The project pursued three main pillars in parallel, feeding one another.
– The first pillar was the execution of pilot experiments, investigating actions related to different facets of cultural heritage, generating a wealth of diverse and complementary ideas and recommendations. The cultural heritage institutions reached by the pilots have benefitted from the implementation of actions co-designed with other relevant stakeholders, informed by best practices and lessons learnt.
- The second pillar was the implementation of an IT platform, including a specialized content management system and web-based tools to facilitate the creation and enjoyment of personalized trips along the pilgrimage routes and in the surrounding territories. The tests reports showed the progress made to attain the desired Technological Readiness and Maturity levels, which enabled successful demonstrations in major events such as the FITUR, TTG and Fairway tourism fairs.
– The third pillar was the creation of a network to liaise with stakeholders and policymakers at all levels. The project partners worked to communicate the motivation and goals, attaining 120+ collaboration agreements with organizations that contributed views, ideas, expectations, requirements and constraints. June 2023 saw the official launch of the European Cooperation Network along Pilgrimage Routes (ECNPR), which is growing steadily with organizations that are turning their former collaboration agreements into signatures of the Memorandum of Understanding, and new organizations too.
The plan for exploitation and dissemination of results covers the value proposition of rurAllure, a technology assessment, an analysis of market needs and dimensions, business and revenue models, the exploitation intents by the Consortium partners and the role of the Network as a major vehicle for promotion and evolution. The following are key points planned for the phase that follows the end of the project:
– 13 partners out of 16 partners plan to exploit either the complete IT platform or parts of it, for research, promotion and/or business purposes.
– The University of Vigo (rurAllure Project Coordinator) has secured own funds to maintain and evolve the Network's website, to maintain its mailing lists and to develop a bimonthly newsletter, until April 2026 at least.
– The rurAllure partners have launched new regional, national and international projects in areas with substantial intersection with the topics of rurAllure, capitalizing on the key outputs from rurAllure. These include actions on new territories to promote the adoption of the best practices and recommendations documented in the pilots, fostering exchange between museum curators, conservators and management. Besides, there are scientific studies planned or already started by the academic partners in Humanities and Social Sciences to do research in connection with the narratives created in the pilots.
– The Network members are working to prepare an Interreg Europe proposal to scale up the results and impact, envisioning the pilgrimage routes of Europe as an infrastructure for rural development and sustainable tourism.
– The social accounts of rurAllure will progressively migrate to serve the purposes of the Network, in order to benefit from the existing base of followers and subscribers.
