SPOT-IT: An Advanced Tool for Dynamic Cultural Tourism Management and Regional Development

Abstract

Global changes and trends have been greatly influencing the way cultural tourism is defined, operated, and developed. These changes require the creation of new measurement and management tools. Given the diverse nature of cultural tourism, one of the most pertaining obstacles hindering its sustainable development is that the required relevant information for effective decision-making and management is currently not well complied with, organized, and processed. SPOT-IT, which was developed under SPOT, an EU-Horizon2020-funded project, rises to this challenge by offering a new approach to cultural tourism that reflects the tourism patterns of the twenty-first century. It is a decision-supporting platform for the development of cultural tourism sites within a Web-based Resource Centre. This paper describes the purposes of the tool, its conceptualization, its components, and its importance. It concludes with some policy implications.