From Heritage to Innovation:
Tourism in Crystal Valley

This BIP focuses on traditional glassmaking as cultural heritage and its innovative application in tourism and regional development. The programme combines online preparation with an intensive face-to-face week in Liberec, creating a blended learning experience. The virtual component provides a shared theoretical foundation and supports students’ readiness through self-directed learning and regional reflection. During the on-site week, students explore the historical, cultural, and economic significance of glassmaking through lectures, field visits, and practical activities. The course develops a multidisciplinary understanding of how traditional heritage can be transformed into innovative and sustainable tourism experiences. It also fosters critical thinking, intercultural collaboration, and the design of creative concepts linking crafts, tourism, innovation, and regional development.

Imagine a place where glass has been part of everyday life for centuries. Where family traditions have shaped the identity of an entire region, and where skilled craftspeople still transform a piece of glass into something extraordinary.

Welcome to Crystal Valley!

Located in the Liberec Region in the north of the Czech Republic, Crystal Valley is a unique region shaped by a long tradition of glassmaking, jewellery and craftsmanship. For generations, local people have passed their skills from one generation to the next. Today, however, the region faces a new question: How can this remarkable heritage inspire the tourism of the future? This is where your journey begins.

During this Blended Intensive Programme, you will first explore Crystal Valley online and discover its history, culture, heritage and tourism potential. Then you will come to Liberec and experience the region for yourself. You will visit places where glass is made, meet people who keep the tradition alive, explore the cultural and economic story behind the craft, and discover how heritage can become much more than something to preserve. Together with students from other European universities, you will work in international and multidisciplinary teams. Through field visits, practical activities, discussions and creative teamwork, you will explore how traditional craftsmanship can be connected with innovation, sustainable tourism and regional development. You will have the opportunity to develop your own ideas for new tourism experiences inspired by Crystal Valley.

And, of course, you will experience Liberec and Crystal Valley, meet new people, discover Czech glassmaking and take home a different perspective on what cultural heritage can mean for the future of tourism.

Heritage is not only about preserving the past. It can also be the starting point for creating the future.

Join us in Crystal Valley, where centuries of craftsmanship meet fresh perspectives. Bring your curiosity, share your ideas and help shape the future of tourism in a region where every piece of glass has a story.