MED-Routes “Enhancing MED sustainable cultural tourism through the creation of eco-itineraries inside European Cultural Routes”
PROJECT TITLE: ” Enhancing MED sustainable cultural tourism through the creation of eco-itineraries inside European Cultural Routes”
ACRONYM: MED-Routes
ABOUT: Cultural Tourism is a key asset in MED economies, however it has a strong, mutually detrimental relationship with climate change when tourism industries do not effectively incorporate sustainable practices. The MED area therefore needs to strategically re-shape its cultural tourism offer by matching its focus on local cultural heritage with greater sustainability. Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe (CRs) represent a key instrument to sustain and promote cultural tourism all over Europe, from mainstream destinations to small-scale local contexts. MEDRoutes overall objective is therefore to establish and disseminate a local-based, low-impact model of sustainable tourism across CRs in the MED area, in particular, to establish a specific model of Mediterranean “slow tourism” rooted in the common heritage of 4 CRs.
To tackle the project general objective, MED-Routes’ approach is rooted in a TRANSFER rationale:
- transfer mechanisms are put into place to cross-reference the most relevant, field-tested outputs from INCIRCLE & EMbleMatic projects for the design of eco-itineraries;
- transfer mechanisms are further encouraged in application to MED-Routes experience through capacity building and institutional networking, especially in WP4. By exploiting Cultural Routes’ plural and transnational dimension, MED-Routes will encourage the diffusion of its eco-itinerary model in the context of other CRs and by the initiative of similar institutional actors transnationally.
The combination of all these elements defines transfer & capitalization as the core assets in MEDRoutes’ approach in an innovative perspective for sharing the main outputs:
- Transnational Strategy for sustainable tourism & eco-itineraries in the MED area
- Green Label of Mediterranean CRs for the certification of eco-itineraries
- MED-Routes Action Plans outlining key actions to apply the Transn. Strategy into CRs’ agenda.
Programme priority Specific Objective: RSO2.6: Promoting the transition to a circular and resource efficient economy
Project overall objective: Establish and disseminate a local-based, low-impact model of sustainable tourism across Cultural Routes in the MED area
Project Coordinator: Romagna Faentina Union
Project partners:
The Med-Routes partnership is composed by 8 PPs from 7 different Countries (Italy, Spain, Croatia, Cyprus, Greece, Portugal, Bulgaria) and 4 APs from 3 different Countries (France, Italy and Greece), covering a wide range of different fields and expertise but with one common shared field of action: cultural tourism in the framework of the Cultural Itineraries of the Council of Europe.
- Romagna Faentina Union (IT) – project coordinator
- Castelló de la Plana City Council (ES)
- Pafos Regional Board of Tourism (CY)
- LIBERTAS INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY (HR)
- Network of the Insular Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the European Union (EL)
- REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCY DUBROVNIKNERETVA COUNTY – DUNEA (HR)
- Municipality of Vila Franca de Xira (PT)
- Bulgarian Association for Transfer of Technology and Innovation – BATTI (BG)
– Associazione Strada Europea della Ceramica URF
– Πολιτιστικός Οργανισμός «Δρόμοι της Ελιάς»
– La Rotta dei Fenici LIU
– Fédération Européenne des Cités Napoléoniennes
Program/call: Interreg EURO-MED
Program priority: Greener MED
Project Euro-MED0200798
Project budget: 999 000.00 € (EU contribution 80%)
Project duration: 01.01.2024-31.03.2026 (27 months)
The Project is co-funded by the the European Union
Project website: www.interreg-euro-med/med-routes.eu