It is with extreme joy and "over the moon" emotions that we introduce our new collaboration, regarding an innovative Scientific and Business driven project under the Restart Research Programme 2016-2020, of the Research & Innovation Foundation of Cyprus.
During the next 3 years, high caliber collaborators in various specialties will come together in an endeavour to create something unique for the Cyprus Tourism Ecosystem. A new value added experience, combining innovative elements of cutting edge technology and astronomy!
The Astrotourism Project
Astrotourism is an activity for travellers who want to use the skies to indulge into knowledge and leisure related to astronomy. This special-interest tourism has been becoming popular worldwide in the last few years, providing added value to tourism destinations that offer high quality skies.
Cyprus has some of the clearest night skies as well as optimal geographical locations in the world, offering great advantages for astrotourism development.
This project aims in using a professional approach in astrotourism product research and development for Cyprus. The product’s content will include successful practices and will travel beyond them, creating innovative ideas in exploring the vast universe and making it accessible to everyone.
The main objective of this research project is to initiate a new section in the Cyprus tourism industry by increasing the number, the quality, the expenditure of the tourists and the number of local jobs in the periphery. Within this objective it aims to research and create direct and indirect experiences within real, virtual and blended augmented reality environments where the visitor could expand his/her astronomical knowledge in an exciting and creative way.
This experience will be an added value tool for Cyprus, where the weather conditions secure clear skies for most of the days and nights. The overall goal is to conduct research that will focus on “beyond the state-of-the-art” innovation in the field of Astrotourism, leading Cyprus to be added on the map of the Astrotourism “hot” destinations and creating the proper environment to host and offer astronomy experiences for both experts and enthusiasts at an entry level.
Leading Organization:
Top Kinisis.
A tourism organization with access to the local and international markets and with immense experience in tourism and in particular the organization of big and high profile conferences and events.
Partners:
Rise Research Center on Interactive Media:
An integrator of academic research and industrial innovation, focusing on Interactive media, smart systems and emerging technologies. A joint venture including the three public universities of Cyprus (University of Cyprus, Cyprus University of Technology, Open University of Cyprus), the Municipality of Nicosia, and two renowned international partners, the Max Planck Institute for Informatics (MPI) from Germany and University College London (UCL) from the UK.
University of Nicosia Research Foundation:
An academic research institution for inspiring and promoting knowledge, innovation and development through cutting-edge research. Includes the Astroschool and the Cyprus Astronomy Organization with astronomy experts and communities.
ADELVE Research, Innovation, Consulting & Trade:
Providing specialized consulting services in various areas including astrophysics.
1010 Asteroskopeion:
Dedicated to promoting Astronomy and Science Education in Cyprus with considerable expertise in astronomy related technology and equipment.
AKTI Project and Research Centre:
A research organization that has been working on sustainability in Cyprus for over 15 years and has developed strong ties with the island’s hospitality industry through initiatives aiming to increase the environmental performance of these establishments.
The University of Chicago:
A foreign academic and research organization participating with Dr Thanasis Economou under the Enrico Fermi Institute, the laboratory for Astrophysics and Space research.
Project duration: 2019-2022
The project is funded by the Research Promotion Foundation of Cyprus, under the Restart 2016-2020 Funding Program.
Image:
Artist impression of the Trappist-1 exoplanetary system: the artist uses real pictures of the Earth-Moon system and the Jupiter-Europa system overlaid with an impression of moon terrain in order to illustrate what one might see on a planet in the Trappist-1 system.
Explanation: The Trappist-1 exoplanetary system is located less than 40 light years away from our solar system. It is the only system discovered so far with 7 Earth- and Mars-sized planets, 3 of which are in the habitable zone of the central star.
Discovery: The system was discovered through a joint effort of the University of Liege planetary-science team at the Transiting Planets and Planetesimals Small Telescope (TRAPPIST) in La Silla Observatory (Chile), NASA through the Spitzer Space Telescope and ESO through the Very Large Telescope (VLT).
Image credit and copyright: unknown