Alliance between rural areas for family-friendly tourist hospitality
The project Friends 4family tackles important challenges of the programme area, as the promotion of lesser-known destinations of Puglia and Albania, mostly focusing on the valorization of the rural areas of the Region of Vlora and North West of Salento (Puglia) able to attract specific target of tourists: the families. Puglia and Albania are territories strongly carachterized by a seaside/maritime tourism with a demand mostly concentrated in the summer period. Moreover, Region of Vlora and the Noth West Salento are territories joined by a strong rural vocation and an hospitality offer with wide margins of improvement and growth in terms of authenticity and rural values. The identification of a new target of tourists (families) as well of new touristic destinations (rural areas) represents the way to diversify the touristic offer, thus promoting the deseasonalization of the local tourism offer. The overall objective is to design a quality territorial touristic offer based on rural values for a family-friendly tourist hospitality. More specifically, Friends 4family aims to 1) valorize the rural areas of the Region of Vlora and North West of Salento; and 2) to improve the collaboration between rural touristic operators by sharing good practices and by transferring know how in the management of a "family tourism". The project will lead to 1) Innovative services for families based on minimun quality standards  (e.g. reduced/special prices for families, baby-sitting services, dedicated phisycal spaces/corner for babies brestfeed, educational activities for children and young people) 2) A cross-border network of rural touristic operators for improving the family tourism services. Capacity building actions as workshops, study visits and B2B meetings will be organized in order to promote a culture of hospitality closer to the familiy needs and bilateral agreements between rural touristic operators and local public bodies will be signed.