Three impacts were highlighted in the SmartCulTour GA:
(i) …improve interventions on cultural tourism at various levels
WP2 and WP4 supported knowledge-improvement on cultural tourism (trends) and the potential of cultural tourism for sustainable development and local resilience, through an evidence-based approach. The awareness and capacity-building activities of UNESCO further improved general understanding of cultural tourism and capacity-training in interpretation and sustainable management. WP3 provided an overview of best practices, inspiring local communities and policy makers in areas rich in heritage, but potentially lacking resources. The SmartCulTour Living Labs served as an example for the ideation and implementation of cultural tourism development. Evidence-based and participatory decision making was supported by the SmartCulTour Platform and Toolkit. While the Living Lab communities were the most direct beneficiaries of the actions, the outputs provide learnings for destinations and policy makers to facilitate bottom-up development.
(ii) …provide strategic guidance at European level concerning the efficient use of European Structural Investment Funds
Within WP3, all 107 case studies analysed the financial resources needed, highlighting the use of private, public, and hybrid funding and serving as a template for local policy makers and communities wanting to develop new cultural tourism initiatives. An overview of all identified EU funding opportunities for tourism-related projects was provided, and a webinar on EU funding was organized, which was recorded and shared via the SmartCulTour website and YouTube channel.
(iii) …contribute to the establishment of partnerships between public and private stakeholders in the area
The Living Labs of WP6 took a multi-stakeholder approach, providing learnings for other destinations that might consider such a setup. Within the six Living Labs, cooperative practices were set up across different thematic fields (e.g. nature-conservation, culture, and tourism), and between public and private organizations and individuals, contributing to an increased local cooperation. WP7 further served to improve mutual understanding and avoid power imbalances from disrupting the cooperative process. An important element to this is the role-playing element inherent in the SmartCulTour Game, which forces stakeholders into other perspectives. SmartCulTour supported cross-border learning and collaboration activities via an exchange visit programme for the Living Labs. Through dissemination and communication activities, the beneficial effects of the SmartCulTour approach for sustainable destination management can inspire action in other destinations as well.
