C.Couret: The creative tourist experience must engage the tourist (...)

28/01/2020

Interviews - Caroline Couret: Creative tourism experience must engage tourists and relate directly to DNA destinations - Congressi…

Caroline Couret: The creative tourist experience must engage the tourist and relate directly to the DNA of the destination What is creative tourism and what are the potentials of Croatia for a creative tourism offering that can stimulate year-round tourism, find out in an interview with expert Caroline Couret.

PUBLISHED DATE

25.09.2019.

SOURCE

BusinessTourism

Caroline Couret

Caroline Couret , founder and director of the Creative Tourism Network® program for creative tourism in Barcelona, was one of the panelists at the conference Can Croatian Tourism 365 held at the Sheraton Zagreb Hotel on

https://www.poslovniturizam.com/intervjui/caroline-couret-kreativno-turisticko-iskustvo-mora-angazirati-turista-i-izravno-se-odnositi-na-dnk-destina…

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28/01/2020

Interviews - Caroline Couret: Creative tourism experience must engage tourists and relate directly to DNA destinations - Congressi…

conference Can Croatian Tourism 365, held at the Sheraton Zagreb Hotel on September 24th. Caroline is an expert in creative tourism and is regularly invited to give lectures and lectures at universities and business schools around the world. He publishes articles on creative tourism in various languages and is also an external expert of the European Union and regularly cooperates with the UNWTO. Since 2001, he has been managing a wide range of international projects, such as festivals organized by the Barcelona City Council and EU funded projects. On the occasion of her visit to Zagreb, we talked with her about what creative tourism is, what projects she deals with and whether Croatia has the potential for creative tourism.

You are the founder and director of Creative Tourism Network. How did the idea of this project come about, what exactly does it deal with and what are its main goals?

I would say the idea was part of me. I personally started this journey very young. I studied cultural policies to develop projects that contribute to cultural exchange, returning to the essence of travel. This coincided with a change in the mindset of a society that, following new trends, increasingly focused on human and ethical values and a growing interest in intangible heritage, personal and creative development. While participating in collaborative projects that combined all these aspects, I met Professor Greg Richardas and Crispin Raymond, authors of the concept of creative tourism, who confirmed that their visionary approach would turn into a new way of traveling for future generations of tourists. That's why we created a platform with our team to structure and promote this new offering, first in Barcelona, where the Creative Tourism Network® was founded. We soon realized the importance of creating a network through which all destinations looking for a creative tourism offering could work together and create synergy. Thus, our goals are to track destinations in the implementation of their creative tourism program, focusing on empowering local communities and creating value chains for the entire region. We also provide them with a li

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Interviews - Caroline Couret: Creative tourism experience must engage tourists and relate directly to DNA destinations - Congressi‌

personalized promotion service through which they can reach this growing market worldwide. focusing on empowering local communities and creating a value chain for the whole region. We also provide them with a personalized promotion service through which they can reach this growing market worldwide. focusing on empowering local communities and creating a value chain for the whole region. We also provide them with a personalized promotion service through which they can reach this growing market worldwide.

In parallel, we are pursuing the mission of expanding research in this field, thanks to the collaboration of academics led by Professor Greg Richards and the opening of the CreativeTourismAcademy educational platform. Also, every year we organize the Creative Tourism Awards, which are awarded to the most creative destinations, strategies, travel agencies, hotels, experiences, etc.

A creative tourist wants to be actively involved in designing their own experience https://www.poslovniturizam.com/intervjui/caroline-couret-kreativno-turisticko-iskustvo-mora-angazirati-turista-i-izravno-se-odnositi-na-dnk-destina‌

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Interviews - Caroline Couret: Creative tourism experience must engage tourists and relate directly to DNA destinations - Congressi‌

What is creative tourism, or what are the most important features of creative tourism?

Let me go back to the official definition proposed in 2000 by Professors Greg Richards and Crispin Raymond who defined creative tourism as “tourism that offers visitors the opportunity to develop their creative potential by actively participating in activities and learning through experiences that characterize a holiday destination in ". There are several important factors that need to be emphasized. "Active participation" no longer refers to a classic cultural tour, but a creative tourist will expect to be actively involved in both the activities and the design of his or her own experience. This implies a phase of cooperation with the tourism sector and local stakeholders from different sectors, and at the same time a paradigm shift for the entire tourism industry. They also want to "learn through experiences" that are "characteristic of the destination", meaning that they do not want mere fun, but a meaningful experience that allows them to develop themselves, their skills and improve their understanding of local culture. For all these reasons, the creative tourism experience must engage the tourist and relate directly to the DNA of the destination, which means that it must be authentic, attractive and creative. In most cases, the simplest experiences are also the most successful when shared with the locals. The range of examples is endless and can include cooking classes, dancing, craft workshops, sculpting on ice and many others. which means it must be authentic, attractive and creative. In most cases, the simplest experiences are also the most successful when shared with the locals. The range of examples is endless and can include cooking classes, dancing, craft workshops, sculpting on ice and many others. which means it must be authentic, attractive and creative. In most cases, the simplest experiences are also the most successful when shared with the locals. The range of examples is endless and can include cooking classes, dancing, craft workshops sculpting on ice and many others

https://www.poslovniturizam.com/intervjui/caroline-couret-kreativno-turisticko-iskustvo-mora-angazirati-turista-i-izravno-se-odnositi-na-dnk-destina‌

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Interviews - Caroline Couret: Creative tourism experience must engage tourists and relate directly to DNA destinations - Congressi…

workshops, sculpting on ice and many others.

Can you list some Creative Tourism Network projects as examples of creative tourism?

The exciting part is that there is no single formula. The value of creative tourism is that it adapts to each destination to create synergies, not only in the results, but above all during the implementation process. That's why every project we develop with a new destination is a new creative endeavor. We will not work the same way with cities like Medellín or the French Riviera. In any case, we work with local stakeholders from all sectors to optimize their assets and resources and create a new offering that is unique and attractive to tourists. With this process, it is important for us to empower and empower those actors (artists, artisans, farmers, etc.) who will be the new tourism entrepreneurs - and destination ambassadors.

To return to your question, I could mention almost all the projects we are working on, from the city of Loulé in Algarve (Portugal) or Gabrovo in Bulgaria, to villages in Canada, to cities like Recife in Brazil or to a project for the whole region such as Tuscany.

https://www.poslovniturizam.com/intervjui/caroline-couret-kreativno-turisticko-iskustvo-mora-angazirati-turista-i-izravno-se-odnositi-na-dnk-destina…

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Interviews - Caroline Couret: Creative tourism experience must engage tourists and relate directly to DNA destinations - Congressi‌

It is important to create an ecosystem based on fruitful public-private cooperation

You are an external expert of the European Union, and you have worked on numerous international projects such as festivals organized by the Barcelona City Council. What is key to the success of such projects?

In addition to their diversity, I think the key to all these projects is an ecosystem that can be created thanks to fruitful public-private collaboration. It is important to strike a balance through which each partner can improve its own resources, be they economically or, above all, human. The sustainability of such projects is guaranteed by a strong bottomup base, which includes citizenship in its broadest sense, strengthened by creative means and the correct support of institutions.

You were one of the panelists at this year's conference "Can Croatian Tourism 365?" Where you talked about creative tourism. What did you present to Croatian tourism experts?

I tried to show them that they already have a number of creative solutions to combat seasonality, for example by encouraging the rehabilitation of intangible heritage. But they need to be aware of this potential. It is sometimes difficult to perceive one's own potential, so in my presentation I have presented examples of destinations around the world that have the same or similar characteristics but also problems. In doing so, first of all, I wanted to inspire them and provide them with concrete examples of practical tools.

Croatia has huge potential for the development of ti t i https://www.poslovniturizam.com/intervjui/caroline-couret-kreativno-turisticko-iskustvo-mora-angazirati-turista-i-izravno-se-odnositi-na-dnk-destina‌

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Interviews - Caroline Couret: Creative tourism experience must engage tourists and relate directly to DNA destinations - Congressi‌

creative tourism

Do you think that Croatia has the potential for a creative tourist offer that will be attractive throughout the year and in what areas?

Croatia has huge potential for the development of creative tourism. Among its benefits I would mention the warm climate throughout the year, which is attractive to non-seasonal tourists, a very rich intangible heritage and a strong identity, a combination of tradition and modern, kind and creative people, excellent location and proportions and good tourist infrastructure. New generations of tourists are looking for authenticity and a relatively unknown culture, and Croatia is very "exotic" and at the same time simple and secure, and this is increasingly being sought.

What would you personally advise Croatian experts in destination marketing and tourism in general on which aspects should you rely most on in terms of supply creativity?

First of all, I would remind them that creative tourism can be combined with the offer of "sun and sea", since they do not cover the same periods of the year. Creative tourism can guarantee tourism activity during the low season, without much investment in new infrastructure, but only by optimizing cultural and human resources through creativity. To achieve this, it is important to think about experiences that you would like to experience in other countries yourself. In most cases, value comes from simplicity and empathy. This is the path to follow. Of course, the offer has to be marketed, but the creative tourist will place on the market a suitable psychological price or the value it gives to such experience, which is often a much more significant value. So marketing tricks should not be used. Creative tourism is very demanding in terms of authenticity and any false placement would not pass. My other tip is to work at the destination level to (re) create a local identity as well as networking destinations instead of competing with one th

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Interviews - Caroline Couret: Creative tourism experience must engage tourists and relate directly to DNA destinations - Congressi‌

another. Croatian cities and villages are so charming that tourists should appreciate these creative activities as new reasons to stay longer.

https://www.poslovniturizam.com/intervjui/caroline-couret-kreativno-turisticko-iskustvo-mora-angazirati-turista-i-izravno-se-odnositi-na-dnk-destina‌

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