Published on 03 Aug 2023
The Policymaking Recommendation report by Horizon 2020 sustainable tourism projects explores EU Policy and Europeanization, Research and Innovation, and Sustainability in cultural tourism. Proposed strategies include fostering Europeanization through education, consolidation of new and developed technologies, and a calling for a Cultural Tourism Cluster to avoid dispersion.
The Policymaking Recommendation report is the direct result of the policy workshop held on the 5th of July 2022 in Lisbon and of the Brussels round table organised on the 11th of October 2022 by EU DG RTD and REA.
Six European projects on sustainable cultural tourism were involved in the creation of this document: Be.CULTOUR, IMPACTOUR, INCULTUM, SmartCulTour, SPOT, and TExTOUR. Their efforts produced interesting outcomes in three main areas:
- EU Policy and Europeanization
- research and innovation
- sustainability and infrastructure
Europeanization refers to the process of adopting or aligning with European norms, policies, and values. It involves the integration of European elements into various aspects of governance, economics, culture, and society. Even though cultural tourism plays a key role in this process, there is a lack of dedicated measures to fully recognise and integrate its within the Green Deal and the Structural and Development Fund programs. As a solution, the Policymaking Recommendation proposes the development of European routes and joint ticketing systems, supported by educational initiatives like Erasmus and Erasmus+.
About research and innovation, key recommendations include consolidating technologies through a Cultural Tourism Cluster to avoid dispersion, requesting solid business plans from non-research partners, recognizing innovation’s critical role in sustainable cultural tourism development, providing clear funding information, and prioritizing support training for local communities and businesses.
The policy recommendation on sustainability and infrastructure focuses on strategies and policies to support sustainable cultural tourism development, including building active heritage communities through participatory methodologies, employing action-training mechanisms to facilitate the spread of good practices, ensuring equitable territorial development, and helping marginal territories facing their specific challeges through methodological analysis and potential financial mechanisms.
Download the Policy Recommendation from TExTOUR website.
