The SECreTour project is glad to announce Beyond Borders, the workshop on cross-border collaborations and macro-regions for cultural tourism, hosted in Lugano by Università della Svizzera Italiana (USI).

The date of the 23rd of October 2025 will be articulated into two sessions: in the morning session, speakers from European and international organisations will set the scene; in the afternoon session a selected group of pilots from SECreTour and its network of common interest will present their good practices and lessons learnt. A debate will conclude the day, giving the possibility to the participants to address questions and comments to the speakers.

The participation in the workshop is free and it is foreseen to be in presence, but those who cannot come will be able to listen at the presentations online by streaming.

On the  24th, the participants in the workshop will have the opportunity to visit the site of the SECreTour pilot of Monte San Giorgio, on the border between Switzerland and Italy, rich of natural, archaeological, and many cultural evidences.

SAVE THE DATE, and see you soon in Lugano!

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The SECreTour Network is growing!

VERNE is a European project that aims to accelerate the shift of tourist destinations towards more sustainable and circular models.

By applying circular economy principles—such as waste reduction, energy efficiency, and ecosystem protection—VERNE promotes a new vision of tourism rooted in sustainability.

Through cross-sector collaboration in areas like mobility, food, construction, and waste management, the project fosters inclusive and environmentally responsible practices.

VERNE will test its solutions in five European destinations, validating scalable approaches such as waste reduction, digital tools, water treatment, and electric mobility.

The results will support new business models with measurable benefits for sustainability and competitiveness.

There are clearly several common goals betwen SECreTour and VERNE, which will be explored through a collaboration to be further exploited in the coming monts.

If you want to know more about VERNE, the links to the social media channels follow:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/verne-project

Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/verneproject.bsky.social

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/verneprojecteu

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The SECreTour Network is growing!

The PHOENIX 4.0 project, Resilient Ecosystem for Empowering Tourism SMEs, joined the SECreTour Network of Common Interest.

The PHOENIX 4.0 project promotes resilience, sustainability and digital adaptation for European tourism SMEs, aligning with the EU’s Transition Pathway for Tourism. It aims to provide tailored guidance, capacity building, and resources, helping tourism businesses to adopt eco-friendly, digitally advanced and socially responsible practices.

Through initiatives such as the PHOENIX Academy and collaborative mentorship, the project will strengthen SME capabilities addressing climate change challenges and encouraging sustainable innovation.

By fostering a cohesive network of tourism professionals, PHOENIX 4.0 supports SMEs to navigate safely the evolving market demands, contributing to the development of a thriving and resilient tourism sector that can contribute to Europe’s broader economic and environmental goals.

The goals of Phoenix 4.0 and SECreTour have several elements in common and the participation in the SECreTour Network is expected to be beneficial to both initiatives.

Follow SECreTour online also on the SECreTour project’s website.

The SECreTour Network is growing!

The Province of Bergamo is a supra-local public body, located in northern Italy. Its territory has an area of 2,722.86 km² with more than 1 Million inhabitants and it includes 243 municipalities. As an intermediate body between the Region and the municipalities, the Province has fundamental and delegated functions and is responsible for several sectors including environment, land management, culture, tourism, sports, social policies, equal opportunities, territorial development, education and vocational training.

The Province coordinates the THRIVE project funded by Creative Europe Program.

THRIVE aims to enhance the appeal of rural areas by preserving and promoting endangered intangible cultural heritage. The project will create a territorial strategy to cultivate and retain talent in rural regions, fostering the empowerment and resilience of rural communities and bridging territorial imbalances, which are the cause of urban-rural divide.

The Province of Bergamo and its THRIVE project have a range of common aims with the SECreTour project, which will be at the basis of the envisaged future collaboration.

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A new interesting article is published by Laura James, Henrik Halkier and Heidi Vorre of Aalborg University, Denmark, the coordinator of CROCUS project, member of the SECreTour Network.

Constructive and destructive agency, regional path development and critical junctures: the case of cruise tourism in Nuuk, Greenland

The paper explores the role of human agency in regional path development looking at various types or domains of agency.

Innovative entrepreneurship, institutional entrepreneurship and place leadership may contribute to the development of new paths or to the renewal of old paths, and such path development may be destructive as well as constructive.

A framework is proposed to interprete these processes.

Path development goals according to stakeholders’ aims and type of agency

This framework is used to analyse the interplay between different types of agency through a study of cruise tourism in Nuuk, Greenland. The empirical analysis carried out by the researchers shows how a wide variety of stakeholders, including residents and non-governmental organisations, may try to influence tourism development path in different ways.

James, L., Halkier, H., & Vorre, H. (2025). Constructive and destructive agency, regional path development and critical junctures: the case of cruise tourism in Nuuk, Greenland. Regional Studies, 59(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/00343404.2025.2461755

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The SECreTour Network is growing!

The SECreTour Network of Common Interest is enriched by the participation of the Municipality of Morcote.

As historic monumental medieval capital of the lake of Lugano, Morcote is part of the Amphitheatre of the San Giorgio and Arbostora cultural landscape studied in the SECreTour pilot coordinated by Università della Svizzera Italiana.

Follow SECreTour online also on the SECreTour project’s website.

The SECreTour Network is growing!

Studio Macaco has joined the SECreTour Network of Common Interest.

Studio MACACO (Ludens Sagl) is a Swiss-based creative software company focused on developing interactive digital experiences for the tourism and cultural sectors.

Through the use of storytelling, gamification, and emerging technologies, they design tools that enhance local heritage and foster meaningful exploration of rural and remote territories.

Its work includes a series of mobile applications and interactive trails that transform tourism into playful, educational, and emotionally engaging journeys.

Key projects include Tesori del Ticino, Tesori delle Vette del Ceresio, and Caccia alla Macchia, all of which blend physical exploration with digital narratives.

Studio MACACO is committed to creating sustainable, inclusive, and innovative solutions that make cultural and natural heritage accessible to all. In this light, it aims to contribute to the SECreTour pilot of Monte San Giorgio.

Further information about Studio Macaco are available at its website: studiomacaco.ch

Follow SECreTour online also on the SECreTour project’s website.