Summary

This LEADER Transnational Cooperation project used SMART technology to develop the automation of opening, video monitoring and closing of ethnographic museums, interpretation centres, cultural spaces and similar centres in rural areas, that were closed due to the lack of resources. 

The project allowed the installation of remote-control units, automatic locks, surveillance cameras, video recording units and connection to a central digital platform for each centre.  

The automation concerns all the stages of the visit: request to enter the centre, identification of the visitors, opening of the buildings, follow-up of the visit and closing the facilities.  

This technology keeps these centres open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day, introducing a new concept of the tourist visit.  

Results

The project was based on the success of a previous LEADER project (2018-2019), which involved seven Spanish LAGs and resulted in the reopening of 19 small museums and cultural centres through a web-based platform. 

The new LEADER Transnational Cooperation project involved 15 LAGs from Castilla y León (Spain), three LAGs from Galicia (Spain) and one LAG from Czechia. It resulted in over 71 museums and cultural centres being reopened, with over 32 000 visitors (of which 12 000 visits have taken place in the last two months of 2022).  

The project is expected to expand further, involving new centres in Spain and other countries.