The kick-off event of the SMITour project at the Textile Museum in Prato was met with resounding success on March 5th. Attendees were treated to a dynamic program showcasing the future of industrial tourism in the Mediterranean.
The event debuted with Massimo Preite of ERIH Network providing valuable insights into industrial tourism innovation in Europe and continued with best practices and success experiences showcasing the different social and economic prospective of industrial tourism advancement across the Mediterranean region with a particular insight on the potential of new digital technologies at the service of the sector.
This overview has been highlighted through presentations from project partner institutions such as the Municipality of Prato introducing the experience of TIPO – Industrial Tourism Prato project, the experiential network connecting destinations improved by XATIC, the Industrial Tourism Network of Catalonia, the Athens case as an example of improving industrial tourism location delivered by the Hellenic Clothing Industry Association as well as the current state and potential of Slovenia and the Rijeka area, respectively illustrated by E-Zavod institute and the Faculty of Economics and Business in Rijeka, Croatia.
Following the on-site event, SMITour partners participated in a double study visits organized by the lead partner with the collaboration of the Prato Textile Museum providing the opportunity to explore local textile companies actively engaged in sustainable textile production and established in significant local industrial archeology sites both dedicating great attention to the enhanchement of their heritage through open and targeted activities addressed to industrial tourism development.
