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EPIC (Experience Prato Industrial Culture), funded the European Urban Initiative redefines tourism in Prato by showcasing its rich industrial heritage alongside cultural attractions. Through collaborations with local businesses and the community, EPIC creates year-round tourism experiences that blend real-life and AI-driven virtual reality, promoting sustainability, accessibility, and enhancing visitor engagement.
Prato, a city of over 200,000 residents is a renowned hub for textile and fashion. While close to tourist-heavy Florence, Prato is emerging as a destination in its own right, though many visitors stay briefly, offering limited economic benefits to the city. To boost sustainable growth, Prato is reimagining tourism by enhancing its cultural appeal, leveraging digital tools, and adopting circular business models. Through community-driven initiatives and workforce development, Prato aims to create an inclusive and eco-friendly future for the residents.
This project leverages Prato’s industrial heritage to create a unique “never-ending tourism” experience, blending physical and digital elements to attract visitors year-round. Tourists will explore the city’s industrial sites, deepening their connection through immersive experiences that extend beyond their stay, including virtual and augmented reality interactions available throughout the city.
The initiative will bring together local stakeholders to co-design new tourism products, integrating real and virtual experiences at industrial, cultural, and natural sites. A digital marketing campaign and virtual catalogue will promote Prato as an innovative, sustainable destination, rebalancing regional tourism flows and reducing seasonal spikes. An inclusive governance model will oversee the project, empowering stakeholders to develop sustainable policies for tourism and implement Prato’s five-year Tourism Strategy, establishing the city as a vibrant, year-round destination.
Eutropian will support Prato’s tourism project by facilitating knowledge transfer among stakeholders to achieve sustainable goals, fostering collaboration networks through co-designed, inclusive tourism products, and developing innovative policy and governance models that emphasise social inclusion and resource efficiency. Additionally, Eutropian will lead deliverable development to share insights across Europe and coordinate communication efforts, leveraging digital tools to promote Prato as a year-round, eco-friendly destination.
Our project’s success relies on a diverse network of partners, each selected for their expertise across civil, governmental, academic, technological, and business sectors. Together, they bring Prato’s vision to life: Prato Textile Museum Foundation drives industrial tourism by preserving local heritage; CNR-IBE advances sustainable tourism with data expertise; Cristoforo designs engaging visitor experiences; LAMA fosters inclusive urban development; Immerxive adds immersive tech for VR/AR elements; FLOD elevates communication and marketing; Eutropian supports civic involvement; Fondazione Sistema Toscana digitalizes textile heritage; and AWHY enhances engagement with AI-driven virtual assistants. This collaboration transforms Prato into a sustainable, vibrant, year-round destination were transfer partners also are included. These are Bilbao, Pilsen and Miskolc – and the role of Eutropian is to facilitate the transfer and have a mutual learning.
