The project involved eleven partners: five tourism cities (the Cities of Venice and Bari and SIPRO Ferrara in Italy, DURA in Dubrovnik and the Tourist Board in Sibenik) and six technical partners: Ca’ Foscari University Venice–Dept of Management as Lead Partner; three international tourism and mobility research centres (CISET and CAST in Italy and Turizam in Croatia) and two training bodies with an expertise in craftsmanship and handicrafts (Ecipa in Italy and the Craft college of Rijeka in Croatia).
S.LI.DES. project (Smart strategies for sustainable tourism in LIvely cultural DEStinations), an Interreg Italy-Croatia project which aims at fostering cross border cooperation among cultural destinations in the Programme area and the joint planning of smart strategies to support more sustainable and balanced territorial development through the promotion of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, in particular those assets shaping the identity of the destinations.
“Data analytics as a tool to promote cultural heritage in tourism cities and support sustainable development”. This was the main goal of the EU project S.LI.DES. (Smart strategies for sustainable tourism in Lively cultural DEStinations), funded by the the INTERREG Italy-Croatia Programme.
The project involved eleven partners: five tourism cities (the Cities of Venice and Bari and SIPRO Ferrara in Italy, DURA in Dubrovnik and the Tourist Board in Sibenik) and six technical partners: Ca’ Foscari University Venice–Dept of Management as Lead Partner; three international tourism and mobility research centres (CISET and CAST in Italy and Turizam in Croatia) and two training bodies with an expertise in craftsmanship and handicrafts (Ecipa in Italy and the Craft college of Rijeka in Croatia).
S.LI.DES. was aimed at fostering cross border cooperation among tourist destinations and the joint planning of smart strategies to create more sustainable and balanced territorial development through the promotion of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, in particular those excellences shaping the identity of the destinations.
The project provided local authorities with an innovative and dynamic knowledge system that enhanced their decision-making process regarding the management of most popular sites, especially by exploiting the tourism potential of “minor” cultural assets, so as to revitalize the urban and social environment and diversify the local economy. Data analysis was the key to deepening the understanding of the five destinations and to adopt the right strategies for sustainable tourism. Core of the system is a multi-dimensional Destination Datahub, which stores and manages a huge set of data on each partner city retrieved from different internal and external sources, from the analysis of mobility patterns and the live monitoring of mobility flows and the mapping of craft activities.
The data are processed, analyzed and transformed into systematic information, easily accessible through a user-friendly Web panel, the S.LI.DES Dashboard, which displays tourism trends and city performances using tabular and visual reports, and real-time pedestrian mobility as well as the distributions of artisans and of CCI through a set of dynamic maps. Local stakeholders can use the dashboard as a powerful tool to manage tourist mobility flows and their impacts, but also to enhance the destination attractiveness and the visitors’ experience.
The partner cities (Venice, Ferrara, Bari, Sibenik and Dubrovnik) tested the dashboard as a planning tool to design and manage pilot actions and improve the added value of their destination's assets. Pilot actions were realized among Summer and Winter 2022.
During July and August 2021, Sibenik organized a weekly Heritage day to promote local cultural heritage and crafts and facilitate the mobility of visitors in less frequented areas of the historic center. A rich program of events involved residents and tourists, combining workshops movie projections and arts and crafts fair.
Ferrara developed several initiatives to enhance the excellence of the urban area and its province. About thirty operators were involved in the organization of two educational tours for journalists, bloggers, local authorities and tourism operators / associations. Four "Lessons of the Territory" dedicated to tour operators were also developed, aimed at helping them to know the territory and to promote it better among tourists. The data provided by the dashboard on tourist flows and mobility helped to create a marketing campaign to attract new visitors through the testing of a new temporary Showroom located in the city centre of Ferrara.
An arts and crafts fair was the pilot action developed by Dubrovnik to reduce crowding in the historic center and enhance the local cultural heritage and traditions. The Fair was organized in the complex of Lazareti, outside the city walls, an area often insufficiently valorised and visited. Aside the exhibition of traditional products and handicrafts, four thematic workshops were organized and traditional folk dances as well as acapella singing are staged during the event.
The city of Bari organized “Turisti per Bari”, four evenings of events dedicated to the discovery and valorization of the historical center of Bari and the Murat district through a series of activities, events and exhibitions linked to the history of the territory. The pilot action involved about sixty selected exhibitors which organized demonstrations, practical workshops and tastings of their products. The mobility of visitors was facilitated by the presence of qualified tourist guides and cultural animators.
Finally, “The Routes of Venetian craftsmanship and creativity”, 10 thematic itineraries to enhance the history and uniqueness of Venetian excellence, was the pilot action developed by the Municipality of Venice. The itineraries are intended to stimulate the visit to lesser-known places in the city and, at the same time, to guide visitors to discover the excellences of traditional Venetian craftsmanship, such as artistic glass, lace, fabrics, mosaics, but also modern and creative products, as well as local food and gastronomy.
The Smart Destination Ecosystem proposed by the S.LI.DES. project helped the city to strengthen its ability to make decisions and to test innovative management and development strategies, to protect and promote local cultural identity in a long-term perspective. The involvement of public decision makers and all stakeholders, in fact, is essential to ensure the success of the project and the duration and sustainability of the results obtained. The elaboration of a final joint strategy by Italian and Croatian partner cities has the scope to create the opportunity for permanent cooperation between the two countries and help to share the experience gained with other European tourist destinations, which face the same problems.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
