GRNET implements the Action "SMART TOUR - Intelligent Tourism on Cultural Routes", in the framework of the 4th call of the Operational Cooperation Programme INTERREG IPA II CROSS - BORDER COOPERATION PROGRAMME "GREECE - ALBANIA 2014-2020".
The purpose of the project was the creation of a platform with high quality virtual tours of cultural sites will be created, which could be used by public and private cultural institutions in Albania and Greece, to attract visitors and enhance tourism in both countries. For Greece, the platform included the ancient city of Nicopolis, the old town of Corfu and the Pindos Natural Park.
The SMART TOUR platform combined Immersive Reality with cloud tools, content management technologies, open standards and access. Cloud-based immersive technology was combined with skill-building activities, creative agencies and stakeholder networking, as well as experiential methodologies and destination management strategies. The platform was offered to cultural route managers as a toolbox through the cloud infrastructure of the public academic and technological infrastructure and research networks of Greece (GRNET) and Albania (RASH).
The project benefited users by offering new tools to promote experiential tourism, utilising virtual and augmented reality technologies, by storing cultural sites of interest, events and objects in the cloud. It also created key infrastructures for the management and automated display of digital science and culture content. Finally, the project platform provided tools for the creation of interactive virtual tour applications of monuments, natural landscapes, customs and traditions of the region.
GRNET's role in this project focused on the following areas:
- Design and development of the interface of the Smart Reality Platform with the cloud repository for access to content.
- Support actions for the pilot operation "UNESCO Roots Experiential Identity".
- Support actions for the pilot operation "Enhanced travel experience through routes of archaeological interest".
GRNET participated in the project as one of the four partners:
- University of Ioannina (Coordinator)
- GRNET - National Infrastructures for Research and Technology
- Interinstitutional Center of Albanian Academic Network
- Barleti Institute for Research and Development
The project was funded by the Cross-border Cooperation Programme Interreg IPA II "Greece - Albania 2014-2020", co-funded by the European Union and national funds of Greece and Albania.
