ReligiTour: Enhancement of the competences and possibilities for religious tourism development and for better integration and management of religious sites in the urban environment

Programme: Erasmus+ Programme; KA220-HED – Cooperation partnerships in higher education; Call 2023

Project coordinator: Uniwersytet Warszawski / University of Warsaw (Poland)

Project partners: Universidad De Salamanca (Spain), Instituto Politecnico Da Guarda (Portugal), Panepistimio Dytikis Attikis (Greece), Universitatea Transilvania Din Brasov (Romania), Fundacja Rozwoju Aktywnosci Miedzynarodowej I Edukacyjnej – FRAME (Poland), Prism Impresa Sociale S.R.L. (Italy), Pax Rhodopica Foundation (Bulgaria), Fondazione di Partecipazione Parco Culturale Ecclesiale “Terre del Capo di Leuca De Finibus Terrae” (Italy)

Project duration: 31/12/2023 – 29/06/2026

The general objective of ReligiTour is to enhance the competences of university academia to promote the development of religious tourism & to facilitate the civic engagement of religious heritage in the urban environment as a way to raise awareness on and to understand better the common EU values, principles and concept of common & shared future.

Specific objectives are:

  • To enrich the knowledge & skills of university academia to develop, identify & teach successful models for promotion and better inclusion of religious tourism in the existing touristic offer.

  • To enhance the competences of university academia to develop, identify & teach effective, efficient and working models for integration of the religious sites, objects & traditions in the urban landscape & social calendar.

  • To develop, discuss & exchange good practices in the promotion of religious tourism and in the integration of the religious heritage in the urban landscape & social life of the local community.

  • To demonstrate the potential of appropriately integrated, socialized & managed religious tangible heritage (artefacts, objects & sites) within the urban landscape to improve the living conditions & economic possibilities of local communities.

  • To utilise the potential of the intangible religious heritage to keep & preserve the cultural identity of the territory and to safeguard this legacy for the future generations.

  • To enable & promote higher degree of cohesion of the existing religious heritage in the common EU perspective as a successful example and affirmation of the common EU values, principles and traditions.

  • To promote the religious tourism as a strategic axis for sustainable development of the regions and their touristic potential.

  • To raise awareness of the value and importance of the religious heritage as a base for the creation of inclusive, sustainable and representative EU with diverse cultures, united in one common family.

  • To support the partners to create new & to improve existing programmes & training courses for specialists in the religious tourism development and integration & socialization of religious sites & traditions in the urban environment & social life.

The main target group shall be the representatives of the university academia with interest in socialization, integration, promotion & exploitation of religious heritage & in development and management of religious tourism. The main project target group shall include: university professors, junior and senior assistants, university researchers, postdoctoral scholars, PhD students working in the field of ReligiTour topic, etc.

Project results:

1) Conceptual Framework – it is a conceptual pathway for the development of holistic approach for promotion of religious tourism & for better integration of the religious heritage in urban and sub-urban environments.

2) Training Pack with 3 separate documents:

  • Handbook on religious tourism – it is a highly specialized book with applicable approaches for inclusion of the religious sites, places & events in the touristic offer & touristic calendar of the city and region.

  • Handbook on integration of religious sites – it is a highly specialized book with applicable approaches for inclusion of the religious heritage in the urban & sub-urban environment & social calendar in order to maximise their potential for creating value for the local communities in economic, cultural and spiritual perspective.

  • Manual on religious heritage – it includes various real-time & practical case-studies and examples in addition to the more theoretical content in the two handbooks; specifically created short videos of good examples of religion site & places that are well integrated in the touristic offer and/or in the urban environment as well as short interviews with experts to explain the significance, benefit & potential of the religious tourism & religious heritage for the successful development of the region and for the common EU future.

3) Model for integrated approach in religious tourism – it shall focus to increase the professional qualification in religious tourism to utilize its potential, expand its role & significance in the general touristic offer & create added value for the local community.

4) Model for socialisation & integration of religious heritage for the university academia to understand, develop & teach practical steps towards better socialisation and integration of the religious heritage in the urban & sub-urban landscape & in the social calendar of the city/region.

5) E-learning platform – it enables user-friendly & intuitive use of InThrace materials in an online environment. It hosts all the ReligiTour materials in a nice & easy-to-find way.

6) The e-Library is a databank with resources relevant to ReligiTour topic. It includes interactive tools, materials & multimedia as well as passive materials like articles, researches, etc.

Project website: in process of development