General

Inception Meeting to present the Living Lab of Scheldeland

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On 15 March 2021, the inception meeting of the Scheldeland Living Lab, one of six Living Labs established throughout Europe as part of the SmartCulTour H2020 project, was organized. This Living Lab will specifically focus on three municipalities within the wider tourism region of Scheldeland, namely Bornem, Dendermonde, and Puurs-Sint-Amands.

Due to ongoing Covid-19 restrictions, the first meeting took place online and was organized by Toerisme Vlaanderen, coordinator of the Flemish lab, with further cooperation of KU Leuven as consortium partner. The initial meeting brought together 18 stakeholders, representing the heritage and tourism representatives of the three municipalities, the directors of the local cultural centres, representatives of the regional and provincial boards of tourism, the coordinator of Regional Landscape Schelde-Durme and various heritage experts.

After an initial round table and brief introduction to the project goals of SmartCulTour and the link of the Living Lab with other work packages and European collaborators, appreciative inquiry techniques were used to establish shared meaning of the region. People were asked what connects them personally to the place, with aspects such as the tides of the river and associated nature, and heritage – particularly Medieval castles and forts dating back to the world war – being top of mind.

Next, in smaller groups, participants were asked to think about an ambition and goal for the project, as well as criteria with which a potential successful project should comply. Finally, the brainstorm technique OPERA was adopted to come to a commonly shared project focus. This technique consists of five phases: (1) Own suggestions, (2) Pair suggestions, (3) Explanations, (4) Ranking, and (5) Arranging. After 15 initial suggestions, which due to many overlaps could be reframed into four clear propositions, the final focus for the project was decided as:

“The poetry of coming and going, linked to the ebb and flow of the Scheldt river as hook for the tourism development. The regional characteristics of the tidal river are translated through region-specific heritage such as the industrial heritage, the steam train, and the forts and castles.”

Inception Meeting to present the Living Lab of City of Split metropolitan area

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The Inception meeting and the establishment of a Sustainable and resilient cultural tourism Living Lab (LL) was held on February 11, 2021. The session was led by Dr Ante Mandić, the LL manager and Dr Lidija Petrić, the WP and team leader at the Faculty of Economics, Business and Tourism, University of Split.

The LL was established as a part of the SmartCulTour HORIZON2020 financed project discussing how cultural tourism can foster sustainable and resilient development of European regions.

LL are community-based and objective-driven entities, incorporating multi-stakeholder participation and engagement and representing the perspectives and interests of all the key actors of the destination. The concept uses place-based community and participatory stakeholder approaches to identify local needs and main intervention priorities. This LL focuses on creating an incentive environment for the development of cultural tourism.

Engaging local stakeholders, including tourism boards, tourism businesses, cultural institutions, NGOs and communities, this LL will foster co-creation, co-innovations and bottom-up solutions to design and inaugurate interventions for leveraging cultural tourism at the destination level.

Currently, the LL involves fifteen stakeholders who actively participate in the development of LLs long-term goals and priorities.

Following the fruitful discussion during the inception meeting, the stakeholders were invited to participate in the focus groups to discuss the current state and the future of cultural tourism development. More information about the conclusions of the focus groups and the goals and priorities with this LL you can read in our next post.

SmartCulTour will participate in the “ReDiscover Europe” workshop organized by Impactour project

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The EU-funded IMPACTOUR project organizes the workshop “ReDiscover Europe” next 9 May. IMPACTOUR is connecting cultural tourism stakeholders and researchers, envisaging new approaches and methods that will support European cultural tourism, reinforce a feeling of belonging, value minority cultures and promote Europeanisation. The project will elaborate on an advanced and adaptable methodology to estimate the impact of cultural tourism on EU regional economic growth. It will combine data analytics algorithms with machine learning and AI approaches to improve policies and actions on cultural tourism.

Bart Neuts from KU Leuven will participate in this Workshop representing SmartCulTour. The Workshop will provide a unique opportunity to discuss the role of sustainable Cultural Tourism in today’s Europe. Besides important keynote presentations the workshop will hold three key panel debates (with catalyst viewpoints from policy makers, scientific researchers, industry and cultural tourism practitioners) revolving around three themes:

>Theme 1: Post-COVID cultural tourism – what have we learned, what might we do differently, an opportunity for Big / SMART Data?

>Theme 2: People – accessibility, inclusion/exclusion, market needs

>Theme 3: Technology – digital gateways, mobile interactive content / co-curation, dynamic modelling and tourism management

You can register and read the details here: https://impactourworkshop.pt/

System Dynamics Approach to TALC Modelling

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Tourism and tourist destinations are researched from many standpoints and by many scientific disciplines. However, most of them have generally taken a reductionist approach, with both tourist destinations and tourism not effectively understood as complex phenomena. In this article authored by Marko Hell and Lidija Petric (Department of Tourism and Economy at the University of Split, Croatia, partner to SmartCulTour project) a system dynamics approach to TALC (tourist destination [area] life cycle) modelling is explored.

The system dynamics applied in this research on modelling a tourist destination (area) life cycle (TALC) contributes to understanding its behavior and the way that information feedback governs the use of feedback loops, delays and stocks and flows. On this basis, a system dynamic three-staged TALC model is conceptualized, with the number of visitors V as an indicator of the carrying capacities’ dynamics and the flow function V(t) to determine the TALC stages. In the first supply-dominance stage, the model indicated that arrivals are growing until the point of inflexion. After this point, arrivals continue growing (but with diminishing growth rates), indicating the beginning of the demand-dominance stage, ending up with the saturation point, i.e., the maximum number of visitors. The simulated TALC system dynamics model was then applied to five EU destinations (Living Labs) to explain their development along the observed period (2007–2019). The analysis revealed that all observed Living Labs reached the second lifecycle stage, with one entered as early as in 2015 and another in 2018. Lifecycle stage durations may significantly differ across the destinations, as do the policies used either to prevent stagnation or to restructure the offer to become more sustainable and resilient.

You can read the full article here: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/9/4803/pdf

Second Living Lab workshop in Utsjoki

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SmartCulTour project partner ULAP held the second hybrid workshop on 21 April 2021 in their Utsjoki living lab with the local stakeholders to discuss and generate ideas for developing sustainable cultural tourism in Utsjoki.

The workshop started with a warm-up activity in which the participants got to know each other through bodily performance to share a place that was meaningful to them. SmartCulTour partner CIHEAM Zaragoza was invited to participate in the workshop to present Huesca as a living lab with similar needs and challenges around rural tourism destinations and to share their local tourism initiatives. The workshop focused on discussing how sustainable cultural tourism could contribute to the development of Utsjoki and generating ideas to develop sustainable cultural tourism in Utsjoki. Service design and art-based tools and methods were used to engage the workshop participants in exploring the potential of cultural tourism in Utsjoki. Participants collected and shared photos of local places where they deemed unique. Using a storytelling template, the participants came up with ideas for further developing the unique local places into culturally interesting places with stories and senses. The workshop closed with participants planning the next steps for the next workshop.

Cultural sensitivity as a tool for sustainable tourism

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Until lately, cultural sensitivity has been a little-used concept in tourism research and development although it is highly relevant in tourism settings where different cultures meet, collaborate and live together. It is needed for both hosts and guests and enhances the well-being of both. Here it is discussed from the point of view of tourism entrepreneurs who want to actively incorporate respect for local cultures in their business activities.

We usually associate vacation with passive pastime. It seems to look exactly like this: taking a nap, lying on the couch in front of the TV, «hanging out» on the phone, lying in the sun on the beach.

The basic premise of cultural sensitivity is that there are differences between cultures. In its simplest form, cultural sensitivity is one’s ability to sense cultural differences. Cultural sensitivity can also be understood as a way of relating to cultural differences, meaning a way of thinking and talking about cultural differences and of behaving towards them.

A culturally sensitive person recognizes that cultures are different and respects these differences. For example, in Finland, there are three indigenous Sámi cultures, North Sámi, Inari Sámi and Skolt Sámi, and in Sweden, Norway and Russia, there are even more Sámi cultures. A culturally sensitive person understands that there are differences between these cultural groups and takes them into account in everything she or he does concerning the Sámi.

Stereotypes are an example of not recognizing and respecting cultural differences, making them an example of cultural insensitivity. For example, indigenous peoples are often marketed to tourists as primitive peoples living outside modernity and wearing colourful costumes – and tourists often expect to see this. On the other hand, there are tourists who do not want to see stereotypical images of local cultures. They want to have their stereotypes challenged and get to know the local cultures in other ways. They are an ideal target group for culturally sensitive tourism companies who want to break down stereotypical images of local cultures in their products and marketing communication.

Recognition of and respect for local worldviews, cultural values, beliefs and traditions are a vital aspect of culturally sensitive tourism. Local livelihoods and the use of local land and water are examples of issues that are often important to local people. They are part of the local culture. Cultural sensitivity means that, in tourism product development, the local culture and nature are not only resources but also something to which the products have to be adjusted. A culturally sensitive person cares about local people, their lives and their cultures. To respect local cultures is also to be interested in them and willing to learn more about them.

Culturally sensitive tourism should result in mutual understanding and cultural exchange, which help to promote equity within partnerships or relationships as well as to create shared values and benefits for all parties. It is an important constituent of culturally sustainable tourism.

Interested to learn more? Check the free self-study online course on cultural sensitivity in Arctic tourism and the website of the ARCTISEN project (Culturally sensitive tourism in the Arctic). You are also welcome to join the free webinar ‘Exploring the meanings and practices of cultural sensitivity in tourism’ which will take place next 29 April at 14-16 UTC (15-17 CET). Registration here: Meeting Registration – Zoom

SmartCulTour will participate in a webinar on Rural tourism and marketing

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Rural Connections is a set of three webinars involving RURITAGE and a group of European rural projects. The main objective of this series is to exchange knowledge and best practices between EU projects working on different aspects related to rural development, with the view to support RURITAGE partners in the implementation of their rural regeneration action plans. On 12 April four projects will join on a free webinar to share knowledge on Rural Tourism & Marketing: SmartCultour project will present the tools being used to identify needs and good practices around developing sustainable cultural tourism on the local level; EUROPETOUR project will demonstrate the urgency for interdisciplinary cooperation and the importance of valorising the intellectual property rights; SPOT project will illustrate an ongoing collaboration with Regional DMO, local DMO and the local Tourist Observatory (LMR); and IMPACTOUR will demonstrate how cultural tourism is leading to sustainable economic and social development; present policies, governance and business models that are being used to promote cultural tourism as well as tools for cultural tourism impact assessment to foster and forecast impact of tourism strategies.

You can register for the webinar and watch live on Facebook!

Transforming Tourism for a sustainable, prosperous, and inclusive post COVID-19 world

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SmartCulTour partner UNESCO Regional Bureau has contributed to the organization of the ongoing Peer Learning Roundtable Session 2-3: Transforming tourism for a sustainable, prosperous, and inclusive post COVID-19 world within the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development for the UNECE Region, which took place on 11 March 2021.

The tourism sector has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and the crisis has exposed the existing vulnerabilities of many tourism destinations. This peer learning session discussed how the crisis offers an opportunity for the transformation of the tourism sector with a focus on building more resilient and sustainable communities and businesses through innovation, circularity, digitalization, and partnerships.

Tourism is closely linked to several SDGs and its significance both in terms of potential and risks to sustainable development is high in many countries of the UNECE region. The sector is critically important for the world economy; in 2019 the sector accounted for some 330 million jobs worldwide, equivalent to one in 10 jobs globally. While tourism is directly reflected in the targets of three SDGs (8,12,14), it can contribute to all of them. For example, nature-based tourism contributes to reducing poverty (SDG1) and inequalities (SDG10) through employment and its value chain linkages in local economies; climate action (SDG13); biodiversity conservation and natural and cultural heritage (SDGs 11 and 15) – while providing livelihoods and empowerment for women, rural communities and indigenous peoples. The tourism sector has been hard hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and the crisis has exposed the existing vulnerabilities of many tourism destinations. In our world that continues to use natural resources unsustainably, the crisis offers an opportunity for transformation with a focus on building more resilient communities and businesses through innovation, circularity, digitalization, sustainability, and partnerships. The planning and monitoring of recovery and related investments by the public and private actors are critical in steering tourism models into sustainability and capturing opportunities for biodiversity conservation, climate action and circular economy. Coherence of policies, inter-sectoral coordination and cooperation of various actors are key to transforming tourism.

Here you have the full recording of the session:

Webinar to launch the book “Rethinking Cultural Tourism”

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ATLAS Cultural Tourism Group and SmartCulTour are organising the launch of the book “Rethinking Cultural Tourism” by Greg Richards. The publication of the book represents a key moment of reflection after 30 years of research by the ATLAS Cultural Tourism Group. When this project was launched in 1991, culture and tourism were relative strangers – now they seem to be inseparable partners – both equally hard hit by the pandemic. The SmartCulTour Horizon 2020 project, of which this book is part, is also therefore searching for new concepts of cultural tourism for the future.


The book develops a new approach to cultural tourism, rethinking cultural tourism as a social practice, combining practice theory and interaction ritual theory, and explores how actors utilize their competences to shape meaning from cultural resources, and in doing so produce both intended and unintended outcomes. These outcomes in turn influence continued participation in the rituals of cultural tourism and the development of places and moments in which cultural tourism occurs. This novel practice approach stimulates a reappraisal of cultural tourism, in which traditional high culture attractions are supplemented by popular culture events, contemporary creativity and the consumption of everyday life through new styles of tourism, and new forms of delivery and management.

«Rethinking Cultural Tourism» will be published by Edward Elgar on April 28th, 2021. The celebrate the launch veterans of the ATLAS Cultural Tourism Project and SmartCulTour members are invited to reflect on the value and meaning of this book for academic and professional audiences. The implications of the book for the future research agenda of ATLAS will also be discussed.

The webinar will take place on Friday 21 May 2021 at 14.00 CET and speakers include the author of the book, Greg Richards (Breda University of Applied Sciences and SmartCulTour), Jan van der Borg (University of Leuven and SmartCulTour), Melanie Smith (ATLAS Cultural Tourism Group and TBC) and Carlos Fernandes (ATLAS Cultural Tourism Group):

14.00 Opening and Introduction
14.05 Overview of the book «Rethinking Cultural Tourism» by Greg Richards
14.30 Discussion of the book by invited guests:
>Jan van der Borg
>Carlos Fernandes
>Melanie Smith
15.00 Questions and open discussion with the audience

Participation is free and registration for the webinar is required; you have the details here: Rethinking Cultural Tourism

Inception Meeting to present the Living Lab of Huesca

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On 4 March 2021 an online meeting was held to launch the Huesca Living Lab, one of the six Living Labs set up in Europe for the European project SmartCulTourfinanced by the European Commission in the framework of the H2020 Programme. The aim of the Living Labs is to encourage networking between stakeholders of the territory in the tourist sector to generate and identify good practices and innovative solutions for sustainable cultural tourism that can be exchanged with other European regions. To quote Raúl Compés, Director of CIHEAM Zaragoza: “This European project, in particular the Living Lab of Huesca, poses a good example of how to apply the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals to the land of Aragon”. Compés also pointed out that SmartCulTour will facilitate the exchange of innovative tourist strategies between different European countries and share examples of Huesca’s good practices in cultural tourism. The meeting was organized by CIHEAM Zaragoza, coordinator of the Living Lab, and was held online with 35 experts in sustainable cultural tourism and cultural and rural development. It presented the main objectives and the Living Lab concept, characterized by a participatory approach that enables stakeholders to play an active role in the development of their Living Labs.

Following the presentation, Fernando Blasco, manager of TuHuesca and direct collaborator with the SmartCulTour project, provided contextual information about the tourist sector in the province of Huesca, pointing out the challenges faced as a result of the current pandemic. The Living Lab of Utsjoki (Finland) also presented their work, giving an idea of the international component of SmartCulTour.


Each Living Lab is set up as a practical community made up of local experts and a wide range of sectors and stakeholders in the field of tourism. The Living Labs have been chosen based on criteria of geographical relevance and representativity of different models of sustainable tourism.  During the project, each Living Lab will implement, test and assess new forms of managing sustainable cultural tourism by identifying and replicating good practices in the sector, through serious games, arts-based methods, services and social design techniques to improve collaboration between the culture sector and the tourist industry to develop a capacity-building process. The other Living Labs are situated in Rotterdam (Holland), Scheldeland (Flanders, Belgium), Utsjoki (Lapland, Finland),  Split (Croatia) and Vicenza (Italy).