Cultural thematic routes and creation of value for the territory. Proposal for a managerial model

In order to reduce the negative externalities due to the mass tourism and its uneconomic concentration in some centers or in some periods of the year, it would be appropriate to diversify the heritage cultural offer. A decisive role can be assumed by the cultural thematic routes (CTR), which allow to promote new itineraries through the rich cultural heritage of peripheral and landscape areas, supporting it with a system of information services aiming to communicate the value of these historical places. To intercept and adequately satisfy a wider and more complex demand for knowledge, culture and heritage from tourists, in an era characterized by the support of digital technology, in this paper a managerial model is proposed that uses some information and communication tools technology in order to improve cultural services, improving management effectiveness and efficiency, and going beyond the traditional approach of mere conservation of cultural heritage. This study analyzes opportunities for the cultural and artistic sector from ICT approaches such as Business Process Management (BPM) and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM). These models, already existing in many industrial contexts, could be extended to the tourism and cultural sectors. The aim is to extrapolate a meta-model capable of managing organizational variables and emerging critical issues in the evolution of cultural routes. The model will provide the guidelines to operators in the sector and to policy maker. This aspect is critical to the success of replicable events as it provides an information management system that supports future planning with historical data.The investigated management model was applied to a specific case study: The “Francigena route” in Apulia Region.