I-DEMO – Improving DEstination Management Offer through game-based strategies is a KA220 project – Cooperation Partnerships in Vocational Education and Training (VET) co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.

I-DEMO aims at supporting EU tourism professionals in acquiring and developing key competences in game-based tourism in order to foster innovation and improve overall tourism organizations’ performance by:

• enhancing specific skills and competences in game-based tourism;
• designing an I-DEMO course “Game-based Tourism”;
• creating an I-DEMO toolkit to apply gamification to tourism;
• enhancing the application and replicability potential of innovative game-based solutions.

The specific objectives of i-DEMO are:

SO1: enhancing specific skills and competences of DMO professionals and VET students in relation to creative game based tourism;

SO2: designing an innovative and needs-oriented on-line training course “Game-based Tourism”, offered through an online platform, which integrates several sector-specific and transversal skills, including digital, entrepreneurial, and soft skills;

SO3: providing DMO professionals and VET students an I-DEMO toolkit to apply gamification and creative strategies in planning innovative and inclusive tourism offer and services. The toolkit includes guidelines and a Visual Virtual Map of EU good practices of creative strategies linked to game-based tourism;

SO4: enhancing the replicability potential of project results outside of the partners’ destinations.

I-DEMO will focus on achieving the following concrete results:

• A Skills profile for Game-based Tourism, defining a set of competences and skills needed for DMO professionals drawing on partner research and on the strengths and wide experience of the consortium in research, needs analysis and training.
• I-DEMO online course “Game-based Tourism”, offering a professional training for the tourism professionals, current and future, focused on digital and soft skills as well as skills connected to “game-based tourism”.
• I-DEMO toolkit including guidelines and a Visual Virtual Map of EU good practices to apply gamification and creative strategies in planning innovative and inclusive tourism offer and services, and organizing an i-DEMO Hackathon including 40 proposals from 8 EU destinations.
• A dissemination campaign through webinars, promotional materials including a handbook of EU best practices and stories of successful digital transition and/or gamification in tourism to mainstream the insights and the materials produced to thetourism sectors across Europe.

Project’s partners:

1. TIMESIS SRL, Italy (Lead Partner)
2. The Phoenicians’ Route – Cultural Route of the Council of Europa based in Italy;
3. Associazione Culturale Tuo Museo, Italy
4. Pafos Regional Board of Tourism, Cyprus
5. Stichting Breda University of Applied Sciences, Netherlands
6. Hellenic Open University, Greece
7. ACIF – Industrial and Commercial Association of Funchal – Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Madeira (Portugal)
8. Wojewodztwo Kujawsko Pomorskie, Poland

Total Project duration: 30 Months (2024-2027)

SMARTIES for SMEs
Pills of Sustainable, Smart, Regenerative Tourism to Empower SMEs in the EU Mediterranean area

Project co-funded by the COSME programme of the European Union.

Overall objective:
To support tourism SMEs in the double green and digital transition

Specific Objectives:
SMARTIES for SMEs is a transnational project to improve the competitiveness of SMEs in the EU Mediterranean region. It focuses on 2 thematic areas:

1. Regenerative tourism, i.e. a tourist offer that respects the authenticity of the local territory and contributes to the wellbeing of local communities, applying and further developing the Smart Way, a model developed by the Cultural Route of the Council of Europe “The Phoenicians’ Route” and already applied in several Mediterranean areas;
2. The synergy between the tourism ecosystem and the agri-food ecosystem for the development of a sustainable tourism offer, promoting the Mediterranean Diet as a model of food sustainability in the tourism sector.

The project:

• implements a qualitative and quantitative research on the needs of SMEs in the post-Covid scenario and on best practices to facilitate the double transition, reaching out to 110 key stakeholders and 250 SMEs from 8 countries and 11 areas in the Mediterranean region, and publishes the results in a Compendium available for the forthcoming T4T platform.
• Selects, monitors and supports 75 innovative projects from 5 EU countries in the Mediterranean region, prioritising sustainable solutions that foster double transition.
• Provides a blended capacity building programme for tourism SMEs in 8 countries and 11 regions, through local workshops and thematic webinars, reaching 275 SMEs and over 180 participants respectively.
• Reaching out to tourism ecosystems (EU and non-EU countries) through 5 networking events, a dedicated communication campaign and the publication of a Handbook on the Mediterranean Diet as a model of food sustainability in the tourism sector.

Project Partners:

1. Chamber of Commerce Industria Artigianato Agricoltura Toscana Nord Ovest (lead partner), Italy
2. Chamber of Commerce of Xanthi, Greece
3. Libertas International University, Croatia
4. Regional chamber of craft and small business Maribor, Slovenia
5. Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Madeira (ACIF-CCIM), Portugal;
6. International Association The Phoenicians’ Route, headquartered in Italy, guarantor of the Cultural Route of the same name
7. Pafos Regional Board of Tourism, Cyprus
8. ENIT – Italian National Tourist Board, Italy

Total project duration: September 2023 – August 2026

NEXT ROUTES – Upskilling of staff through digital, creative gamification and innovative strategies for the enhancement of EU Cultural Routes is a KA220 project – Cooperation Partnerships in Vocational Education and Training (VET) co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme of the European Union.

The project brings together 6 Cultural Routes certified by the Council of Europe (in addition to the Phoenicians’ Route, European Route of Jewish Heritage, European Mozart Ways, Routes of the Olive Tree, ATRIUM – Architecture of Totalitarian Regimes of the 20th Century In Europe’s Urban Memory and Iron Age Danube Route), Mobile Idea Srl, one of EU’s leading private companies specializing in technological innovation applied to the cultural and tourism sector and a research institute, the Breda University of Applied Sciences.

NEXT ROUTES is a very innovative project that will implement actions to further reinforce CRs staff’s skills and knowledge in all aspects related to digital and creative competencies, to support CRs in the digital transition and to help them manage and disseminate CRs contents in an engaging and effective way by promoting their cultural heritage through innovative gamification approaches. The proposal represents a great opportunity for CRs staff upskill, providing them with an easy-to-use tool for the enhancement of their territories and heritage, making it accessible also to culturals’ members and interested stakeholders.

NEXT ROUTES will achieve the following results:
– a Training Methodology (PR1) to guide CRs staff in upskilling digital & creative competencies, for the enhancement of CRs;
– a Toolkit (PR2), an interactive platform delivering tailored training pathways for CRs staff digital upskilling and embedding gamification apps for users engagement;
– a User Manual (PR3), a step-by-step guide supporting in the use of the toolkit for training purposes and for the creation of customized game-based solutions.

The project will represent a great added value both at Cultural Routes level, through the improvement of skills and knowledge, and at EU level with the great impact that it will achieve among all the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, through the capitalisation of the toolkit and the NEXT ROUTES user manual.

Moreover, the project will promote some of the priorities of the CR Programme, which are perfectly in line with the horizontal priorities of the Erasmus+ Programme: co-operation in research and development; enhancement of memory, history and European heritage; promotion of the social and educational value of European cultural heritage.

Project’s partners:

1. The Phoenicians’ Route Association based in Italy;
2. European Association for the Preservation and Promotion of Jewish Culture and Heritage based in Luxembourg;
3. Iron Age Danube Route Association based in Croatia;
4. Association of the European Mozart Ways based in Austria;
5. ATRIUM Association – Architecture of Totalitarian Regimes in Europe’s Urban Memory, based in Italy;
6. The Olive Tree Cultural Foundation based in Greece;
7. Mobile Idea Srl, Italy;
8. Stichting Breda University Of Applied Sciences, Netherlands.

Total Project duration: 24 Months (2023-2025)

QUEST promoting QUality intErnships in Sustainable Tourism and cultural heritage management is a KA220 – Cooperation partnerships in higher education project co-funded by the Erasmus+ programme.

QUEST project aims at increasing HE students’ employability in the tourism sector, one of the fastest pacing sectors in terms of innovation and most afflicted by Covid-19 emergency.

There is a continuous challenge of developing students’ knowledge and employability attributes in two ways:
– the first is by embedding employability skills within curricula through supervised work experience
– the second is by building these into curricula through stand-alone skills-based training.

In order to do so the QUEST partnership will address students’ employability by analyzing skill gaps, developing a flexible long distance training program supported by innovative tools (QUEST project results) developed during the project, and conducting 5 blended mobility of students (for a total of 30 students) and a specific training of HEIs and company internship tutors to support students. On a parallel effort, QUEST will develop and implement new policies and a cooperation methodology to bring together the education and business sector to work increase the success of the methodology designed to enhance students’ employability.

The project will develop through 4 innovative project results:
1. a flexible learning programme: an innovative and skill-based programme for HE students that face the tourism sector labour market;
2. an e-learning platform and app: a unique platform for HE student, HEI trainers and organisations tutors that supports them all along the learning programme and work experience;
3. a QUEST policy and cooperation methodology: a cooperation agreement between HEIs and tourism organization in the Mediterranean area, supported by a Cultural Route of the Council of Europe;
4. a manual: a comprehensive publication summarizing QUEST methodology, learning programme, activities and results to support further exploitation.

Project’s partners:

1. Libertas International University (Croatia) – LEAD BENEFICIARY
2. The Phoenicians’ Routes with headquarters in Italy;
3. Solin Tourist Board, Croatia;
4. Timesis Srl, Italy;
5. University of Malaga, Spain;
6. Arte&Cia Gestión Cultural y Ocio, Spain;
7. University of Nicosia, Cyprus;
8. Larnaka Tourism Board, Cyprus.

Total Project duration: 36 Months (2021-2024)

U-Mar promoting Enhancing underwater archeology to make it an innovative tool for developing sustainable & creative tourism is a KA220-VET – Cooperation partnerships in vocational education and training – project co-funded by Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union.

The general aim of the project U-Mar is to develop the knowledge and the valorization of heritage related to underwater archaeology, through the following specific objectives:

• Training professional figures with specific skills in underwater archaeology, how to valorize it and how to manage these cultural sites. The project will therefore train new experts capable of fostering the touristic offer of these sites from multiple points of view, by setting up an ad hoc innovative training course.
• Developing sustainable and environmentally friendly tourism around underwater archaeology,
  improving the tourist-cultural offer and expanding the reference target of users. These objectives will be reached also by making underwater archaeology more accessible to people not willing or not able to dive or swim, by creating digital pathways to the sites and by developing interpretation centres on land.
• Provide guidelines for organizations that want to develop strategies for enhancing the underwater archaeological heritage, with different possibilities of application depending on the context and with a particular focus on the creation of underwater archaeological itineraries, with their specific heritage and on the professional’s skills required.
• Increase knowledge of the underwater archaeological heritage and the importance of its conservation and enhancement, not only by tourists, but above all by young people and
  local communities living in those territories.

The project will develop 3 innovative outputs:
1. New Training Course on Underwater Archaeology for Cultural Operators
2. Development of U-Mar e-learning platform;
3. Creation of Interpretation Centres on Underwater Archaeology.

Project’s partners:

1. The Phoenicians’ Route headquartered in Italy – LEAD BENEFICIARY;
2. Sicilian Region – Superintendency of the Sea (Italy);
3. ICUA – International Centre for Underwater Archaeology in Zadar (Croatia);
4. CEIMAR Foundation (Spain);
5. Pafos Regional Board of Tourism (Cyprus);
6. ACIF – Industrial and Commercial Association of Funchal – Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Madeira (Portugal);
7. ARGO Consulting company (Italy).

Total Project duration: 24 Months (2022-2024)

THE FAB ROUTES: Digital Skills To Promote Eu Cultural Routes is a KA202 – Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training project co-funded by the Erasmus + programme under the Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices call.

The general objective of the project is to design a new training methodology and educational module aimed at fostering and enriching the knowledge and transversal competences of the staff members and operators of the EU Cultural Routes (CR) recognized by the Council of Europe, in order to improve CR management and promotion in the field of sustainable and cultural tourism.

Project’s partners:

1. ATRIUM – Architecture of Totalitarian Regimes in Europe’s Urban Memory (Italy) – LEAD BENEFICIARY
2. The Phoenicians’ Routes based in Italy;
3. European Association for the Preservation and Promotion of Jewish Culture and Heritage based in Luxembourg;
4. The Olive Tree Cultural Foundation based in Greece;
5. The European Routes of Emperor Charles V with headquarters in Spain;
6. The Via Regia based in Germany – even though based and registered in one county, each Association/Cultural Route is composed by a number of authorities located in other European countries),
7. The Center for Advanced Studies in Tourism – CAST University of Bologna (responsible for scientific coordination)
8. ARGO, a private company specialized in the implementation of cultural projects with important expertise on audio-visual training production and digital communication strategy.

Total Project duration: 24 Months (2020-2022)

For further information www.facebook.com/FabRoutes

The project was born with the aim of designing and developing training actions able to provide adequate and innovative transversal skills for the achievement of a new professional title of “Incoming services technician specialized in Social and Accessible Tourism” – or other under development – as a qualification recognized in Europe (MEC).

General goals:

• to outline the skills necessary to carry out the profession of expert of Social Tourism in Europe;
• to obtain recognition of the qualification and profession by Spanish institutes and, if possible, also by the project partners’ countries;
• to prepare the necessary material that can be used in the various training centres (manuals, teaching materials, etc.);
• to test the validity of the proposal through pilot courses organized in the project partners’ countries;
• to promote and disseminate the project through media and social networks.

Strategic goals (stakeholders should receive appropriate training in the following areas):

• Social responsibility of companies in all aspects, with particular attention to integration into the world of work and integration into the community.
• Solidarity, especially regarding the aspects of economic, social and physical accessibility in the tourism sector.
• Sustainability, with particular attention to the involvement of local actors in the management of natural and cultural resources in the various destinations.
• Transversal approach aimed at inclusion in general policies and tourism development.

The goal is to gain the recognition of the profession both in the countries involved in the project, and at European level through the Europass.

The effects resulting from the project can be considered as other currently underway activities within the Phoenicians’ Route, the so-called “Smartways“, the “Phoenicians’ Route Interpretation Centres”, the events included in the annual program “Ancient Mediterranean Days” in particular, and more.

Project’s partners:

• University of Jaén (Spain) – Cultural Itineraries Laboratory
• Adesper (Spain) – Organization for Sustainable Development and Promotion of Rural Employment
• OITS (Belgium) – International Social Tourism Organization
• Development Centre Siksali (Estonia)
• The Phoenicians’ Route – Cultural Route of the Council of Europe

For further information, please see the European Commission website: ec.europa.eu