Spreading tourism by restoring military and historical heritage in less visited areas
About this good practice
This initiative aims at addressing the excessive concentration of tourists in Krakow's city centre, by providing alternative sites to visit in less congested areas. Specifically, the initiatives involved the restoration of previously abandoned military facilities known as Fortress Krakow (Twierdza Kraków, in Polish). Initially disregarded from a tourism perspective, these fortifications presented an opportunity to diversify tourism and spread visitors to suburban areas, with the aim to contribute to decongestion the most popular tourism hot-spots. The effective implementation of this practice required coordinated actions by multiple stakeholders, including the renovation of the military sites and its promotion as a valuable component of the tourism offer of Krakow. Ancillary activities have also been organized, such as guided tours, promotional videos and leaflets, exhibitions, and educational events (e.g. the Fortress Krakow Days). Fortress Krakow received in 2023 the official recognition as ‘Tourism Product of the Year’, something important also from a marketing and communication perspective. Key stakeholders of this initiative include Krakow's city authorities (coordinators), museums and historians. Many can be considered as beneficiaries of this initiative, for instance the residents and local entrepreneurs of suburban areas nearby the fortress (additional socio-economic opportunities), and tourists, who can discover a different face of Krakow’s heritage.
Resources needed
Financial resources (from EU & local/regional entities, such as the Social Committee for the Restoration of Kraków Monuments). The project involves a diverse range of human resources too: city administration, conservationists and historians, construction workers, cultural centers staff, volunteers.
Evidence of success
Evidences of the success of this initiative includes its recognition as the '2023 Tourism Product of the Year', the +3,500 visitors attracted during the annual Fortress Krakow Days and the number of events and visitors of cultural centres located in buildings of Krakow Fortress. These events activated suburban tourism and engaged various community groups, significantly increasing the attractiveness of city outskirts and fostering local economic growth.
Potential for learning or transfer
This practice offers valuable lessons for other regions facing concentrated tourism in the centre and neglected heritage sites in more peripheral areas of the destination. Key success factors to potentially replicate such an initiative include effective coordination by local authorities, involvement of diverse stakeholders, and leveraging heritage assets to develop attractive tourism products. Potential barriers to the replication of this initiative could include the complexity of stakeholder cooperation, securing the necessary funding, and the initial poor condition of previously abandoned heritage sites.