Associação Casas Brancas has just launched a new project, to be implemented until April 2015, called “Casas Brancas – Creative Tourism Network”.
The project intends to consolidate the Casas Brancas rural and nature tourism network based on its creative capacity and to sustain the identity and cultural values of the Alentejo and Vicentina Coast.
The objective will be “to develop and give commercial consistency to new products and services of the network, which integrate agents and cultural and heritage values of the region”, stresses the association.
The bet is «clearly geared towards the international market, which is increasingly larger and more sensitive to the true attractions of this coast, its culture, traditions, nature, history, creativity and capacity for innovation».
In addition to the development and consolidation of the services offered in the network, the project foresees the development of materials that allow new and effective tools for disseminating the work of this creative tourism network.
A Good Practices Manual of this creative tourism network will also be produced, which can inspire and guide other entrepreneurs and potential investors in the region.
Creative tourism is a very innovative concept, being internationally recognized as the new generation of tourism, in which more engaging and specialized ways are sought to enjoy a region and the economy of experiences, which is already widely implemented in the tourism industry.
Associação Casas Brancas has been in existence since 2002 and includes around 60 micro-entrepreneurs in the region (accommodation, restaurants and activities) who work in a network to improve their services and promote the integrated offer and values of the region.
In 2011, Casas Brancas started with the development of Rota Vicentina, in partnership with Associação Almargem and various public entities in the region. This process culminated in the creation of the Rota Vicentina Association, which is now responsible for managing the route and that project.
This is foreseen as a third phase in the life of Casas Brancas, clearly focused on its greatest strength, which is networking and valuing the region's identity.
For the direction of Casas Brancas, «the investment in cultural and heritage values linked to innovation, authenticity and creativity will be the best investment that the tourism sector can make at this time, particularly in a region as rich as the southwest of Portugal. More than the quantity and dimension of investments in culture, it is important to leverage existing resources, link them, give them shape and value and guarantee their quality. Basically, to integrate them into the only circuit that can sustain them, which is tourism».
The Casas Brancas – Creative Tourism Network project is a QREN initiative, supported by Inalentejo, with FEDER co-financing of around 110 thousand euros.
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