TOURISMO is a project focused on the management of tourist flows, funded with approximately 3 million euros from the Interreg Euro-MED program.
The activities were launched in January 2024 and will take place over 33 months to conclude in September 2026.
This project involves a close collaboration between FRI and the University of Florence, specifically the DISIT Lab of the DINFO, with activities that follow in the footsteps of the previous Herit-Data, a project already completed within the Interreg MED program, aimed at identifying innovative solutions to reduce the negative impacts of tourism overcrowding and better manage tourism flows in natural and cultural heritage sites.
Building on the foundations laid by its predecessor, TOURISMO will keep boosting innovation through new methodologies and tools in areas with high tourism pressure. Better flow management will be implemented through the development of a monitoring & decision-making support management system. Pilot test in 8 MED pilot areas with a variety of characteristics (City of Rhodes,Greece; Florence, Italy; Valencia PortArea and Historic Center of Valencia, Spain; Limassol PortArea, Cyprus; Varna, Bulgaria; Golden Bay, Malta; Biševo Island,Croatia) will enable replicability in other areas.
The approach is based on utilizing data from various datasets and on-site technologies (ie thermal cameras, paxcounters, drones, tags) relevant to tourists’ presence, density, trajectories and behaviors, with the support of an enriched version of HERIT-DATA platform, Snap4City, developed and managed by University of Florence.
The partnership embeds a variety of location profiles (UNESCO areas, ports, city centers, beaches, cultural monuments, parks, etc.) and different stakeholders of the value chain (Development Agencies, RTOs, Scientific experts, Innovation Institutes and Intermediaries, NGOs) allowing to test solutions in different environments, as well as capitalizing previous experience, guaranteeing simultaneously a high degree of innovation:
- Development Agency of South Aegean Region – READ S.A. (Greece)
- DINFO DISIT Lab – University of Florence (Italy)
- Foundation for Research and Innovation – FRI (Italy)
- Valenciaport Foundation (Spain)
- Development Agency of Lemesos (Cyprus)
- Varna Economic Development Agency (Bulgaria)
- Public Institution RERA S.D for Coordination and Development of Split Dalmatia County (Croatia)
- Malta Regional Development and Dialogue Foundation (Malta)
- KINNO innovation Intermediaries (Greece)
- Santa Maria la Real Foundation of Historical Heritage (Spain)
FRI will contribute transversally to all work packages, so to exploit its experience with respect to communication, management, design and set up of pilot tests and technical aspects related to the testing phase.
For further information on the project, please contact chiara.guiggiani@unifi.it