Territorio Mudéjar is participating in a pilot project with European funding to design its own quality seal to distinguish local establishments with services suitable for scientific tourism linked to heritage and cultural resources.
The project, called Digitour, is funded by the European Commission’s Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises within the framework of the Cosme Cos-Tourinn-2020-3-04 programme and aims to boost the tourism sector by bringing together companies in this sector with providers of innovative and digital solutions using territorial and cultural heritage for tourism purposes. It is also linked to the work of creating networks of professionals with activity and impact in the villages that Territorio Mudéjar develops through its Research Stays and Projects.
The pilot project will begin with the redesign of the brand of the Posada del Almudí in Daroca – a historic building in the centre of the town – with an interesting rehabilitation – and an establishment in Romania, Pensiunea Septiembrie in the town of Elsenita – a recently constructed building integrated in the landscape of the Danube Gorges, in the surroundings of the Natural Park of the Iron Gates, a geopark declared World Heritage by UNESCO, whose associated heritage offers a high cultural value as well as a very interesting ethnographic development.
This union of European companies is, moreover, the result of the exchange trips of good practices of the European project MOMAr Interreg Europe led by the Diputación de Zaragoza and in which the association Territorio Mudéjar has actively participated since its inception in 2019.
This seal of quality recognises establishments that are prepared to cater for the tourism of people and professionals who travel to research, learn about or develop projects related to the heritage and history of the network of towns and villages in the Mudejar Territory and then translate this into their studies.
The pilot project will define the characteristics of hotel services for these customers with the aim of generating a European-wide flow of knowledge-driven travellers.
Globally, the Digitour project, in which Territorio Mudéjar participates, with 12 partner countries will launch 19 collaborative projects in which tourism SMEs and digital providers will collaborate. This will involve improving the tourism skills and capabilities in the cultural field of small and medium-sized enterprises through training and advice. It will also promote innovative ideas for SMEs to improve their offer and the management, marketing and promotion of their services in a new and sustainable way.
SMEs are the backbone of the tourism sector in Europe (they represent 90% of the companies in the sector) and, in this context, they play a crucial role in innovating and relaunching the sector. They often find it difficult to access digital tools and Digitour aims to help them become part of an innovative ecosystem. It does so by granting two types of vouchers.
One, for individual SMEs that want to improve their skills in digital tools. The other is for groups of SMEs cooperating on innovative projects or who want to participate in an international digital ecosystem.
