From Ancient Maritime Routes to eco-touristic destinations

Involved territories are characterized for having hosted in the past ancient harbors who have been always considered marginal to cities’ development, thus scarcely attractive for visitors.

The common territorial challenge faced by the project is then that ancient harbor sites have a high but unused potential for economic growth as ecotourism destinations, especially off-season and are also characterized by an insufficient involvement of community actors in cultural heritage valorization.

APPRODI main objective is to promote and valorize cultural heritages in ADRION area by enhancing management and promotion of ancient harbors sites as touristic destinations and by improving the involvement of local communities. 5 pilot sites will be valorized as new potential destinations by applying innovative techniques, such as geo-archeological investigations (Ortona, Durazzo, Dubrovnik) whose findings will be exposed in Museums exhibitions or zero impact and zero infrastructures solutions for an innovative coastal and lagoon archaeological park (Torcello, Venice).

Awareness raising actions and thematic events will be implemented inviting commercial operators and key stakeholders to promote new destinations and to include them in existing touristic circuits. In addition to the 5 small scale investments pilot tests, project main outputs will include: a joint strategic plan for the promotion of valorized touristic destinations, training to professionals of the touristic sector and unemployed young people as an encouragement of business and trade development based on cultural heritage, the network of “ANCIENT ADRION PORTS City” to strengthen the relations amongst the involved cities through a consolidated community that will be enlarged to other existing ancient harbors located in the ADRION area. APPRODI aims then at a qualitative change in the nature of tourism demand with a transnational approach and at increasing visibility of the valorized new destinations.