Revisiting the CCIs-tourism nexus: insights from Smart Specialisation Strategies

In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to the importance of interrelationships between cultural and creative industries (CCIs) and tourism for cross-industry innovation and sustainable local development. The purpose of this study is to deepen the understanding of the role and relevance of the CCIs-tourism nexus for innovation-driven socio-economic transformation of territories through regional policy design and implementation in Smart Specialisation Strategies (RIS3). To this end, a thematic analysis has been conducted to explore the links between CCIs and tourism in RIS3 prioritization choices and whether and how it has been revisited from the previous programming period (2014–2020) to the current updates of strategies (2021–2027). The findings provide insights into the focus and evolution of this nexus to address the role of CCIs in enabling innovation-led regional development for the triple transition.