On October 26 and 27 Alquézar was the scene of an exchange of living laboratories in the framework of the European project Smartcultour, a project in which CIHEAM Zaragoza participates and which seeks to generate and identify good practices and innovative solutions regarding sustainable cultural tourism.

Alquézar is an example of how a town plagued by depopulation and ruin has become a focus of tourist attraction that generates wealth throughout the region. The vision and drive of its mayor, who bet 40 years ago for the development of Alquézar and the territory, with the support and complicity of the neighbours, also exemplifies the importance of leadership and of counting on all the stakeholders to achieve changes.

Participants became acquainted with Alquézar and its history of courageous revenge against phenomena of depopulation and isolation, but also experienced the historical and cultural heritage of the centennial local olive varieties preserved in Buera. Likewise, the Alquézar walkways in the Vero River Canyon (Cañón del Río Vero) and the routes that reveal the Neolithic rock paintings, demonstrate how accessibility and protection could work hand in hand to define innovative strategies that do not diminish a destination’s intrinsic value of sustainability. Finally, participants learnt the entrepreneurial ideas of the “Ruta del Vino Somontano”, and heard more about the local eno-gastronomic identity. The latter, when properly communicated and valued, demonstrates the strong influence of the relationship between tourists and the territory.

All this and much more is what the members of the living labs of Scheldeland (Flanders, Belgium) and Utsjoki (Lapland, Finland) were able to see and enjoy during their visit on October 26 and 27 in a program of exchange of experiences in sustainable tourism led by CIHEAM Zaragoza and TuHuesca.