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. 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. 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 own 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.
With 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. The need to increase the digital skills of adult especially in rural areas to seek opportunities in the tourism sector is more urgent than ever in order to survive in this rapid technological evolvement. This way cultural preservation of rural areas as well as employment opportunities will keep local tourism alive and vice versa.