Empowering Adriatic Jonian tourism sector innovation is the way to safeguard the continuation of socio-economic growth of the area, tourism representing one of the most important industries in the area with four countries (Italy, Greece, Croatia, Slovenia) included in the world top 40 in 2015 (ref. Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index - TTCI).

Tourism in the area has to cope with changes in demand and tourist behavior, new emerging markets and socioeconomic crises. InnoXenia aims at improving the innovation capability of Adriatic Jonian tourism sector, relying heavily on innovative products, processes and services that can supplement natural and cultural offerings.

The project will network the transnational Adriatic Jonian area quadruple helix tourism community into an Adriatic Ionian Tourism Technology Platform with active involvement throughout the project. A Tourism Innovation Observatory will provide a platform for modeling innovative tourism, equipped with a Tourism Innovation Decision Support System providing the ability to evaluate the impact of potential interventions on the competitiveness and sustainability of tourism destinations, structures and services.

Based on a wide consensus built in the area among quadruple helix stakeholders a Strategic Agenda on Innovation in Tourism will be produced offering the strategy for tourism innovation enhancement and combined with an Action Plan issuing policy recommendations and guidelines for investments as well as potential accessible funding. It is expected that the project will simulate a paradigm shift in tourism policies and investments through its innovative approach and enrolled tools.

On the other hand it is expected to provide a permanent and lasting effect in regional and local strategies on tourism by technology transfer and capacity building of both public and private sectors and leading to a regional tourism innovation system in the area.

Partnership

Project partnership comprises 9 partners and 3 associated partners coming from 6 ADRION countries: Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina and Albania.

The partnership should drive to enhance the innovation capacity of Adriatic Ionian Macroregion stakeholders in tourismproviding them with innovative tool. Such tools are the Adriatic Ionian Tourism Technology Platform (AITTP) that enables a sectoral approach in tourism towards networking stakeholders, establishing consensus building towards common goals and allowing the identification of existing critical mass that can help make the area more visible, and Tourism Innovation Observatory (TIO) that makes possible benchmarking of the impact of innovation interventions in the area and its territories with reference to their competitiveness and sustainability.