iHERITAGE Portugal will be featured in a special issue of a notable scientific publication, about the development of its by-products and the prospects for the digitalization of cultural routes and virtual storytelling, for the first time!

The publication will investigate how the concept of a profound connection to the land established the foundation of research, based on new marketing and Extended Reality technologies over generations.

The digitalization of cultural pathways has begun an alternative means of presenting the heritage of different cultural universes within iHERITAGE, and following innovation-driven growth processes, brand strategies for affirmation, and greater knowledge of intangible realities.

The case study in Portugal is being developed in Tavira, whose cultural heritage element is the Mediterranean Diet. The research, based on the cultural experience, the history of the landscape, and the sense of identity and continuity of knowledge will be reassigned into a digital platform – the creation of apps and the design of a virtual route that navigates key geographical places.

The aim is to create mobile applications and use them as a monitor to improve a socio-cultural experience and, in the meanwhile, create a path towards an interdisciplinary application framework. Here, transcultural subjects such as sustainability and heritage will be featured and recognizable through unique stories of rural Tavira, the history of olive oil and how urban areas highlight the Mediterranean Diet in contemporary issues. All of this information will be available through a virtual cultural route. It will allow closer interaction between tourists and locals, endorsing the rise of technological development and drastically reducing environmental and ecological risks.

This special issue arrives as a proposal for the academic community concerning sustainable management in the digital environment - following some perspectives used by the hospitality and tourism enterprises in particular social media platforms and how these actions promote services and reinforce identity and the hospitality world.

Represented by the University of Algarve, the focus of the Portuguese team is to promote the Mediterranean Diet and its importance for the cultural identity of the Mediterranean. The iHERITAGE ICT Mediterranean platform for UNESCO world heritage is a strategic project funded by the EU through the ENI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme.

For more information about the Call For Papers:
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/sustainability/special_issues/BSSMHT_Sus