The Paestum Archaeological Tourism Exchange is a unique event in the world

“A ‘glocal’ event, a large container of local treasures that opens up to the five continents”: this is the meaning of the XXVI edition of the Mediterranean Archaeological Tourism Exchange inaugurated in Paestum which will end on Sunday 3 November. “A unique event in the world”, underlines the founder and director Ugo Picarelli to AGI, “because 26 years later it remains the only event where supply and demand meet for all tourist-archaeological destinations at an international level”. An event which this year includes 110 conferences and 600 speakers in the spaces of the 5,000 square meter indoor Exhibition Hall, with an international presence ranging from China to Guatemala, from Cyprus to Estonia.

The idea is to promote good practices and innovative visions among archaeologists, tourist and cultural operators and institutions to encourage the use, management and valorisation of the archaeological heritage. It was Picarelli himself who at the end of the 1990s imagined a large-scale event that could accompany the process of valorisation of the archaeological area of ​​Paestum, shortly thereafter included in the UNESCO heritage but whose notoriety was far outclassed by the brand of buffalo mozzarella. Among the proposals launched by the Stock Exchange, underlines Picarelli, “there is that of sustainable intermodality in internal areas and parks by connecting the stations of small municipalities with regional and historic trains, from which personalized shuttles can reach the nearest cultural sites “. It is also a response to the ‘overtourism’ that afflicts cities of art. “In the ticket offices and offices of the same stations, cooperatives and youth businesses can be established to offer tourist services and propose itineraries, on foot, by bike or on horseback, in order to enhance villages and cultural heritage and redevelop the tourist offer in an experiential and sustainable”, adds the founder of the Bmta.

From the same stock exchange came the impulse that led to the “certification of the Council of Europe of a European cultural itinerary of underwater archaeological sites, along the lines of the Via Francigena, through a Mediterranean partnership between the southern regions and the countries of the ‘Mare nostrum’ ‘”. Among the first conferences of this edition were those on European funds for cultural heritage and tourism and on the effect of UNESCO recognition on tourist flows. During the Bmta the research “The social and economic value of volunteering in support of cultural and archaeological heritage” will be presented, recognition of the 730,000 volunteers, mostly young people who make it possible to enjoy a wide and complete use of Italian attractions. The 10th edition of the International Archaeological Discovery Award “Khaled al-Asaad” for intercultural dialogue was won by the MOLA Museum of London Archeology’s discovery of the remains of a Roman mausoleum in London’s Southwark district.

ArcheoVirtual, the multimedia section of the BMTA on digital applications and virtual archeology projects in collaboration with the Cnr, presents an initiative to promote inclusiveness with the removal of physical and cognitive barriers in Italian museums, libraries and archives, a theme to which the Pnrr has reserved an investment of 300 million euros for our cultural heritage. The Workshop “DiversaMente: the diversification of the offer for cultural audiences”, which together with the Exhibition explores the annual theme in depth, will see among others the participation for the first time of UN Tourism with the participation of the Department of Ethics, Culture, & Social Responsibility.