Local communities'involvment: the first step for destinations' promotion

In the tourism market, while competition among destinations is definitely increasing, tourists are ever more choosy and expert. From this perspective, territorial identity and vocation become key factors for differentiation and attractiveness. By this way, it is necessary to choose a bottom up development process, resources based, where local resources enhancement is the main determinant of destination's vitality and of its sustainable and lasting development. Citizens have to rediscover the value of their ancient roots and land's resources, of local competences and heritage, to redefine local identity, raising local community awareness, their pride and attachment about territory: in this manner, the community itself will play a leading role in territorial promotion and development . The MedMySea project - financed by the European Union, within the Archimed Programme - carries out its research activities adopting this approach. In particular, the MEDCGame Action, coordinated by IRAT-CNR of Naples, experiments an interactive didactic model, based on a collaborative game that can be played in Internet and that involves twinned classes of Italian and Greek students. The Action's objective is to involve youth in rediscovering their own land, reinforcing their sense of belonging to territory, and raising their interest in different cultures. Through the "on line twinning" of Italian and Greek schools, students discover myths and beauties of their land, and become its tourist guides, suggest new tourist itineraries, and welcome their colleagues to realize reciprocal discovery of common roots.