Rural and remote areas (RRA) are rich in cultural heritage, but many also suffer from socio-economic
problems such as an ageing population, out-migration, and low incomes. Cultural and creative tourism
(CCT) could help address these problems by creating sustainable jobs and investment, but three key
challenges and associated knowledge gaps must be overcome: (1) place-specific business models that
suit different types of cultural heritage and community needs must be created; (2) tourism
development must be balanced and sustainable; (3) policies at different scales should support
cooperation between RRA. CROCUS addresses these key challenges by: (a) generating knowledge
about which CCT business models are most appropriate for different types of heritage and rural areas;
(b) creating eight cross-border living labs in which sustainable CCT business models will be prototyped
(16 in total); (c) developing macro-regional and cross-border policy scenarios for each of the four EU
macro-regions (Baltic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian, Alpine, and Danube); and (d) synthesising knowledge
and experience from the project to create tools and resources that RRA across Europe and beyond
can be used to develop sustainable and inclusive CCT in the future.
Factsheet on CORDIS: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101132454
