PRO EXTOUR is a research project that aims to promote experiential tourism as a sustainable development axis for tourism businesses in the Black Sea region, harnessing the potential of local heritage and culture, innovative solutions and cross-border cooperation. The project is a joint initiative of three higher education institutions with recognized applied research expertise in the field of tourism – Varna University of Management (Bulgaria), Yerevan State University (Armenia) and Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (Greece), a cultural networking organization – Georgian Arts and Culture Center (Georgia) and a regional hospitality cluster – the Culinary Arts and Hospitality Association (Bulgaria).
Regarding Greece, the regions studied in the framework of the research program are the Region of Central Macedonia and the Region of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace.
The main results of the project include, among others:
A regional needs assessment report and an action plan for the promotion of experiential tourism based on heritage and culture in the Black Sea region, lists of business models, activities and events based on heritage and culture, an online repository of resources and tools for experiential tourism, a cross-border Black Sea Business Network (Black Sea Hubs) for experiential tourism, international conferences and exhibition on digital technologies, experiential tourism based on heritage and culture in the Black Sea region.
PRO EXTOUR stands for “Promoting Heritage- and Culture-based Experiential Tourism in the Black Sea Basin”. The project was implemented between 1.06.2020 and 31.01.2023 with the support of the ENI CBC Black Sea Basin Programme 2014-2020 and a budget of 913 380.00 Euro.
In Greece, PRO EXTOUR was implemented by City_Space_Flux Research Unit of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTh) under the scientific coordination of Apostolos Papagiannakis, Associate Professor of the School of Spatial Planning and Development, Faculty of Engineering, AUTh.
Web page: https://proextour.eu/el/home-el/
Useful links:
https://proextour.eu/el/outputs-el/
https://repo.proextour.eu/el/categories/business-models/greece
https://repo.proextour.eu/el/categories/activities/greece
https://www.youtube.com/@proextour/videos
