TExTOUR

TExTOUR is an EU-funded project which co-designs pioneering and sustainable cultural tourism strategies and policies. The ultimate goal is to improve deprived areas in Europe and beyond. To do this, it sets up Cultural Tourism Labs at eight pilots located within the EU and outside it. Various societal players and stakeholders in the Cultural Tourism sector will be involved in the Cultural Tourism Labs. Replicator Pilots will have the opportunity to develop Cultural Tourism based sustainable economic plans and actions engaging local stakeholders in the process.

Ecomuseum Zagori is participating as a pilot-replicator in TExTOUR with the experimental cultural application: Educational activities regarding the traditional transhumance routes in the region of Zagori: echo-walks and sustainable tourism.

The main objective of the project is the recording, mapping and promotion of the transhumance routes of Zagori as a sustainable tourism product, in collaboration with local livestock farmers, who will act as guides and facilitators of their practice. The actions for the visitors include a hands-on experience of guided tours of the routes of the transhumance breeders of the Zagori region. Also, there will be interpretive walks in the broader area through soundscapes (or echo-walks), which, embedded in a mobile and tablet app, will enhance the tourist experience of the routes. The routes are of varying difficulty level so that there is something for everyone. The echo-walk feature provides depth to a regular trekking activity, as the visitors are able to hear and listen to auditory elements (natural, human, even their own) of their surroundings, that they could not take notice of otherwise.

Funding: European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No.101004687)

Duration: 19/05/2023-30/09/2024

Partners: TExTOUR

External links: https://textour-project.eu/