BLUEMED project, funded by Interreg Mediterranean Programme, aims to support competent government authorities develop strategies, plans and policies for local coastal and island economies of the Mediterranean region in adopting a sustainable and responsible model for tourism development. This will be achieved by planning, testing and coordinating Underwater Museums, Diving Parks and Knowledge Awareness Centres (KACs).

BLUEMED project, funded by Interreg Mediterranean Programme, aims to support competent government authorities develop strategies, plans and policies for local coastal and island economies of the Mediterranean region in adopting a sustainable and responsible model for tourism development. This will be achieved by planning, testing and coordinating Underwater Museums, Diving Parks and Knowledge Awareness Centres (KACs).

The main objective is the valorisation and protection of underwater natural and cultural heritage in accordance with UNESCO 2001, the raising of public awareness and tourism attractiveness. The main project focus is on:

• a process scheme for supplying local/regional authorities with a multi-disciplinary plan (management models, innovative technologies) for Underwater Museums, Diving Parks and Knowledge Awareness Centres to be developed in Capo Rizutto, Baia bay, Western Pagasitikos/Sporades and Cavtat sites (policy recommendations, management practices, networking and promotion)
• promoting innovation in the diving industry and improving divers experience through innovative diving services and technologies
• attracting an important part of the increasing number of people who choose diving tourism introducing the wider public to underwater cultural heritage by means of 3D immersive visualisation in museum exhibitions and KACs
• setting up ‘Underwater Natural and Cultural Routes in the Mediterranean’ web-based platform for a unified tourism promotion and networking of Med underwater natural and cultural heritage sites.

Methods to record and document underwater archaeological sites have evolved considerably in the last years. The combined use of optical and acoustic technologies enables the chance to provide high-quality digital 3D reconstruction of large-scale and complex underwater scenarios. These digital reconstructions are often adopted for archaeological purposes and, in particular, for documentation and monitoring activities. Additionally, they present an enormous and partially unexploited potential for the tourism sector in order to make the underwater cultural heritage more accessible to divers and non-divers and thus not only enjoyable for the general public but also more protected.

The BLUEMED project aims to promote the responsible and sustainable access to the underwater cultural heritage for improving the touristic valorization of Mediterranean coastal areas. In this context, the recent evolution of digital technologies enables, on the one hand, to promote diving tourism by improving the divers' experience in the underwater site and, on the other hand, to promote the induced tourist activity through the development of an innovative, educative and attractive virtual tour of the site.

BLEUMED is associated with a horizontal project, the BleuTourMed. The aim of this interaction is to transfer relevant information and results to BleuTourMed and to explore synergies with other modular projects within the thematic community in order to reinforce the impact of the project's results on a transnational scale.