9th Cultural Routes Annual Advisory Forum

Sibiu, Romania, 2-4 October 2019

Cultural Routes for Cultural Tourism

The 9th Cultural Routes Annual Advisory Forum was organised by the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe (EPA) in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism of Romania.

The 2019 Forum was the occasion to discuss challenges and opportunities for the expansion of cultural tourism and the vital role that the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe can play in its wider development. Representatives of International Organisations (such as EU, UNESCO, UNWTO, ETC, BSEC), EPA member States and Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe focused on how to capitalise the potential for cultural tourism so to foster European heritage and traditions, as well as encourage innovation and creativity in the cultural sector in favour of the tourist experience from different perspectives.

During the Forum, official ceremonies took place to welcome Latvia as a new member State of the EPA and the 5 Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe certified in 2019: European Route of Industrial Heritage, Iron Curtain Trail, Le Corbusier Destinations: Architectural Promenades, Liberation Route Europe and Routes of Reformation.

At the opening  dinner, the Minister of Tourism of Romania Bodgan TRIF and the Chair of the EPA Governing Board Birgitta RINGBECK awarded 4 certified Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe for their “Best Practices in Cultural Tourism along the Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe”: Iter Vitis Route, Prehistoric Rock Art Trails, ATRIUM and European Route of Historic Thermal Towns.

14 Cultural Routes projects, the 10th Cultural Routes Annual Advisory Forum, which will take place in Chanià (Greece) in 2020, and the 9th Training Academy on Cultural Routes, which will be organised in Fontainebleau in cooperation with the certified Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe “Impressionisms Routes”, were also presented at the event.

The Forum was attended by some 200 participants, 20 EPA member States, 25 certified Cultural Routes, 15 new Cultural Routes networks interested in the certification “Cultural Routes of the Council of Europe”, representatives from International Organisations (European Union, UNESCO, UNWTO, ICOMOS, ETC, BSEC), NGOs, local and regional authorities, academics and professionals in the cultural tourism sector.