<< Background >>ContextCultural Tourism (CT) is an integral part of today’s economy, even if seriously hit after the pandemic. Although it accounted for more than 37% of the tourism sector until 2019, there was a massive blow of 80% with the COVID-19 (TexTOUR Project, 2021). As the European Commission is committed to safeguard cultural heritage focusing on sustainability and innovation, advanced technologies together with hybrid skills required in businesses’ digital transformation are providing endless possibilities in the field of CT (European Framework for Action on Cultural Heritage, 2018). In fact, technologies such as 360o photo, 3D printing, Augmented/Virtual Reality and serious games have been recently introduced in tourism for enriching tourists’ experiences through cultural heritage. An example is depicted in the Tourism 4.0 Heritage+ approach which aims at bridging the gap between the needs of local communities for promoting heritage values and sustainable development (Arctur d.o.o, 2019). Another example is EU UNESCO 4ALL TOUR, a project that has made art accessible to visually impaired people by combining tactile exploration with audio data (www.unesco4all-tour.eu). Those examples imply that cultural tourism is increasingly moving towards digitization, with accessible tourism being a game changer for destinations (UNWTO, 2020).Nonetheless, the pandemic was a huge shock for the tourism-related cultural sector, bringing into the forefront both the challenges endured by people working in the sector and the ways of how cultural life is weakened by the lockdown (Compendium of Cultural Policies & Trends, 2020). With almost 70 million fewer travelers, the pandemic jeopardizes the most important parts of cultural tourism (UNESCO, 2020). With more than 13% of museums being at risk of never re-opening, more than 80% of UNESCO World Heritage properties being locked, 75 million jobs in tourism being under immediate threat and most people working in the field of cultural tourism being currently unemployed, the need to turn into sustainable smart solutions becomes even more urgent. As digital jobs become more vital than ever, new skills are needed among the professional profiles of tourism. It is thus rational for digitally low-skilled adults pursuing job opportunities in the sector to be more equipped with digital competences so as to form a stronger workforce (UNWTO, 2020). Therefore, as there is an increasing need for digital designers with a deep understanding in usability, accessibility, interaction, narrativity and dramatic composition for exhibitions, digital jobs are constantly being developed with the view to make cultural tourism accessible (Compendium of Cultural Policies & Trends, 2020).Needs / ProblemWith the COVID-19 onslaught having forced cultural life to retreat implying a massive impact on the sector, the pandemic and economic crisis can be also regarded as a cultural one (A & Al-Said, 2020). In fact, the pandemic has revealed the true power of culture as an expression of humanity towards establishing sustainable development (Ottone, 2020). On the other hand, beyond its control, travel and tourism industry, as a vital resource for the cultural sector, has been significantly affected as well, with 75 million jobs in the industry being under immediate threat in 2020 (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2020). However, as there is an urgent need for digital designers with a deep understanding in usability, accessibility, interaction, narrativity and dramatic composition for exhibitions, digital jobs opportunities are constantly being developed under the prism of making heritage accessible (Compendium of Cultural Policies & Trends, 2020).<< Objectives >>The current project addresses innovative up-skilling practices based on experiential learning in order to equip low-skilled adult with the creativity and digital skills required in the cultural tourism sector within the context of a digital post-crisis world. The purpose is to enable them to create their own digital cultural tourist guide, while promoting local culture towards sustainable tourism.More specifically, the project aims at empowering low-skilled adults especially from rural areas to promote Cultural Tourism (CT) resources by developing their skills in Digital Design & Digital Thinking towards the digital transformation of CT. As the new era in cultural tourism integrates the concept of digital cultural tourist into cultural life, adult job seekers should be up-skilled with competences that allow them to become competitive among the close and yet vying industry of CT.Upon project completion, participants will have a deep understanding in digital design principles and be able not only to map out digital content that promotes local culture values but also to manage the tones of resources available in cultural life (museum exhibits, local products/food, places to visit, etc.) in an entreating manner.This will be facilitated by the creation of a practical interactive online course for adults already working, willing to work or left jobless in the field of CT due to the crisis. The course will be complemented by a cloud-based tool that will allow them to create their own digital cultural tourist guide, based on a pre-defined scientific methodology.Specific objectives:- To create a series of handbooks for adults' up-skilling including practical examples of how Digital Thinking & Digital Design is applied in Cultural Tourism- To develop a virtual assistant that will guide and support the participants in creating their own project, namely their ownl Digital Tourist Guide- To build an online European Network serving as a community of practice and giving the opportunity to the project network to work towards affecting European policies for cultural heritage tourism.Target groups:-Direct:o Low-skilled adults from rural areas that already have working experience in heritage tourism or are interested in promoting heritage tourismo Low-skilled adults that are interested in improving their digital competences-Indirect:oAdult trainers/educatorsoAdult training organizationsoTourism organizationsoOrganizations related to the creative/cultural industryoNGOs or other organizations/authorities taking initiatives towards sustainable developmentoDigital designers / Digital design / e-Learning companiesoPolicy makers<< Implementation >>In alignment with the aforementioned objectives, specific activities based on Agile methodology are going to be implemented:-A needs validation report serving as the basis of the white paper stating the current situation in partner countries regarding the post-COVID heritage tourism activities and the skills required to overcome tourism unemployment-The development of practical handbooks for low-skilled adults with useful guidelines and examples of Digital Design principles in Cultural Tourism Promotion-The configuration of a virtual tool that will foster the hybrid skills of participants towards empowering them to promote their own Digital Cultural Tourist Guide-The establishment of a strong network inside and outside the partnership towards the creation of CulTour Design synergies of practice through a digital community especially developed for the project enthusiasts-Project, Quality, Sharing & Promotion, Piloting and Exploitation plans supporting all the horizontal activities that will establish the impact of the project through top quality results-Development of an Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) agreement to be signed among all partners ensuring the exploitation of the project and including succession schemes and revenue models<< Results >>The intangible results that will insure the project impact after its completion are:-Raising awareness about the current situation and actions taken in-response to COVID-19 as well as the impact on cultural tourism.-Implementation of novel ICT-enabled training methods for skills development helping rural citizens and tourism professionals to acquire digital skills while safeguarding the cultural sector.-Enhancement of smart solutions and e-learning strategies in E&T within the context of cultural and creative sectors turning to online solutions due to the crisis confinement.-Incorporation of open educational resources (OERs) and open software in the learning process complemented by motivating online learning activities-Development of a wide network of stakeholders providing the opportunity to open a dialogue among cultural tourism communities-Affecting policies related to cultural tourism initiatives across the EUThe main tangible project results to be available upon its completion are:1.A series of inclusive handbooks especially developed for adults seeking job opportunities in the cultural tourism sector. The handbooks aim at enhancing the digital skills of low-skilled adults with a focus on those from rural areas, focusing on the main aspects of Digital Design and Digital Thinking for efficient Cultural Tourism Promotion.2.A cloud-based assistant that provides pathways to users allowing them to put their newly acquired digital skills into practice while enhancing their hybrid skills (technical and non technical). Through this tool, low-skilled adults will be able to create their own cultural tours, utilizing digital thinking principles to design virtual products that promote their local culture and safeguard tourism sustainability.3.The CulTour Digital European Community that constitutes a dedicated online space serving as a single point of information and communication for the project practitioners and interested parties under the scope of increasing the project network and thus impact among European creative/cultural industries and policy making authorities.

"Blue tourism in a rising sector. Taking into consideration the annual economic report on the blue economy of the EU presented by the European Commission, ""coastal tourism is the largest contributor in terms of jobs, value added and profits, contributing significantly more to jobs than to GVA and / or profits "". Thus, the blue tourism sector has a special potential to encourage the development of new companies, which entails the implementation of actions that benefit both the improvement of the professional skills of graduates and university students with an entrepreneurial character in the knowledge of blue tourism as a greater involvement of the universities in the incorporation of educational programs of entrepreneurship in blue tourism in their curricula and the corresponding active participation of their professors.The objectives of the BT Opportunities project are:1.- The improvement of business skills, including the business social skills of graduates in higher education.2.- The implementation of curricula and training programs in universities that meet the needs of the blue tourism industry.3.- The improvement of the professional competence of university professors in relation to the MOOC method in areas related to entrepreneurship in blue tourism.4.- The use of mentoring as a collaboration and support tool between the university / professor /student on the blue tourism business spirit.In order to achieve these objectives, a training course with two training modules will be designed related to entrepreneurship in blue tourism following the methodological framework of ECVET and EntreComp (The Entrepreneurship Competence Framework) that facilitates the validation and recognition of the skills and professional knowledge acquired In the entrepreneurship of the blue tourism in the different education systems and countries of the EU, on the other hand, a mentoring platform in blue tourism entrepreneurship will be developed in which professors and students or graduates with entrepreneurial spirit can interact for the implementation in of their business. Likewise and in order to give an added value to the project, university professors will be trained in the use of MOOC as a didactic method for entrepreneurship courses in blue tourism.The target groups of the project, all of them directly or indirectly participating in the problem of this group, are the following:-Universities linked to the tourism sector-Students and university graduates with entrepreneurial character-University teachers-Organizations and entrepreneur associations-Chambers of Commerce-Interpreneur support centers, start-up incubatorsIn order to achieve the project's objectives, innovative methodologies will be used (MOOC, mentoring platform ""in the cloud""), with the aim of enhancing their use as a didactic and interrelational means student-teacher-mentor and of obtaining benefits to medium-long term on the utility of these tools as a means of improving the professional skills of users both at the student and teacher levels. The transnationality of the present project is fundamental to make known the objectives of the project as well as the results obtained and the different products developed, for this reason we have formed an international and multidisciplinary consortium with sufficient experience in both blue tourism and innovative teaching tools to enrich the project and to achieve the scope and quality of the results sought for the recipients of it:- Szkola Glowna Turystyki i Hotelarstwa Vistula - Coordinator (Poland)- ASOCIACION DE INNOVACION EMPRENDIMIENTO Y TECNOLOGIAS DE LA INFORMACION Y LA COMUNICACION (INNETICA) (Spain)- INSTITUT NATIONAL DE CERCETARE DEZVOLTARE IN TURISM (Romania)- ESE, Ensino Superior Empresarial, LDA. (Portugal)- Skills Zone Malta co. Limited (Malta)- GLANDRIVE, UNIPESSOAL LDA (Portugal)The beneficiaries of the project have a wide network of knowledge and contacts at the local / regional and national level, which allows the adequate dissemination and capitalization of the same. All planned dissemination actions will be detailed in the corresponding Dissemination and Capitalization Plan of the project, in order to guarantee its sustainability and long-term benefits."

"The project focused on the Knowledge Triangle, digital integration, opening up education, entrepreneurship and soft skills tackling a very large stakeholder map in the tourism sector. 6 partners involving university as coordinator, policymakers as municipality, foundation, and private companies with a specific profile in training for the tourism sector composed the strategic partnership. At the end of the project five (5) intellectual outputs, two multiplier events, one was ""Hackatour Event"" focused on mobile tourism and the other was ""Tourism Science Event"" attracting more than 200 participants were being realized. IO1 was about a research analysis on understanding ""Tourism consumer behavior experience - driven by Mobile ICT on Social Media"". IO2 was about a training program on social media and their impact on the educational process. IO3 was about another training program on how to apply games on tourism services using mobile devices. IO4 was about a training program how to innovate in designing new business models in tourism, based on education. Final IO5 was our MOOC 4.0, which was about how to implement innovation on tourism education and services. In terms of enhancing digital integration, this project addressed on Mobile ICT Apps applied to tourism. However, the project was not only focused on the App but also understanding how the information was co-created by the consumer shared, and how these all impacted the tourism sector analyzed. Since the Education system is not addressing the fast change and the stakeholder map could not visualize this as an ICT eco-system involved all services that must be based on service design and community management integration, TOURBAN project activities justified these priorities such as enhancing University/ schools curriculums and involving the stakeholder map, redesigning the services provided adjusting to the new social media channels e.g. creating branding, making their website responsive to mobile phones, developing new Mobile App services with the help of the users.Regarding entrepreneurship, according to the EU Skills Panorama (2014) Employability and skills of higher education graduates Analytical Highlight, prepared by ICF GHK and Cedefop for the European Commission, TOURBAN project helped graduate recruiters emphasizing the importance of soft skills as well as having the opportunity for young people to gain work experience to make possible for them to compete in a changing labor​ market. The analytical research reports and the training programs we developed confirmed that the most important skills for the employers were team-working skills, followed by sector-specific skills, communication skills, computer skills, being able to adapt to new situations, reading/writing ability, and analytical and problem-solving skills. We also pointed out that other skills such as creativity and entrepreneurship as well as relevant experience were very important for companies, and that they could be acquired through high-quality apprenticeships in companies. In connection with opening up education, the project delivered Open Educational Resources and MOOC 4.0 version. We also organized for the first time a Hackatour event in Konya, Turkey. This Hackatour event was about innovation on Mobile ICT Apps and new business models design in the tourism sector. It was an open hybrid format that mixed professional advice with fun in a programme complete with activities of all kind. The event was about promoting, sharing, networking, training for creative and sharing economy in the tourism sector. Furthermore, It also made education staff, the local tourism stakeholders and regional authorities come together in different workshops under that event. The tangible outputs of TOURBAN project were:-1 ICT Curriculum training improvement applied to real cases using Smart ICT on social media channels,-1 ICT Thematic maps of tourists’ space usage, Big Data analysis report of Konya, Modena, Den Helder, Bucharest, -1Training program on curriculum design, Social Media Data Community Manager trends, tourism service design,-1 Training program (OER) and how to choose, use and manage games to work in tourism business to create branding,-1 Branding strategy report based on visitors experience,-200 participants took part in the events, 20 teachers trained."