PROJECT OVERVIEW

Conference Tourism is a major business sector; according to the International Congress & Convention Association, it has witnessed a rapid growth during the last decade. Although the conference & events industry is highly  contributing to Cyprus economy, at the same time the arrival of hundreds of participants can overwhelm the local infrastructure, creating a significant amount of waste and generating a large amount of greenhouse gases, which leave behind a big carbon footprint.

Stakeholders involved in the sector need to understand the carbon impact of the Conferences & Events industry and undertake the responsibility of keeping the positive impact higher than the negative by educating themselves and by using the right tools to plan and manage their conferences and events in a sustainable way.

Adapting sustainability in planning conferences & events will lead to financial advantages, environmental improvements, social benefits, the creation of a positive image for the stakeholders involved and help raise awareness of climate change issues and actions that must be taken to reduce or offset greenhouse gas emissions.

Although currently there are several sustainability standards and tools available in the market to help measure and track the overall sustainability of an event; standards like ISO 20121, the event management system and certification launched for the 2012 London Olympics, the Convention Industry Council’s APEX/ASTM  GreenMeeting and Events Standards, Cypriot enterprises in the tourism industry are not utilising them effectively for many reasons; lack of sustainability awareness, insufficient legal framework & policy enforcement, misconceptions about the cost of sustainability adoption and lack of easy “all-in-one” friendly user tools.

PROJECT VISION
To empower TOP KINISIS become one of the top preferred providers for sustainable conferences and events in Cyprus and Europe.

PROJECT MISSION
To substantially contribute towards the achievement of a Sustainable future according to the EUROPE 2050 Strategy (European strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth) through balancing the environmental, social and economic responsibilities of the conferences and events that are organized by TOP KINISIS and for inspiring other organisations in Cyprus and in Europe to follow their lead.

Project consortium:

Top Kinisis Travel Public Ltd. (Host organization & coordinator), AKTI, Project and Research Centre.

INTERACTIVE TOOLKIT INTRO

Project Overview

Cyprus has one of the clearest night skies as well as optimal geographical location in the world, offering great advantages for astrotourism development.

The project aims in using a professional approach in astrotourism product research and development for Cyprus along with a high-end astrotourism policy and governance.

Astrotourism’s research objective is to initiate a new section in the Cyprus tourism industry by increasing the number, the quality, the expenditure of the tourists and the number of local jobs in the periphery. Within this objective, we aim to research and create direct and indirect experiences within real, virtual and blended augmented reality environments where visitors could expand their astronomical knowledge in a practical, simple and efficient way. This experience will be an added value tool for Cyprus, where the weather conditions secure clear skies for most of the days and nights. The overall goal is to conduct research that will focus on “beyond the state-of-the-art” innovation in the field of astrotourism leading Cyprus to be added on the world map of the astrotourism “hot” destinations and creating the proper environment to host and offer astronomy experiences for both experts and enthusiasts at an entry level.

Added value of the project:

1. will strengthen the tourism competitiveness in Cyprus;
2. will research and develop an innovative product that will give Cyprus the leverage to include itself in the international arena of astrotourism destinations;
3. will provide solutions in diminishing the long-standing problems of tourism in Cyprus, i.e. the low-income tourism & and the seasonality issues;
4. will give dedicated care for the environment;
5. will provide the opportunity for many local citizens to experience and learn about the universe in both real and virtual environments;
6. will be the driver for the creation of local jobs.

Project products:

1. Astro-Parks & Astro-Villages Eco-System set-up.
2. Astro-Tour Guides, Material and Training: fun-and-learning activities for age groups 3-5, 6-9, 10-12 to be implemented in Astro-Parks.
3. Astro Programme & Astro Events: Yearly Calendar of Astronomical Events and a calendar specifically highlighting high-profile astronomical phenomena visible from Cyprus.
4. Astro-Tourism Packages: for attracting visitors to the astroparks and astrovillages, and to be used for the pilot study.
5. Material on augmented reality/virtual reality.
6. Strategic Business Plan: for the commercialization of the Astrotourism project.

Project consortium:

Top Kinisis Travel Public Ltd. (Host organization & coordinator), the Research Centre on Interactive Media, Smart Systems, and Emerging Technologies (RISE), AKTI, Project and Research Centre, the University of Nicosia Research Foundation, the Enrico Fermi Institute at the University of Chicago, Adelve and 1010 Asteroskopeion.

ASTROTOURISM PRESENTATION

PHOTO GALLERY

Project Background

Co-financed by the European Union COSME Programme, the initiative is based on the Phoenicians’ Route, a route included since 2003 in the Council of Europe’s “Cultural Routes” Programme and recognised since 2016 by the World Tourism Organization which promotes cultural dialogue through the cultural and archaeological heritage of Mediterranean civilizations following the ancient nautical and maritime routes.

TRAMES project provides for the creation of smart routes based on current topics including sustainability, creative tourism and the active involvement of local populations and entrepreneurs, the creation of heritage interpretation centres, the organization of an Intercultural Dialogue Festival circuit and the development of a video game.

Among the goals of the initiative, there are the revitalization of the EU destinations, the deseasonalization and the implementation of the sustainability of tourism offers. At the same time, the project aims to promote collaboration between tourism operators and cultural industries, to create public-private partnerships and to promote the exchange of experience and expertise at an international level.

OBJECTIVES

Eight Smart Ways, 7 Forums under one Intercultural Dialogue Festival and a video game dedicated to the Phoenicians’ ancient routes are the objectives of the TRAMES project which is based on the creation of new tourism routes in five pilot areas in the Mediterranean Sea.

TRAMES VIRTUAL FESTIVAL