by Alessandra Cardone
ROME, May 22 (Xinhua) -- A new digital platform to promote tourism in lesser-known destinations across Italy was launched here on Tuesday.
Officially unveiled at a conference at the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the Trame d'Italia (Wefts of Italy) project would offer travellers the lure of "experiential routes" in areas where cultural, historic, and culinary traditions were strong, yet much undiscovered.
"By creating and selling cultural (touristic) routes, we want to boost growth in genuine and little-known Italian areas, and generate sustainable development and employment," promoters said.
Three routes were so far available on the platform: northern Monferrato -- Piedmont's vineyard landscape named World Heritage Site by the UNESCO -- the historic territory of Lunigiana between Liguria and Tuscany regions, and the Brianza in northwest Lombardy.
The next offers would concern Matera -- another UNESCO Heritage Site with its famous "Sassi" and Rupestrian Churches -- Val Camonica in the Alps, and the territories around Bergamo and Mantua in Lombardy.
The plan was to reach an offer of 50 routes in nine years, each of them involving a network of managing operators and local affiliated subjects.
"We would like to provide an example of sharing economy, and of convergence between profit and non-profit (subjects)," Trame d'Italia chief executive officer Daniele Rossi said.
The platform resulted from cooperation between several private and public subjects.
Promoted by Milan-based Accenture Italian Foundation, the initiative saw two banks among its partners, as well as Italy's Touring Club, Italian Environmental Fund (FAI), Italian Historic Houses -- another online platform to promote historic dwellings -- and Google, among others.
The CEO further explained in a statement this networking model would hopefully "add value to many precious Italian territories, helping travellers become more aware of their cultural values and, in the end, better citizens."
At organizing level, Trame d'Italia would oversee the project, provide the digital platform, and manage brand, procedural guidelines, as well as agreements with tourism operators, and investment promotion.
Local networks were tasked with identifying and developing the routes -- with all of their related cultural contents -- involving other local subjects needed to launch the initiative, and managing the destinations.
An English version of the platform to attract foreign tourists would soon be developed, organizers told Xinhua.
