Demand is growing for cultural tourism, a segment that stands out for its enormous variety of attractions on offer. However, very little research has been conducted in many areas of cultural tourism, including garden tourism. Parks, gardens and other landscaped, green open spaces are now seen as important cultural attractions for tourist destinations, and are increasingly being developed to cater for tourists. Such locations also provide leisure opportunities for the local population, and can make a contribution to an area’s cultural identity and sustainable regional development.
In the course of the three-year project, strategies and concepts were developed for preserving public and privately owned parks, gardens and other open spaces, and for their use in tourism. Feasibility studies were also conducted. A strategic management tool – the CultTour analysis tool – was developed to support parks and gardens managers in making their sites attractive to visitors and securing long-term income from tourism, while also taking account of environmental, economic and sociocultural sustainability.
The project was funded by the South East Europe Transnational Cooperation Programme and co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) (2007-2013).
