Eco-sustainability and accessibility in tourism and valorization of heritage

<< Background >>All the partners involved in the ESATVH project shared the need to realise a tourism that responds to the main modern challenges, an ethical and respectful valorisation of places.The Italian partners in particular needed to acquire more and deeper expertise in the area of eco-sustainable tourism in order to better promote their cultural assets in accordance with the Green Deal. The Romanian partners complained of low knowledge in the area of accessible tourism and wished to acquire skills in order to be able to design inclusive tourist offers suitable for all.All partners therefore shared the decision to participate in the Erasmus call for adult education, involving administrators from municipalities and provinces, private actors involved in tourism, and organisations committed to the disabled.Furthermore, 2022 was the European Year of Young People, the key players in building a better, greener, more inclusive and more digital future. It was thus decided to involve young people in the project as well, offering them skills that could be spent in the world of work in the tourism sector.<< Objectives >>The general objective is declined in two specific objectives (SO): - SO1 refers to the improvement of awareness and knowledge of local key actors and youth on policies foran environmentally sustainable tourism and innovative valorization of the natural and cultural heritage; the specific objective was addressed by activities 1.1, 2.1, 2.3, 3.1 and 4.1; - SO2 refers to the improvement of awareness and knowledge of key local actors and persons with disability about accessible forms of tourism and the integration of disabled persons in the tourism sector and its opportunities. Activities targeting this specific objective were: activities 1.2, 2.2, 2.4, 3.2 and 4.2.<< Implementation >>All the activities foreseen by the project were implemented:1.1 analysis of good practices of local policies on sustainable tourism and innovative forms of valorisation of cultural and natural heritage in Romania and Europe1.2 analysis of good practices of local policies for the integration of persons with disabilities in the tourism market, in Italy and in Europe2.1.training to Italian public administrations on policies for sustainable tourism 2.2 training to Romanian public administrations on policies for the integration of persons with disabilities in the tourism market2.3 training to young people on career opportunities related to sustainable tourism and innovative forms of valorisation of the cultural and natural heritage2.4 training to Romanian persons with disabilities on life and career opportunities related to tourism3.1 workshop in Romania on sustainable tourism3.2 workshop in Italy on policies for integration of persons with disabilities in the tourism market4.1 elaboration of guidelines for local policies in the field of sustainable tourism and innovative forms of valorisation of the natural and cultural heritage 4.2 elaboration of guidelines for local policies in the field of accessibility in tourism<< Results >>- Acquisition of skills by Italian and Romanian public administrations in the field of eco-sustainable and accessible tourism- Creation of guidelines on sustainability and accessibility in tourism and in the valorisation of heritage, as a concrete and useful tool throughout Europe for developing local policy strategies- Strengthening the partnership to develop further future joint projects