The third working session of Huesca’s Living Lab in the framework of the European project SmartCulTour was held on 10 November 2021. The main objective of the session was to present the project officially in Huesca as this had not been possible until now due to the pandemic. For this purpose a press conference was held at the headquarters of the Provincial Government of Huesca where Raúl Compés, Director of CIHEAM Zaragoza, and Fernando Blasco, Manager of TuHuesca, presented the project and spoke of the synergies generated between both institutions.
After the press conference the workshop took place at a winery of DO Somontano and consisted of two working sessions to identify successful initiatives that could elevate sustainable cultural tourism to territorial scale and thus serve as a base upon which to work and make Huesca a point of reference for sustainable cultural tourism. A session was chaired by representatives from UNESCO who presented an overview of the body and explained the different methodologies used for awareness-raising and knowledge transfer to the stakeholders of the tourist sector. Once the most favourable itineraries have been chosen for Huesca as well as the members of the Living Lab, UNESCO will provide personalized training throughout the project.
The meeting was attended by 22 representatives of different counties and tourist areas, centres of rural development, as well as business and agrifood sectors. The methodology was addressed from a participatory approach using facilitation tools to design and select initiatives and for decision-making.
Last week the Department of Tourism and Economy of the University of Split, Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism organized a very fruitful codesigning workshop with stakeholders in Split Metropolitan region Living Lab.
The workshop focused on the verification of needs and priorities that were identified throughout the analysis (first part of the TOR) and used the opportunity tree technique to identify and agree on critical priorities associated with sustainable cultural tourism development and initiate the co-design of interventions to address them to initiate the co-design process. This Living Lab is part of Horizon 2020 funded project SmartculTour, which aims to broaden the understanding of how cultural tourism development can support the sustainable development and resilience of European regions
The next step is developing the interventions within the priorities that have been identified through TOR. One intervention will be related to education and building capacity, and the other will raise awareness and foster cooperation and networks.
SmartCulTour joins this year’s World Tourism Day (27 September) by promoting the value of tourism, participate in UNWTO photographic initiative and putting together several videos showcasing what the project and the LLs are doing in relation to this year’s theme ‘Tourism for Inclusive Growth’. The World Tourism Day, celebrated each year on 27 September, is the global observance day fostering awareness of tourism’s social, cultural, political and economic value and the contribution that the sector can make towards reaching the Sustainable Development Goals.
Tourism is a recognized pillar of most – if not all – the Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs), particularly Goals 1 (no poverty), 5 (gender equality), 8 (decent work and economic growth) and 10 (reduce inequalities).
This deliverable provides an overview of the research data that has been collected and published under open access principles as of August 2021. As part of the Open Research Data Pilot of the European Commission, the SmartCulTour consortium is committed to maximally ensure open access and reuse of research data by (a) keeping an up-to-date Data Management Plan, (b) depositing data in an open access research data repository, (c) ensuring that third parties can freely access, mine, exploit, reproduce and disseminate the SmartCulTour research data, and (d) providing related information and identification (or provision) of tools needed to use the raw data.
This deliverable particularly focusses on providing information regarding the deposition of research data in an open access data repository. Data (with accompanying metadata) will be shared in timely fashion, coinciding with the publication of the main findings as stated in the deliverables. This means that additional open access research data will become available for the duration of the SmartCulTour project and the description of open data in this current document is subject to changes.
The report recognizes four kinds of data: >Project deliverables; >Academic publications; >Raw research data (quantitative and qualitative); >Miscellaneous data.
For all types of data, the reader is provided with links to online repositories and explanations on the data types and links to the project.
This report merely acts as a gateway for the reader/user to consult the on-line version of the SmartCulTour Platform, as the object of deliverable D5.2 of the SmartCulTour project. The dashboard can be consulted here: SmartCulTour Platform.
The Platform consists of three levels, which can be individually selected by the user: Living Labs Dashboard, Regional Dashboard and National Dashboard. Within the SmartCulTour project, the Living Labs regional focus is the cornerstone of the Platform, serving as an instrument to assist knowledge-led decision-making in the study areas. Regional and national data can then further supplement local indicators in cases where local data is unavailable or where a broader geographical analysis is of interest.
The philosophy of the SmartCulTour Platform is one of flexibility and personalization, allowing users to select their own indicators and tools for visualization via the application of widgets. Prospective users are invited to consult deliverable D5.4 “SmartCulTour Platform final guidelines”, which can be found on the project website at: http://www.smartcultour.eu/deliverables/. This deliverable provides in-depth information on the construction of the Platform, the data sources, and the selection process and thus acts as a user manual.
The main purpose of the SmartCulTour Decision Support System (DSS) is to define an engaging model for a more systematic representation of analysed data and for visualizing statistics to increase understanding about the impacts of cultural tourism.
WP5 aims at developing a web application to display traditional and non-traditional data sources, to help entrepreneurs, policy makers and academics make decisions. Data can arise from (inter)governmental agencies, academic sources, private companies, social media extractions, open data retrieved from the web and they can concern indicators on environment, economy, social interactions and culture. Where necessary, data will be anonymized and harmonized in order to be treated as standardized open data.
WP5 receives inputs from WP4 (assessment of cultural tourism impacts) and WP2 (theoretical development) and provides output to WP3 (state-of-the-art of cultural tourism policies) and, particularly, WP6 (Sustainable Cultural Tourism Living Laboratories).
The DSS is served via a web interface, making it accessible through a web browser from a proper device connected to the Internet, without the need to install any software. Data are visualized on a map in the form of areas or points; to obtain more information the user can further explore the data by displaying charts or tables on demand. It is possible to make comparison between items on the same map. The responsive approach allows the DSS to be also explored on mobile devices.
This deliverable provides metadata and abstracts of the publications residing under Work Package 4: “Assessing the impacts of cultural tourism”. Deliverable 4.3 aimed to provide “A minimum of 3 academic papers on sustainable cultural tourism, resilience, and the TALC model” and therefore focuses on sustainable cultural tourism indicators, the link between cultural tourism development, sustainability and resilience, and the integration of cultural tourism, sustainability/resilience, and the tourism area life cycle. The full papers are available in open access and can be found by following the DOI links provided.
The deliverable is a living document that, after initial submission, can be updated in case of additional scientific publications within the scope of Work Package 4.
This deliverable provides metadata and abstracts of the publications residing under Work Package 3: “State-of-the-art of cultural tourism interventions”. Deliverable 3.3 aimed to provide “At least one academic paper regarding the state-of-the-art of cultural interventions” and therefore focuses on identified best practices and impacts and success conditions of cultural tourism interventions. The full papers are available in open access and can be found by following the DOI links provided.
The deliverable is a living document that, after initial submission, can be updated in case of additional scientific publications within the scope of Work Package 3.
This deliverable provides metadata and abstracts of the publications residing under Work Package 2: “Theoretical development”. Deliverable 2.3 aimed to provide “A minimum of 2 academic papers on the definition of cultural tourism for urban and regional tourism and framework for future cultural tourism” and therefore focuses on the conceptual clarifications provided during WP2, aiming at redefining/upgrading the concept of cultural tourism and framing it within current and future trends. The full papers are available in open access and can be found by following the DOI links provided.
The deliverable is a living document that, after initial submission, can be updated in case of additional scientific publications within the scope of Work Package 2.
As Leader of Work Package 6 on “Sustainable cultural tourism laboratories (Labs)”, UNESCO coordinates the six SmartCulTour Living Labs (LLs), including by providing support in the identification of meaningful activities, methodologies and interventions to be implemented in each of them. Within this framework, UNESCO is also responsible for raising awareness and developing capacities of concerned stakeholders for the implementation of relevant international standards, using the methodologies and tools developed in the framework of the Organization for sustainable cultural tourism management and development.
Such mission appears even more relevant in face of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has provoked a rapid decline of tourism in most countries, affecting the ability of cultural sites, attractions and experiences to function properly. The situation remains volatile with different countries and regions experiencing a different scenario of impact and recovery.
Concurrently, the COVID-19 pandemic has provided momentum to rethink existing models and steer post-COVID efforts towards cultural tourism that defines the destination, whilst reflecting UNESCO’s values and providing benefits to communities. The rebound of tourism should be an opportunity to spur innovation and test new approaches to support communities in the recovery, transforming destinations away from outdated and unsustainable models.
Since the early days of the COVID crisis, UNESCO has been working on the identification of new measures for a responsible and sustainable restart of cultural tourism, in the conviction that destination management will need to adapt, and knowledge sharing and learning will be needed to allow for more resilient responses from local communities.
Destinations should be able to shape their respective tourism systems, customising them to balance competitiveness with the needs and priorities of local communities and the sustainability of cultural resources, through a comprehensive Build Back Better (BBB) vision.
To stimulate discussion on these subjects, while informing LLs’ stakeholders about the different capacity-building opportunities that UNESCO will offer them throughout the project’s lifespan, UNESCO organized on 27 April an online Awareness-raising webinar on UNESCO’s capacity-building opportunities for SmartCulTour Living Labs (recording is available here). Attending participants included SmartCulTour Consortium partners, Lab Managers, and local stakeholders from the six Labs.
This awareness-raising webinar was intended to give participants an overview of the tools, measures and approaches that UNESCO has developed to support the sustainable management of cultural resources at territorial level, with a focus on cultural tourism development, and an outlook towards the post COVID-19 recovery. In particular, the panellists presented some specific UNESCO’s methodological approaches that can be functional to the sustainable integration of culture and tourism into local development interventions, and notably introduced UNESCO’s vision on sustainable and resilient cultural tourism, the Historic Urban Landscape (HUL) approach, and UNESCO’s programme on Intangible Cultural Heritage (ICH).
To complement the webinar, an additional presentation was made available by UNESCO on its approach to sustainable destination management, alongside concrete tools supporting its design and implementation (recording is available here).
Following up to these activities, UNESCO has planned a series of bilateral consultations with all Living Labs, to further discuss specific needs and priorities and identify tailored capacity-building activities to be implemented. Capacity-building actions will start at the end of the year and are expected to run throughout 2022. They will address local skills gaps, aimed at empowering local stakeholders by equipping them with the knowledge and tools that may support the planning and design of interventions contributing to the sustainable development of cultural tourism at the destination level, both within and beyond the lifecycle of the Labs. Each capacity-building package will be designed in accordance to the local cultural resources that are more relevant to the Living Lab destination and its local community, adopting a two-folded approach towards protecting cultural and social values while promoting sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
