Introduction

The Aldeias do Xisto have always focused their activities on revitalising the territory based on its regional identity, transforming thought and ideas into action and resources into proposals of value. The potential in terms of tourism for the 27 Aldeias do Xisto’s cultural, historical and social heritage serves as the exclusive brand of the Central Region and of the country.

History of the Aldeias do Xisto Network

At the end of the 20th century, the territory surrounding the Aldeias do Xisto was a paradigm of rural abandonment and community disintegration, marked by its consequences on the self-esteem of resident populations, the parlous state of the architectural heritage and the dynamics of the socio-economic fabric. However, the remoteness of this region from the major axes of modernisation of the country and Europe has, on the other hand, allowed it to maintain its intrinsic authenticity, its deeply communal and rural ways of life and its natural and man-made heritage. At its core, a seed of authenticity has been preserved in an area of unparalleled natural wealth.

The Aldeias do Xisto project grew this cultural identity by bringing together public and private actors for social and economic development strategies based on the mobilisation of communities and the enhancement of their material and cultural heritage, in order to generate new residential and tourism interest.

PHASE 1: Aldeias do Xisto Programme (QCA III)
Early days – foundation and network building

PAX – Aldeias do Xisto Programme was founded in 2001 by AIBT – Pinhal Interior Territorial Base Association, within the CCDRC- Regional Development Committee for the Centre, using community funds from the Centre Region Operational Programme (Measure II.6, FEDER component). In several phases, villages were selected in various local authorities of the territorial unit known at the time as Pinhal Interior. The application of these villages to the Programme and its funds was promoted by their respective Councils, through the preparation of "Village Plans" by a specialised and multidisciplinary technical team, with the aim of prioritising interventions in each of the network's urban centres, contemplating the installation of basic infrastructures, such as sanitation, water and electricity supply, the upgrading of public spaces and buildings and the improvement of private properties.

PAX promoted local products, tourist services and events in the villages, and the training of their inhabitants and economic agents through professional workshops. The main focus of all our actions is always the people. Although focused on tourism development, its original and fundamental goal was to improve the living conditions of the resident populations, creating employment and training human resources so as to allow the emergence of a new economic base. In short, it established the villages as heritage destinations with tourist potential, with people and their experiences.

The creation of the Aldeias do Xisto brand as a quality tourism destination has put into effect a public-private network that fosters a regional identity, distinguishing itself in the national and international tourism market. The network strategy, on the basis of widespread involvement of various actors, began the joint promotion, global communication and entertainment programme of the main local customs and resources: nature, communities, active tourism, tradition and know-how, heritage, gastronomy, leisure, tourism services. 

At the end of 2007, ADXTUR – Schist Villages Tourism Development Agency was created. Currently, ADXTUR's social base is made up of local authorities, accommodation, catering and touristic entertainment companies, craftsmen, micro-producers and shopkeepers, and other agents, from associations to parish councils and individuals. In addition to its commitment to social issues, ADXTUR's institutional capacity must be highlighted, consolidated in close relations with all its agents and sustained by regional, national and international partnerships in the political, economic, scientific, technical and cultural fields. 

PHASE 2: PROVERE
Brand affirmation – growth and reputation

ADXTUR, having achieved its goals for institutional capacity and territorial management and with the main public basic investments already made, went on to focus on overall tourism and economic performance. To this end, ADXTUR has led a consortium made up of local authorities and private agents, based on a Collective Efficiency Strategy, to two PROVERE – Programme for the Economic Enhancement of Indigenous Resources proposals (see below).

With PROVERE, the brand aggregated the main development factors, consolidated the partnership of public and private agents, and improved all its indicators. Examples include the following: 

• Strengthening of the brand's national and international visibility and reputation.
• Extension and qualification of the infrastructure and equipment network for the promotion of indigenous resources.
• Consolidation of an entertainment calendar centred on the region's main assets.
• Improving institutional capacity in joint responses to common challenges.
• Development of the experimental culture from the sharing of knowledge to reveal opportunities in critical areas, focusing on learning and capacity building.

PHASE 3: Aldeias do Xisto 2020
From vision to strategy – consolidation, experimentation and business

With the second PROVERE initiative an initiation phase began that is entirely focused on economic conversion and business generation, experimentation and thematic specialisation. The Aldeias do Xisto brand has become the main tool of the innovation process for the marketing of indigenous resources and the safeguarding of culture, having as its focus an ecocentric, experimental, responsible and open attitude.
To this end, Aldeias do Xisto have the following strategic objectives: 

• Promote a culture of innovation, experimentation and entrepreneurship centred on local resources. 
• Encourage collaboration between the various economic and social development agents in the region. 
• Stimulate innovation processes in products and services as a way of generating added value. 
• Attract and mobilise investment to boost the economy and generate employment. 
• Generate motivation and create conditions to attract and retain the population in the territory. 
• Increase tourist attraction and maximise visit length.

The brand

The Aldeias do Xisto brand is intrinsically linked to ADXTUR’s mission: to generate regional attractiveness, promoting sustainable social and economic development integrated with nature and the area. It represents the territory, a lifestyle associated with people's relationship with nature, communities and the cultural landscape, and its main value proposition – a serene state of mind connected to people and nature.

The brand represents the network collectively, the embodiment of all the values associated with their missions as the spirit of partnership, a group of public and private associates, and a shared philosophy of action.

The Aldeias do Xisto Villages are a tourism brand that ensures the quality of tourism infrastructures, the excellence of service provided by its members and the diversity and scope of its Entertainment Calendar.

The main potential of the brand is its innovative entertainment programme based on local resources and identity, promoting the renewal of the socio-economic fabric in the area by fostering a more creative economy. This is the main thrust behind its quest for national and international recognition.

A PROVERE collaborative network

In the context of NSRF 2007-2013, the Collective Efficiency Strategies (EEC) initiative was launched as a "coherent and strategically justified set of initiatives, integrated into an Action Programme, aimed at the innovation, training and modernisation of an aggregate of companies with a spatial implantation of national, regional or local expression". EEC could assume several classifications, among them the Programme for the Economic Enhancement of Endogenous Resources – PROVERE. PROVERE represents the main instrument of public policy available to the so-called low density territories, both in terms of scale and in terms of strategic coherence and coordination of resources.

Forming itself from complementary public and private projects, with financial reserve or strictly competitive, from a broad and convergent consortium with a strategic approach to unique resources, anchored in a professional technical structure and exclusive dedication, supported on a permanent basis by the management bodies of the funding programmes, particularly the Regional Operational Programme for the Centre (Mais Centro | Centro 2020), has consolidated Aldeias do Xisto’s brand offer, as well as the sustainability of ADXTUR as a structure for accommodation and entertainment in public policies and a platform for strategic convergence and coordination of interventions on a supra-municipal scale.

The implementation of the strategy was structured around five anchor projects: Innovation Plan, Entertainment Calendar, Communication and Marketing Plan, Permanent Entertainment Structures, and Governance, Coordination and Monitoring Structure. With PROVERE, the brand aggregated the main development factors, consolidated the partnership of public and private agents, and improved all its indicators. Examples include the following:

• Strengthening of the brand's national and international visibility and reputation.
• Extension and qualification of the infrastructure and equipment network for the promotion of indigenous resources.
• Consolidation of an entertainment calendar centred on the region's main assets.
• Improving institutional capacity in joint responses to common challenges.
• Development of the experimental culture from the sharing of knowledge to reveal opportunities in critical areas, focusing on learning and capacity building.

The secret is in the network

The secret of the Aldeias do Xisto brand lies in its robust public and private partnerships. ADXTUR – Schist Villages Tourism Development Agency is currently a supra-municipal, public-private regional cooperation platform, anchored in a continuous, careful, and specialised process of mobilisation of populations, pooling of wills, and support for investment, for the development of a district and a vision for the future. 

From its inception, the Aldeias do Xisto brand has been drawing the country's attention to a wealth of culture that must be preserved and promoted, challenging Portugal to think about its future without excluding the villages. And the only way to do this, on this scale and in this context, is through a broad sharing of strategies supported by a solid network of cooperation. 

The convergence of the brand and its partners with the objectives of tourism development and local cohesion, as well as with the growth in national and international demand for genuine and sustainable goods and services, has driven initiatives that are openly experimenting with and adding value to the economic and social fabric, as is the case with Bookinxisto, a multiservice platform which aggregates the brand's entire range of services. 

We partner with local authorities, accommodation, catering and touristic entertainment companies, craftsmen, micro-producers, shopkeepers and other agents, from associations to parish councils and individuals.