Published on 26 Sep 2024
TExTOUR is an EU-funded project that aims to co-design pioneering and sustainable strategies for cultural tourism, intending to improve disadvantaged areas in Europe and beyond. Through the experience gained in its eight pilot sites, the project has developed tangible results, recommendations and methodologies to increase the benefits of tourism on local communities.
Sustainability is a central theme in today’s global debate, but what does it really mean, and how can we apply it to the tourism sector? The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) defines sustainable tourism as an innovative way of travelling that meets the needs of travellers, local communities, the environment, and businesses while ensuring long-term development and preserving environmental, social, and economic balance.
Throughout its four years, TExTOUR has pursued this very goal by implementing co-design strategies that actively involve local populations, aiming to create positive impacts not only economically but also socially and culturally.
From workshops with local communities to digitalisation of tourist sites, to cross-border collaborations, the project has developed various activities and outputs.
Everything developed within the framework of TExTOUR is designed to inspire professionals in the cultural tourism sector, as well as anyone who embraces the concept of sustainable tourism in its broadest sense, considering all its dimensions. As part of this effort, TExTOUR has created a pageflow, which serves as a repository of the project’s “legacy”: a collection of the knowledge and resources generated during the project.
On the pageflow, visitors will find a variety of tools and resources to guide them on their journey towards a more sustainable approach to tourism that respects and preserves cultural heritage.