On 10-13 April, the Croatian Association for Tourism and Rural Development “The Village Membership Club” held its 6^th edition of the International Congress on Rural Tourism.

This year, the slogan of the Congress was “Rural Tourism: Sustainable, Digital, Inclusive”.

During the three-days event more than 300 participants from several European countries have discussed the policies and the trends that are currently shaping the rural tourism. This event was as well the occasion to bring up the challenges and the opportunities, the innovations and the technologies that frame new approaches to rural tourism.

At this occasion, the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe Programme was represented by Carolina Clark, Senior Project Officer at the European Institute of the Cultural Routes.

During her participation at the panel: “Towards the development of smart rural tourism in Europe”, the commitment of the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe Programme in promoting rural tourism was highlighted with best practices from the certified Cultural Routes.

Among the 47 Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe, 90 % of them cross rural areas, creating this way a good possibility for the integration of less known areas, improving at the same time the development of local economies and synergies. The Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe act as an important tool in applying the goals of sustainable development, making from rural areas tourism villages that are digital and inclusive.