With the aim of promoting the rich cultural and tourism reserve of five regional Municipalities of Crete (coordinator: Municipality of Nea Alikarnassos, other participating municipalities: municipality of Zarou, of Paliani, of Temenos, and of Sfakia), the project titled “Innovative Services for the Promotion of the Cultural – Tourism Reserve” is implemented in regional municipalities of Crete whose total budget amounts to € 194,400.

The proposal for the project’s funding was submitted by the Directorate of Planning, Development and Social Policy of the Municipality Nea Alikarnassos and was approved by a decision of the Managing Service of the Operational Program "Information Society" of the Ministry of National Economy and Finance.

The common characteristic of all these five Municipalities is the fact that they form regional municipalities of Crete which although they have the features and dynamics to develop in tourism terms and attract the visitors’ interest, both from Greece and abroad, yet they have not taken advantage or promoted their particular features, their places of interest as well as their cultural heritage.
 
The said project provides these five Municipalities the opportunity of

• becoming widely known and attracting visitors through an integrated platform of innovative services,
• developing a wider information network.

According to this project, a portal is to be developed be entering in the internet information of cultural and tourism interest in two languages (Greek and English) and information regarding the 5 Municipalities is to be presented by means of digital maps (a special software will be used - GIS Web Server).
 
Visitors will be able to search the portal and find information pertaining to:

• general presentation of each Municipality participating the program.
• information of cultural and tourism interest (e.g. museums, monuments, archaeological sites, monasteries, caves, natural beauty forests, cultural societies, exhibitions, local traditions and other particular folkloric features of the municipalities).
• proposed cultural – tourism itineraries (where the visitor may select among some proposals).
• presentation of the municipalities’ enterprises.
• transportation means (timetables of ships, urban/ interurban buses to be used).
• all accommodation and catering information (hotels, restaurants, etc.) for each Municipality.
• provision of Sms-3G services.

Both before and during the trip, the traveler will have the possibility of receiving in his/her mobile phone a set of information on issues he has expressed interest in (exhibitions taking place) or various offers from the Municipalities’ enterprises depending on the geographical location of his trip.
 
Citizens will have access to all necessary information for planning electronically a trip to whichever spot of the five municipalities they wish. They may also schedule their accommodation and their sightseeing.