Participatory mapping, development of a cultural and natural resource catalogue, and creation of sustainable tourism experiences within the PEOPLE POWERED TOURISM project

We began the process by working closely with local stakeholders through a series of participatory workshops designed to engage them in shaping the sustainable development of tourism. By preparing engaging working materials and designing interactive group activities, we encouraged active participation and gathered valuable insights to inform further development. Each workshop received a high level of stakeholder satisfaction, with an average rating of over 4.8/5. In total, we collected 55 satisfaction survey responses, with 96.4% of participants expressing their willingness to take part in future project events. This demonstrates that we successfully engaged local stakeholders and encouraged them to actively contribute to the process.

In parallel, we focused on building the capacity of local stakeholders in the areas of the visitor economy, sustainable forms of tourism and current tourism trends, with the aim of developing a shared understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing the destination. The training sessions were enriched with good-practice examples and case studies, making the topics as relevant and accessible as possible to local stakeholders.

Together with the local community, we mapped cultural, natural, infrastructural and social resources in the rural areas of Dubrovnik and in Gruž. Based on the information collected through stakeholder engagement, fieldwork and additional research, we developed a local resource catalogue bringing together existing infrastructure, potential for developing new services and experiences, social aspects, maps, photographs and priorities identified by the community itself.

As a final step, we transformed the identified resources and community needs into concrete pilot tourism experiences. The experiences were developed in line with the principles of the visitor economy - experiential, regenerative and participatory - with a focus on involving local people, showcasing lesser-known resources and creating benefits for the local community.

In the next phase of the project, the developed experiences will be piloted and promoted to increase their visibility among the target audience.