Good practice:

Digitalisation - QUESTO Mobile Application in rural areas

Rasinari is a village situated in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. It has a population of 5,280 inhabitants (2011 census) and is composed of two villages, Prislop and Rășinari. It is part of Marginimea Sibiului area, composed of 18 villages that share the same traditions and cultural heritage. Rasinari is a very pictoresque village, with authentic local traditions, gastronomy, local cultural events and legends, cultural objectives that attract tourists every year,described as,, a place full of magic and mystery at the foothills of the Cindrel Mountains’’.
In this context, The Green Impact Youth Club “Cocosul de Munte’’ Rasinari launched the Mobile Application QUESTO -‘’Open the gates to local legends of Rasinari Village’’.
The objective is that tourists can discover the village of Rasinari by playing a game on QUESTO mobile app. Village fairytales, local legends, people and gastronomy can all be found here. The idea was developed by a group of 20 young people from the Green Impact Youth Club, under the guidance of their teachers that want to promote Rasinari village with all its beauty.
The beneficiaries of the initiative are tourists, visitors, people willing to discover new places and legends and local community also.
The application was launched during COVID19 pandemic and it was a real success. There were listed maps of the village, photos and promotion materials. The main stakeholders involved are local Youth Club, the local authority.

For the launch of the app an amount of approximate EUR 1.000 was spent with the contribution of the foundation New Horizons in the developing of maps, photos, promotion materials, publicity.
There are about 20 volunteers involved.

The app reached its objective due to the positive tourists reviews .
Around 50 players and 19 rewiews of 5 stars , 20 young people/students that developed skills in communication, use of tehnology and creativity, very good impact on local media.
The initiative contributes to the promotion of Rasinari Village and represents a good example in what regards the partnership between local authority, ONGs and involvement of young people in the community.

The main challenge was the pandemic situation that changed the working conditions. However, these difficulties have been overcome by a stronger partnership and by the positive feedback received from the users and the general public. Today, the application attracts more and more participants.

The mobile application Questo represents an example of good practice on how to revive local stories and legends and to attract tourists and visitors.
It brings together the local authority, the Green Impact Youth Club, the local community, with the aim of promoting local cultural heritage and to contribute to the development of sustainable tourism.