Smart Marketing Strategies for tourism in the Cross-Border Area

SMS-CBA focuses on the specialised and smart promotion of the CB area as an integrated destination via an up-to-date, professionally designed and executed marketing plan and campaign. The project follows state-of-the-art processes of destination marketing: defining the destination (a marketable experience), creating appropriate conditions for marketing it to individual tourists and travel agencies, and facilitating suitable B2B communication. Past ICT solutions (portal, apps, etc.) will be upgraded to meet the needs of modern tourists before, during and after their visit. New features and services (tour guide, e-booking, e-ticketing) will be introduced to facilitate navigation and communication between visitors and tourism businesses. Apart from the innovative approach to destination marketing and management, the project brings together the public, private and research communities to achieve optimum results and sustainability. The Project’s objective will be enhanced by formulating permanent structures such as a CB Tourism Observatory and a Task Force (exchange of know-how, on-going evaluation studies, tourism resources library) and area-wide cultural events and targeted conferences. The project encourages the involvement of young volunteers in the development and the feeding of the new e-tools, and they will be used as multipliers to disseminate the experience of targeted guided tours.