Clusters meet culture: an opportunity for development 

As culture is increasingly used as a means of social and economic development, the cultural tourism market is being ?flooded? with attractions, cultural routes and heritage centres. However, many consumers, tired of encountering the serial reproduction of culture in different destinations, are searching for new alternatives. The rise of skilled consumption, the importance of identity and the acquisition of cultural capital in modern society points towards the use of creativity as an alternative to conventional cultural tourism. These trends suggest the reorientation of ?cultural tourism? towards new models. In this sense,the most historical and artistic cities of South East Europe represent not only an important cultural heritage but also an opportunity for the creation of an alternative market. This market would be based on the meeting between culture and the creativity of the surroundig clusters. The CMC project wants to spread the knowledge of production excellences across SEE with the purpose of emphasizing their quality and originality (that correspond to an essential part of the culture and history of these cities), and connect this cultural aspect with already existing tourism flows. The final goal would be to link tourism and local clusters joining manufacturing productions with artistic heritage and cultural production. At the end, the project aims at opening new sales channel across South East Europe, with the main purpose to help small business development. Starting from this assumption, and with the tools mentioned above, the specific objective of the project are: to dilute tourism streams currently concentrated on major cities and distribute them on the hinterlands, which often also offer extraordinary opportunities both in cultural and economics terms; to develop alternative marketing channels for sectors that characterize in both cultural, socio-economical and industrial terms the territories around European Capitals of Culture; to multiply the flows of cultural production and innovation knowledge from the cities towards the industrial districts and create strategic parterships between cultural and industrial production, with the aiming at obtaining reciprocal advantages; to promote access to private capitals for the structural co-financing of-historical and cultural heritage, but also of the broader culture of the territories of the SEE area. For all these reasons, transnational common criteria will be established for local clusters, small business and cultural associations in order to create public/private partnerships for favouring both tourism and cluster development. All PPs will contribute at enabling policies/strategies at national/regional/local level empowering SEE public administrations with management capacities and creating the framework conditions for boosting a true cluster and cultural development. Regional Chamber of Commerce will assist public administrations in drawing up programmes/projects for favouring the creation of public/private partnership. The industrial clusters, supported by new professional figures, will develop new models for selling their products through thematic factory outlets. At the politic/institutional level, cultural policies would have to be strategically re-thought as policies for competitiveness, strongly complementary to innovation policies, with a strong contribution from corporate social responsibility policies and instruments. Starting from this assumption, and with the tools mentioned above, the specific objective of the project are: dilute tourism streams currently concentrated on major cities and distribute them on the hinterlands, offering extraordinary opportunities both in cultural and economics terms; develop alternative marketing channels for sectors that characterize both culturally, socio-economically and in industrial terms the territories around European Capitals of Culture.