The Black Sea Hub on Experiential Tourism in Greece (from now on BSB - GR Hub) has the mission to act as a one-stop-shop and a catalyst in order to promote networking and encourage cooperation in the field of experiential tourism in general between a large number of stakeholders that are active in the experiential sector in the two BSB- GR regions (Central Macedonia and Eastern Macedonia and Thrace). These local and regional stakeholders, the interplay of which the BSB - GR Hub aims to encourage, may include the academia, local communities, decision and policy makers, and enterprises of any size (very small, small, medium and large) that are active in the sector.

The aims of the BSB - GR Hub are in line with the specific objectives of the PRO EXTOUR project. They also comply with the goals of City_ Space_Flux Research Unit of AUTh for strategic cooperation with local, regional and national authorities, interest groups and civic society organizations, and business.

In particular, the BSB - GR Hub aims to:

• Design, develop and offer tools and services for promoting the added value potential of experiential tourism for the BSB and the region.
• Improve the knowledge base of the stakeholders of the regions and extent the awareness of the tourism practitioners in regard to the new trends in tourism demand as well as their implications for the BSB.
• Identify opportunities and potential for synergies in respect to new tourism services and business models in the BSB.
• Bring together, support and emphasise on networking among education institutions and business for the operationalization of potential opportunities that may arise in the fields of experiential tourism.
• Promote innovative solutions to enhance cross-border opportunities in experiential tourism.

The Activities or the Subject of operation of the BSB - GR Hub on Experiential Tourism are defined according to its mission and aims and include:

1. Supporting graduate and postgraduate academic education and applied research in the field of spatial planning and tourism development (preparation of diploma and master’s thesis and PhDs) and offering training regarding experiential tourism at the tertiary and the post-secondary and secondary vocational education (VET) levels.
2. Mapping of natural and cultural heritage resources and maintaining an on-line repository of culture- and heritage-based activities and events in experiential tourism in the BSB- GR regions, as well as an inventory of relevant stakeholders and good practices.
3. Providing counseling and mentorship services to non-business entities (cultural institutions, public organizations and authorities) and companies in the field of geographical and spatial analysis, tourism strategic planning and development, and action plans elaboration focusing on sustainability and innovation.
4. Liaising the University with the labour market in the field of tourism, and local community organizations.
5. Development and implementation of pilot projects, demos, initiatives, programmes and strategies promoting experiential tourism, particularly when based on heritage and culture;
6. Establishment of cross-regional and cross-sectoral partnerships amongst researchers, innovators, business and branch organizations for expert support of the tourism sector in the Black Sea Basin.
7. Research and dissemination of international, national and regional practices for encouraging experiential tourism as well as implementation and adoption of innovations and other novel technological and non-technological solutions in this regard.
8. Any other activity that is in agreement with the goals, aims and objectives specified above.

The BSB - GR Hub is going to address the following target groups:

1. Higher education and research

Higher education and research institutions have a dual role in sustaining the Hub’s impact. On the one hand, their applied research can lead to innovation, business and entrepreneurial solutions for the experiential economy and experiential tourism. On the other hand, through education and training these institutions supply the market with professionals and entrepreneurs who act in the real business environment and manage tourism and cultural sectors.

The main objective of BSB – GR Hub is to promote academic research on the subject of experiential tourism and sustainable development and to support the research projects of undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers of AUTH or other academic institutions (preparation of diploma and postgraduate thesis and of doctoral research). The Hub will be open to support this target group by providing services such as access to the Hub database, advice from its academic staff, collaboration and networking with other academics and public and private sector bodies with whom the Hub will work in the context of its operation. The Pilot Catalogs and Electronic Repository are excellent bases for case studies and problem-based learning activities at all levels of professional education. Results from any research will be available to the Hub and will enrich its database for future use by other researchers, as well as by the Hub's partner agencies to provide them with the necessary data to help them improve their services .

2. Local and regional public authorities

Local and regional public authorities are the representatives of the local communities – that by definition provide the scene of the experiential activities – and they are indirect users of the results from the activities of the BSB - GR Hub. Initially, they shall use these results mainly as reference tools and information sources in the process of policy-making, strategic planning and action plan elaboration. In addition, the Hub could provide training through seminars and workshops for executives and employees of the public sector, aiming to stimulate a transfer of good practices on sustainable tourism development and experiential tourism in the public domain of the BSB GR regions. At the same time, as a meeting place, the Hub could provide the opportunity for collaborations and synergies of private and public stakeholders to achieve a common vision for a targeted development policy of experiential tourism. Finally, collaborating public organizations and bodies should be able to participate in applied research and provide practical knowledge that could be useful to the Hub’s operation.

3. SMEs, business support organizations

The SMEs and business branch organizations are the main users of the Pilot Inventories and the On-line Repository provided by the BSB - GR Hub. Especially, SMEs in tourism and hospitality are the primary target group of the PRO EXTOUR, as experiential tourism services are offered predominantly by small undertakings. Moreover, SMEs avail of limited resources for experimentation with new business models, as well as with the use of technological innovations. The Hub shall operate as an advertising and networking channel. Through seminars and mentoring processes involving experts and academics in the field, the interested entrepreneurs and organizations could improve their business practices or generate new ideas and initiatives. Furthermore, the SMEs professionals will have the opportunity to display their experiential activities, whenever this becomes possible and feasible. This will enable the public to evaluate their services and improve them through brainstorming processes and presents opportunities for networking, synergies and collaboration with other companies and stakeholders.

4. Interest groups, including NGOs

Interested groups, including NGOs, often act as cultural operators and heritage managers, organizing culture and heritage-based activities and events. Furthermore, they are engaged in the sustainable local tourism development that preserve the environment and the local communities’ authenticity and promote a conscious, responsible and experiential travel. Thus, interest groups are also vital target group for PRO EXTOUR because they can express the citizens knowledge and expectation and can influence public opinion. They can benefit from the education and training activities of the BSB - GR Hub and also provide their expertise in co-working with the policy-makers and businesses in favor of the sustainable local development.

The BSB - GR Hub is providing 4 (four) clusters of services that incorporate its main activities.

Applied research and experimentation

Experiential tourism is a new field for the regional and local development and the tourist sector in the Black Sea Basin. As a result, the establishment of such a specialized part of market should be followed by constant and up-to-date research which focuses on how and to what extend the area could be developed in this field, by taking into consideration all the dimensions of experiential tourism (spatial, economic, social, environmental etc.).

There is a general perception that tourism as an industry is not mainly based on knowledge and technology. Nevertheless, despite the necessity of authenticity, experiential tourism is closely related to innovations and new technologies. Technologies are highly connected to the personalization of experiences by not only connecting people to locations, but, also, by keeping the experiential economy sustainable. New business models are critical for the vitality of businesses by emphasizing in the sustainable aspect of tourism.

The BSB - GR Hub is based on the research conducted within the PRO EXTOUR project regarding the development of experiential tourism and performs other research activities related to:

• analyses, surveys, studies about all the contemporary experiential tourism trends and its pertinent sectors,
• identification of new activities and services related to experiential tourism and its various dimensions,
• encouraging technological and non-technological innovations that could keep the business and activities of experiential tourism viable and sustainable,
• other pertinent research which is applied in an open-laboratory environment.

The research results are fully accessible to any interested stakeholder.

Mapping and presentation of experiential tourism

Mapping and networking the multiple resources, services providers and activities of experiential tourism offers additional added value and responds to the need of conscious travelers to savour a diverse range of experiences by following proposed touristic routes. The efficient presentation and promotion of the cultural and heritage resources will benefit all the stakeholders involved and the companies active in the sector in marketing their products / services, while it will also allow potential customers to better plan and anticipate their travel experiences in the BSB - GR regions. To this end, the BSB - GR Hub will maintain and further develop during its operation the knowledge base and all the on-line resources created within PRO EXTOUR concerning the BSB - GR regions.

More specifically the BSB - GR Hub will maintain:

• the Inventory of relevant stakeholders (companies, local and/or regional authorities, relevant organizations, etc) and successful business models for experiential tourism,
• the Pilot Inventories of heritage and cultural activities and events,
• the On-line Repository of resources and tools for experiential tourism (the main documents and tools developed within the project, information and materials for promotion and communication etc) that will be available to the public online and could be used in the creation of cross-border culture- and heritage-based activities and routes in experiential tourism.

In addition to the above and as already highlighted, the Hub will also aim to further extend the contents of all the above mentioned resources with new information, case studies, materials and other resources that are created by the stakeholders or within other initiatives similar to PRO EXTOUR for the benefit of the end users, while at the same time promote and disseminate on the social media information on its function and of the resources it maintains.

The access to the digital resources will remain open to all interested stakeholders and the general public.

Networking and community of practice

The basis of experiential tourism in the anthropocentric approach. This means that experiential tourism development is customer – and local community based oriented, by focusing on the visitor’s value and needs. So, both travelers and service – providers need to spend time and resources to find all the necessary factors and information that contribute to a fully designed, high – quality and authentic experiential tourism product.

As practice proved, experiential servicers are usually provided by small ventures (SMEs, interest groups), which cannot invest many resources in research and development of new activities. So, the aspects of interaction and network creation are important to overcome this problem and further develop experiential activities.

The networking services of the BSB - GR Hub refer to:

• active participation in the cross-border network of the Black Sea Hubs on Experiential Tourism, in cooperation with the other Hubs, created within PRO EXTOUR project.
• organization/participation of an International Fair on Heritage and Culture-based Experiential Tourism in the BSB and promotion of communication and cooperation among the participants.
• gathering and coordinating an informal group of people who are involved in the various sectors of experiential tourism, aiming to share best practices and create new knowledge to further develop and support novel professional practices. This community of practice will involve the researchers who have worked in PRO EXTOUR project, other academics, experts and students, as well as like-minded professionals who are involved in the project events and actively contributed to the field research and workshops.
• organisation and facilitation of discussions, exhibitions, seminars etc. at its premises and within the mainstream research and training activities of the institution hosting the Hub.

The access to the events and activities remains open to all interested stakeholders.

Training and mentoring

One of the main goals of the BSB - GR Hub is to be a place of education, training and consulting on issues related to experiential tourism. To achieve this, the following services shall be provided by the Hub:

1. Τraining seminars
2. Demonstration and promotion of experiential activities
3. Consulting

The Hub can organize seminars on the subject of experiential tourism, which will be open and free to those who wish to participate (students, researchers, stakeholders). Occasionally, the seminars are going to be targeted at specific groups aiming at their specialized training (e.g., young entrepreneurs or entrepreneur-to-be). Given the pandemic, the seminars will be implemented with physical presence, based on a certain number of entries or online. The lecturers of the seminars will be academics, researchers, experts, and professionals with knowledge and experience in the fields of spatial planning and development and tourism development and management.

Within the seminars, the Hub can co-organize demonstration activities in cooperation with selected public and private stakeholders that are already active in the field, to disseminate good practices in experiential tourism and inspire and advise young professionals. Participation in these actions will be free, however the audience can be predetermined by the Hub team depending on the targeting of the specific action. These actions will be held mainly with physical presence, given their experiential nature, while the aim is to investigate whether innovative experiential actions could be implemented via the internet.

The Hub, as a research and training entity will also provide ad hoc informal and non-formal consulting services upon request by public organizations and entrepreneurs. In addition, consulting could be implemented in the context of training seminars in the form of workshops, where brainstorming and mentoring procedures could be provided by experts in the field and with an emphasis on innovation. Mentors will be experts and academics with knowledge and experience in the specific subject. Counseling activities could be provided either live or online.