Expanding knowledge on creative tourism in Europe

A recent report from the European Commission highlights the role of cultural and creative tourism in conserving Europe's rich heritage while supporting local communities. Cultural tourism accounts for nearly 40% of all European tourism and generates substantial spending from the longer stays of cultural and creative tourists. The report explores innovative projects focused on integrating sustainability into cultural tourism practices, particularly in less-known and remote regions.

One of these projects is Crocus: Cross-border Cultural and Creative Tourism in Rural and Remote Areas. One of the first steps in the Crocus Project has been to review the existing knowledge on cultural and creative tourism in Europe to assess what we already know about these important areas. This knowledge has been brought together in a literature review published by the project. As part of this initiative, members of the Crocus team also undertook research in their own countries to uncover sources not usually available on international databases. This work has enriched our view of cultural and creative tourism in Europe and beyond.

Creative tourism: beyond museums

The review work undertaken by the Crocus partners has now been integrated into the latest issue of the ATLAS Creative Tourism Bibliography, now in its third edition. This report, together with its sister publication on cultural tourism, gives an overview of recent developments in the field. These include    a substantial growth in scholarship on creative tourism (25% since 2021), a wave of Asian research on the subject, particularly in the development of ‘creative tourism villages’, and growing scholarship on creative gastronomy and ‘gastroscapes’.

These development will be part of an expanding conversation at the ATLAS Annual Conference in Vila Seca, Spain in June. This includes a special track on Cultural and Creative Tourism: Theories, Practices and Tools and a panel discussion on 25 years of creative tourism research.

The report on creative tourism research can be downloaded here.

For more information on Crocus, and to subscribe to the Crocus newsletter, please visit the website.