BRICS project kicks off: Cross-border inner areas get together to support local tourism
15/11/2023
The kick-off meeting of the BRICS project took place on 30 October 2023 (online) and it was an important step as it launched the key phase of the project. Representatives of the project partners had the opportunity to get together online and discuss the state of play of the project, as well as the project activities and how to involve local stakeholders from the tourism sector in their respective in-land territories.
The project BRICS aims to overcome administrative and procedural obstacles hampering the outward touristic promotion of inner areas. This challenge is common in three specific internal areas: the Basso Ferrarese area in Emilia, the Matese area in Molise and the Municipality of Dugopolje of Split-Dalmatia County. Despite their strong tourism potential, these areas still do not enjoy significant tourist flows due to the lack of unified Tourism Governance Mechanisms. That is the reason why the three partners of the cooperation area are keen to work together for the joint promotion of their areas.
During the meeting, the partner discussed different topics such as how to enhance the institutional capacity of the involved public bodies and how to engage local stakeholders of the tourism sector through the planned activities of the project.
In the coming months, local meetings with stakeholders will be organised in order to introduce the project and to explain their expected involvement in the activities. Also Living Labs and study visits have been planned during the KoM meeting. The Living Lab will involve at least 10 stakeholders in each territory, in that way, representatives of the tourism sector will play a key role in the definition of the governance strategy that will be developed by BRICS.
Furthermore, the partners have discussed specific technical issues such as daily management, deliverables and the consultation rounds with stakeholders for the definition of the cross-border touristic path.
Lastly, as part of the meeting, project partners had the chance to discuss the Study Visits that will be held in Dugopolje and Molise, where they could experience Italian and Croatian hospitality.