Culture and tourism : ex post evaluation of Cohesion Policy programmes 2007-2013, focusing on the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund (CF) : case study interreg Italy-Austria, work package 9

The Interreg IV strategy in tourism and culture is implemented in the cross-border area between Italy and Austria, including small and medium mountain areas in the Autonomous Province of Bolzano, Veneto Region, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Carinthia land, Tyrol land and Salzburg land. The area registers a better social and economic performance than the Italian national average, while in some cases it lags behind the Austrian average. The area is well developed from the tourist point of view. Tourism is dominated by mountain activities (biking, hiking, walking, climbing) as over 84% of its territory is part alpine and, in particular, in the Dolomites, also considered Unesco human patrimony. From the cultural point of view, the area is characterised by the presence of numerous Roman cultural vestiges unifying the Italian and Austrian territories, yet it is not a strong cultural attractor. Cross-border cooperation and sustainability in the tourist and cultural sectors stand at the heart of the Interreg IT-AT strategy. The main rational for public action in the tourism sector consists in the need to increase the tourist competitiveness of the programme area and prevent and/or limit the negative effects of fragmentised management of its natural and cultural resources, including the preservation of public goods such as cross-border natural resources. When it comes to culture, the main reasons justifying public action lie in the value of culture as a tourist attractor and driver for place branding and social cohesion. The tourism strategy aims to overcome administrative borders to: enhance a sustainable cross-border tourist model; sustain joint management and development of tourist resources (natural, cultural, others) and destinations; and enhance partnerships and activation of grassroots cross-border actors as a goal in itself for local development. The cultural strategy supports the tourist one by creating a common identity in the area. Furthermore, it also aims to enhance innovation in the sector and integration within the wider economic context.