The TraCEs – Cultour Is Capital project and its partners are committed to achieve certain expected results and impacts.
First of all, open a novel exploitation window for European Capitals of Culture by managing a capacity-building process that has led up to a newly-designed tourism product that has enhanced their cultural vocation, integrating cultural heritage with other key local resources (such as wine& food, nature and outdoor activities, sports and wellness, among others).
Take advantage of untapped potential of ECoCs for their further revitalization and tourism development, whereas enabled a process of transfer of knowledge and lessons learned to better work at ECoCs’ legacy in the mid to long run; in doing so, past ECoCs have empowered future ECoCs through the experience they have gained;
To stimulate cooperation and common strategic planning among ECoCs and strengthened the existing ECoC Network, then driven further improvements into tourism promotional strategies and local/regional development (new public-private partnership established). In this sense, it is a goal to join a higher number of ECoCs and Transformative Travels compared to the original core number.
TraCEs will nurture importance of spill-over effects among tourism and CCIs and adopted a participated approach to the design of the tourism product; likewise, boosted capacity-building at community-level, tourism and CCIs operators challenged to innovate out of their usual mindset.
By leveraging the ECoC concept, it is expected to increase tourism flows in interested areas and attracted people outside traditional cultural travellers and usual cultural and creative flows. Run a rising tourism trend that is value-based, which has encouraged sustainable tourism across Europe, and fostered a sense of community, social cohesion and inclusion.
Besides, the project will embed creativity in the proposed product and organized a final product that has spurred visibility and engagement of potential and actual travellers; explored new ways of engaging tourists and nourished a community of ECoC ambassadors acting as genuine influencers; and organized a new business model that has allowed to developed a marketable product with projected positive financials and market acceptance. All these relevant issues will be monitored and measured throughout the project and within two years after its completion, in order to evaluate the its capacity to reach stated objectives and create benefits to European cities.