After the lockdown: ERIH Italy puts forward new ideas for industrial heritage tourism

Roll up your sleeves and get going – the digital ERIH Italy chapter meeting on 28 May will be brushing off the stifling inactivity of the COVID-19 crisis with plans for a fresh reboot of member sites after lockdowns. Expert advice is being provided by three tour operators specialised in the exploration of industrial monuments and museums, including consultancy in this field.

TrattoPunto describes itself as an Italian network for industrial tourism and is particularly interested in sites still largely unknown. El Generador, a Basque tourism provider and host of the International Industrial Tourism Fair B-Industrial, develops ideas and solutions in the travel and cultural sector while also focusing on industrial heritage projects. Turismo Industrial de S. João de Madeira designs and organises tours to historic and contemporary testimonies of a traditionally industralised region not far from Porto in northern Portugal.

Each operator will give a short presentation on what they have to offer. In particular, TrattoPunto will address its idea of a "Grand Tour" of Italy's industrial heritage. This tour is meant to include all ERIH sites and link their visit with further cultural and historical highlights of the respective region. El Generador and Turismo Industrial de São João de Madeira have already expressed their interest in including industrial heritage packages in Italy in their programmes.

Following the presentations, the participants will discuss opportunities and potentials of the featured tourist options. The aim of the online meeting is to specify some of the proposals in detail so that they can be displayed at the B-Industrial fair in June.

Programme of the online meeting