Description
With the arrival of summer, tourists start looking for destinations that are easy to reach and rich in outdoor, artistic and natural experiences. However, such places are not always easy to find. On the one hand, mass tourism continues to dominate, often overshadowing lesser-known routes; on the other hand, the priority given to financial gain often leads to less investment in safety, accessibility and environmental sustainability.
So, how can this trend be reversed and the way in which travel is experienced be improved? the solution indicated by the EU cohesion policy's CREATURES project is continuous training. This means training tour operators to opt for sustainable practices; training cultural and creative industries to broaden their vision and diversify itineraries; and, most importantly, ensuring that destinations are open to all, regardless of physical ability or background.
New services: inclusive itineraries
The EU cohesion policy project CREATURES, funded by the Interreg Adrion programme, embodied this transformative approach. The cooperation project brought together numerous actors: the Metropolitan City of Bologna, the Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Science Park of Patras, the University of Sarajevo, the School of Economics and Business of Slovenia, the Slovenian Institute of Urban Planning, the University of Athens, the Regional Development Agency of Dubrovnik-Neretva County and the Regional Directorate of Cultural Heritage of Vlora in Albania.
By focusing on quality, accessibility and sustainability, the CREATURES project has raised tourism standards throughout its cooperation area, generating new knowledge and services. For example, the Metropolitan City of Bologna focused on improving outdoor tourism offers for people with disabilities. The partner based its trial on a mountain trail of the Little Cassia by designing an inclusive itinerary.
From Interreg to Horizon Europe and the European Urban Initiative
The 2021-2027 programming period emphasises closer coordination between Interreg cooperation programmes, general cohesion policy programmes and direct EU funding schemes, broadening the scope of coordinated actions.
To this end, Interreg plays an important role in contributing to the dissemination of innovative solutions and promoting better policies in all areas. CREATURES projects succeeded in creating synergies thanks to a solid dissemination strategy, high-quality results and the courage to tackle a sensitive and high-impact issue: tourism for people with disabilities.
The methodology developed has now been used to develop further activities through other EU co-funded schemes, such as Horizon Europe and the European Urban Initiative (EUI).
The CREATURES projects led the city of Hamburg, winner of the European Urban Initiative project CUSTOM, to invite the metropolitan city of Bologna to further develop good practices through activities dedicated to accessibility for persons with disabilities for outdoor tourism.
Moreover, the transfer of results to a broader spectrum of organisations was further facilitated by the Interreg ADRION programme's clustering methodology integrated in its capitalisation strategy. As an example, the thematic subgroup Cultural and Creative Industries brought together several projects with the aim of organising stakeholder events and promoting the exchange of practices.
Source and image: European Commission - DG Regional and Urban Policy