points for the territories

Be.CULTOUR innovation areas reflect potential unique selling points for the territories:

In addition to the Innovation Areas highlighted in the pilot territories, Be.CULTOUR Consortium has identified a set of emerging trends that will be explored as potentially impact sectors for cultural tourism:

Rural Co-Living

Promotion of authentic rural experiences in traditional cultural landscapes through homestay and hospitality in rural villages, stimulating relationships between citizens and visitors through their participation in traditional activities such as agricultural and landscape maintenance, crafts, etc.

Pilot: Larnaca, Cyprus

Sensorial Heritage Experience

Immersive experience of places combining new ways of enjoying and learning about intangible cultural heritage–such as local gastronomy, wine, craft, music, language, history and traditional skills –with a more intimate and reflexive inner journey. Sensorial heritage experience includes learning and educational activities addressed to all age groups to get in contact more deeply with the local culture and traditions through their intangible heritage expressions using the five senses.

Pilot: Vojvodina, Serbia

Contemporary Meanings Of Heritage

Contemporary interpretation of cultural heritage sites through artistic creation, linking past and future perspectives and re-generating heritage “intrinsic value”, its meanings and sense, while generating intense emotional experience addressing citizens and visitors at the same time; also, developing new forms of heritage enjoyment such as gamification and virtual travel experience, creative and unconventional story-telling for example co-developed involving residents, and augmented ways to enjoy cultural heritage such as augmented reality and immersive hybrid digital-physical experience.

Pilot: Basilicata, Italy

Spiritual Travel Experience

Religious heritage appreciation intertwined with nature enjoyment, joining physical and spiritual health enhancement. This includes pilgrimage routes, spiritual retreats, and other diverse ways to regenerate and conserve religious heritage places, promoting the value of religious heritage by raising public interest and encouraging community engagement in the conservation and safeguarding of Europe’s religious heritage.

Pilot: Romania-Moldova, Cross-Border Region

Nature As Heritage

Nature can be perceived as cultural heritage by exploring the meanings and values of natural areas, their “genius loci” recognized over centuries and millennia. Natural heritage includes also, for example, the cultural meanings attributed to the view of the sky in local cultures, often linked with mythology and traditional practices, as in astro-tourism experiences promoted by starlight reserves initiatives. Moreover, local biodiversity, as autochthonous flora and fauna species, and/or important geologic areas, can become symbols of a territory and thus part of the cultural identity of local communities. Enjoying “nature as heritage” means also developing eco-tourism, trekking, sports, active & adventure experiential tourism solutions in natural heritage sites.

Pilot: Teruel, Spain

Industrial Heritage Experience

Innovative ways to create an audience for industrial heritage sites as iconic architecture places and “modern cathedrals” telling the history of European flourishing manufacturing. Industrial revolutions have always generated deep cultural changes in society, while they have been also oriented by scientific and cultural evolutions. The types of industries and manufacturing activities in diverse European territories have profoundly influenced local culture and history, for example, coal, mining, textile industries, while they have stimulated the development of arts and design, as in the European Bauhaus, generating iconic architectures and products. European industrial heritage represents a unique testimony of this creativity, while the visit to contemporary innovative craft/production places could be enhanced as ‘real world’ cultural experiences, also stimulating the entrepreneurial spirit and promoting responsible entrepreneurial culture

Pilot: Västra Götaland, Sweden

Transformative Travel

Transformative travel permanently affects you: it focuses on learning and educational experiences, self-reflection, self-discovery or re-discovery, and integrates the experiences enjoyed during the trip back into the visitor’s daily life back home. Travelling alone can be a way to develop confidence and new social skills. This is a growing tourism segment, including not only single millennials but even middle-aged people. However, women travelling alone or in small groups do not always feel safe and trustful of local people. This includes finding new ways for making women feel comfortable, find trustful local people, and develop soft skills through cultural tourism.

Remote Working Destinations

Home working has been one of the primary effects of the pandemic. As the situation pursued, an increasing number of workers, especially creative and cultural industry workers, have started to look for remote working destinations. Some authorities and organisations in charge of tourism are looking into long-term attraction of this visitor’s segment, hoping that this trend will stay beyond the long-tail of the pandemic in order to support local economies without displacing any permanent residents’ jobs

Proximity Travel

Another impact of the pandemic is the increasing trend of so-called proximity tourism, also known as “staycation”: this is a practice that consists of travelling close-by to one’s daily environment. Citizens re-discover nearby cultural and natural sites, becoming “tourist at home”. What motivated travellers to pick this option is the willingness to rediscover a place in a different way, organising various tourist activities, living unusual experiences and responding to a need for a break from everyday life while remaining in an environment close to home.

"Post-Cultural Tourism"

Explore different forms of alternative travel which aim to discover authentic ‘unusual’, “un-exceptional”, ordinary / ‘daily life’ places, which are not included in conventional cultural tourism itineraries, but can be representative of the authentic, ‘real’ cultural life of places, also discovering particular places in which social and cultural innovation is developed by active local organizations, artists and innovators, turning visitors into ‘temporary residents’. This includes also providing new ways to integrate visitors and residents daily life, promoting for example locals guides and/or unconventional digital guides able to enlighten ‘ordinary’ places through alternative itineraries, creative interpretation and unusual/engaging storytelling.