BlueCulTour aims to strengthen cross-border cooperation among Calabria, Puglia and Western Greece through sustainable tourism models focused on maritime and underwater cultural heritage, as evidence of the common roots of the Ionian Sea. The goal is to create, in the long term, a macro-regional tourism brand linked to Blue Cultural Tourism, able to attract snorkelers, divers and cultural visitors worldwide by promoting the unique beauty of the Ionian seabed.

The project builds on the partners’ knowledge to design a shared plan for the creation and sustainable management of underwater cultural and natural parks, integrated into a new tourism product. A training and networking programme will support CCIs, tourism SMEs and stakeholders in upskilling, reskilling and engaging in the promotion of Blue Cultural Tourism through participatory actions in pilot destinations.

Each site will host a Blue Heritage Center, conceived as an attraction where visitors can explore underwater cultural and natural assets of the local area and the macro-region thanks to digital tools. Demonstration activities will take place in three areas: the Gulf of Taranto in Puglia, with the San Pietro in Bevagna shipwreck and the Bay of Saturo; the Ionian coast of Calabria, from Crotone to Roccella Ionica, with three modern wrecks; and the submerged harbour of ancient Kyllene in Western Greece, active from classical to medieval times.

The expected change for the Greece–Italy Programme area is the strengthening of a thematic tourism offer centred on underwater heritage, attracting new flows of visitors who combine cultural and active tourism by diving and snorkeling in sites where history and nature merge on the seabed. The project is coordinated by the University of Calabria, with the National Superintendence for Underwater Cultural Heritage, the Region of Calabria and the Municipal Harbour Fund of Kyllini, supported by the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities of the Greek Ministry of Culture and Sports and the Marine Protected Area “Capo Rizzuto.”