INTERREG IVC project CHARTS

Culture and Heritage Added value to Regional policies for Tourism Sustainability
CHARTS  is Regional Initiative project focused on the role of culture and heritage in the formulation and delivery of added-value to regional strategies for sustainable tourism development and integration into local, regional, national and EU policies.

CHARTS project is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and made possible by the INTERREG IVC inter-regional cooperation programme

www.charts-interreg4c.eu
Project Mission is to enrich regional policies with culture and heritage as added value for tourism sustainability by exchange of experience amongst the partners in established 12 Good Practices on the sustainable management of culture, heritage and landscape through communication and collaboration, keeping in mind the effects of innovation and creating a base of knowledge that can span well beyond the project’s end.

As one of the 13 CHARTS  partners from 11 countries and 10 regions in Europe, ECTN supported project by acting as the projects’ external relations representative, supported exchange of experience on specific good practices, brought together project results to the attention of the European Union institutions, Commission, Committee of the Regions and European Parliament, as well as disseminated the project outputs to a wider audience of destination authorities and relevant institutes and associations working in cultural and heritage tourism.

During January 2012 - December 2014, ECTN supported project Partnership with expertise at the thematic workshops on specific topics, organized the international conference 'Cultural tourism in the experience economy' in Cyprus, as well as presented project Partnership at the events dedicated to tourism, as well as cultural tourism development and promotion.

CHARTS Good Practices are identified, examined, discussed, exchanged, documented and transferred in the regions

1. Climate Change 
  • Cultural tourism destinations and climate change impacts Risk Assessment
  • Adaptation and mitigation measures and priorities
  • Protection of cultural assets from related risks and setting up monitoring measures
  • 'Greening’ of visitor experience
  • Reducing greenhouse gas emissions by sustainable travel choices for tourism as well as sustainable mobility solutions at destinations
2. Accessibility to Heritage
  • Improving intellectual and physical accessibility to the heritage
  • Accessibility for persons with disabilities and disadvantaged social groups, Accessible Tourism
  • Interpretation and signing of cultural assets
  • Promotion of all means of access to heritage, including virtual, perceptual and tangible
  • Making the heritage environment, products and communication more available and accessible for all, at lowest cost
7. Place Marketing
  • Place Marketing Innovative Strategies based on cultural heritage, local distinctiveness and regional identity
  • Branding procedures with culture and heritage synergies
  • Marketing actions for all year round sustainable and cultural tourism development
  • Tourism promotion, exhibitions, events and road shows
3. Effective Partnerships
  • Building effective partnerships at the destination level between cultural and tourism sectors, as well as between local government authorities
  • Improving the offer and developing innovative pilot projects that encourage visitors to stay longer and engage with local culture and heritage
  • Involving all stakeholders from the public, private and voluntary sectors and all tourism-related providers for sustainable tourism development
  • Interregional and transnational cooperation and networking
4. Host Communities & Responsible Tourism
  • Engaging with host communities of tourism destinations
  • Fostering civic pride, awareness and welcoming
  • Developing a resource within the community
  • Maximising local benefits and minimising negative impacts
  • Ensuring mutual respect between tourists and residents
  • European Capital of Culture experiences, impacts, plans and operations
  • Promoting commitment to ‘Responsible Tourism’, with ethical concerns, equality, long-term vision, certification and award schemes
5. Quality Criteria
  • Development of quality criteria for cultural and heritage tourism destinations to measure performance in terms of tourism sustainability
  • Contributing to ‘European Tourism Quality Label’ initiative of European Commission
  • Support and apply the European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS) for Sustainable Destination Management
  • Pilot implementation of ‘European Heritage Label’ proposals
  • Creation of ‘emotional maps’, a mapping of the visitors ‘journey’ through a destination from the planning of the visit to its end and the recording of emotions and emotive experiences during the different stages (experience based co-design quality assessment method)
  • Links of cultural and natural heritage to ‘Quality Coast’ designation
6. Visitor Information
  • Enhanced information for Visitors through Information Centres & Info Kiosks
  • ICT applications, Video documentaries, Multimedia production
  • New Media Tools, Virtual Reality, Animation, Creativity
  • Innovations through Social Media, Networking and Web Applications
  • Information on conserving natural and cultural heritage and diversity
8. Cultural Routes
  • Cultural Routes – according to the Council of Europe and the European Institute of Cultural Routes
  • Preparatory actions for creation, designation and certification
  • Development and promotional strategies of Cultural Routes
  • Impacts on inter-cultural dialogue, creativity, innovation and competitiveness
  • Contribution to initiatives for supporting innovative and transnational tourism products
9. Railway Heritage
  • Railway Heritage Preservation and Promotion for Cultural and Industrial Tourism
  • Promoting Industrial Heritage of Steam Railways
  • Twinning arrangements between legendary heritage railways and joint marketing
  • Promotion of ‘Riga Charter’ for conservation, restoration, maintenance and repair of historic railway equipment
10. Local Products & Gastronomy
  • Promotion of local products with denomination of origin certification
  • Increasing awareness about local cuisine and traditional recipes
  • Healthy diet for visitors and creative cuisine
  • Local identity enhancement through eno-gastronomy and culinary practices intangible heritage
11. Traditional Skills & Trades
  • Preservation of traditional skills and trades that are becoming extinct (such as: maritime professions, horse shoe maker, saddle maker, ironsmith, masonry crafts)
  • Promotion of the traditional skills and trades procedures as events for visitors and tourist attractions
  • Intangible cultural heritage of handicrafts and traditional craftsmanship
12. Cycling for Tourists
  • Promotion of cycling in cultural tourism destinations for sustainable mobility
  • Communal, shared bike schemes for tourists and visitors
  • Cycle trails as cultural tourism attractions  Cycling tourism as sustainable, environmentally friendly tourism
  • Combination of cycling with other sustainable means of tourism and leisure mobility.

Main CHARTS results and outputs:



The Way Forward

ECTN has involved experts in tourism planning for the preparation of the Guidelines for the Implementation Plans, which are produced in the 10 geographic partner localities. Both the Guidelines and the Implementation Plans became important legacies of the CHARTS project, including actions for the new programming period 2014-2020.
In the end of project, ECTN organized project Closing Conference in Greece and  launched  'THESSALIA CHARTER' in Brussels. 

It is agreed, that ECTN will promote the project good practice themes for implementation during the period 2014-2020 and beyond through interregional cooperation in the future on the following additional themes, inter-alia:

1.  Mobilizing Volunteers
2.  Religious & Pilgrimage Tourism
3.  Industrial Heritage Tourism
4.  Interpretation Facilities
5.  Intangible Heritage
6.  Sustainable Mobility within and for Access to Destinations
7.  Cultural and Creative Industries
8.  Experience Economy
9.  Digitalization and Innovation in Cultural & Sustainable Tourism

At the CHARTS Closing Conference was agreed that ECTN will take over the ‘Award for cultural tourism destinations’ for cultural and heritage tourism development across Europe, launched by the CHARTS project partnership and run it as an annual contest from 2015 onwards, as an important legacy of 


CHARTS project towards raising awareness about cultural and heritage tourism in the EU and beyond.
Thanks to CHARTS project,  ECTN membership has doubled in terms of destinations, incorporating new members as project partners from the EU member states that joined the EU since 2004, namely from Latvia, Cyprus, Romania and Bulgaria, and more are coming.

THESSALIA CHARTER
for ‘Culture and Heritage Added value to Regional policies for Tourism Sustainability’
charts_charter_final_draft_v13.pdf
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File Type: pdf
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PAST EVENTS


9 October 2014, Brussels
'Thessalia Charter' launch event, as a side event of Open Days 2014 - 12th European Week of Regions and Cities
10 - 15 September 2014, Volos
CHARTS Closing Conference 'Engaging Culture and Heritage for Sustainable Tourism Development'
28 - 29 November 2013, Mallorca
The last, 12th Thematic Workshop on 'Cultural Routes' 
24 - 26 October 2013, Pafos, Cyprus
11th Thematic Workshop on 'Place Marketing', the international conference on 'Experience Economy' with a video message from Androulla Vassiliou, European Commissioner responsible for Culture, to the delegates
9 - 10 September 2013, Vidzeme region, Latvia
Two Thematic Workshops  on 'visitor information' and 'cycling for tourists' and meetings with two 'European Capital of Culture'
7 - 10 June 2013, South Pelion Municipality, Greece
Three Thematic Workshops on good practices related to ‘local products and gastronomy’, ‘traditional skills and trades’ and ‘railway heritage preservation and promotion with five study visits
23 - 25 May 2013, Veneto, Italy
Study Tour 
29 April - 1 May 2013, Göteborg, Sweden
5th Thematic Workshop on Quality Criteria for Cultural Tourism with Policy Officer of European Commission
28 - 29 March 2013, Sibiu, Romania
4th Thematic Workshop - Engaging Host Communities for Responsible Tourism
6 - 7 December 2012, Burgas, Bulgaria
3rd Thematic Workshop on building Effective Partnerships
12 - 13 November 2012, Tullamore, Ireland
2nd Thematic Workshop on Accessibility to Heritage
24 - 25 September 2012, Conwy, North Wales, UK
1st thematic workshop on Climate Change with technical visit on Railway Heritage at Ffestiniog Railway and Welsh Highland Railway
21 - 22 June 2012, Barcelona
CHARTS holds the Joint Training Seminar 'Heritage and Cultural Policies for a Sustainable Tourism Promotion and Development in European Regions'
22 - 23 March 2012, Argalasti, South Pelion, Greece
The inaugural meeting of CHARTS project, the 1st meeting of the Steering Committee