Project Objective
Creation of an integrated enogastronomic tourism offer that will become a key driver of sustainable socio-economic development in the Italy–Croatia cross-border area.
Project Description
TESTEAT aims to enhance the role of enogastronomic heritage in order to stimulate sustainable socio-economic and cultural development of the cross-border area. The TESTEAT project’s approach will shape an innovative and integrated cross-border tourism offer through the joint valorisation of Italian and Croatian enogastronomic heritage, joint training of qualified human resources in the tourism sector, and joint solutions to address specific demand-side challenges in peripheral rural and urban coastal areas.
The project focuses on upgrading the skills of tourism stakeholders and the future and current workforce—especially students and professionals (chefs, waiters, destination managers, tourist guides, etc.)—and on improving their knowledge of enogastronomic heritage, contemporary needs and dietary choices, and the opportunities offered by sustainable tourism, the circular economy, and digitalisation.
To ensure the active participation of stakeholders in project activities and in the co-design of results, the partners will create two innovative enogastronomic HUBs. The HUBs will be composed of key public and private actors from the tourism and culture sectors who will be involved throughout the project’s implementation. TESTEAT partners and the HUBs will develop action plans to shape strategies for the valorisation of enogastronomic heritage and define actions to be carried out in the future to ensure their commitment after the project’s completion. This will help strengthen the project’s spillover effects in the tourism and education sectors.
TESTEAT can count on a diverse and complex partnership consisting of public and private entities and educational institutions, in order to better respond to cross-border challenges and develop joint solutions. The project’s originality will be showcased through the TESTEAT online tool for creating innovative tourism offers tailored to contemporary consumer/tourist behaviours and needs.
