Webinar - Practical Pathways for Tourism Destinations to Reuse 3D Cultural Heritage

On 9 December 2025, the XRculture project organised an online webinar targeted at cultural and heritage tourism destinations, as well as cultural heritage institutions, that had applied to the 'Open Call: Heritage Tourism Destinations for Holographic Postcards', including both selected and non-selected applicants. The event aimed to show that engagement with XRculture is not limited to participating in one pilot scenario, but that destinations and institutions can benefit from the project's tools, partnerships and emerging results immediately. The webinar, moderated by Marco Medici (INCEPTION), the coordinator of the XRculture project, offered a structured, hands-on overview of the entire lifecycle of 3D cultural heritage assets, from storage and visualisation to publication, reuse and innovative, XR-based experiences.

The first part of the webinar focused on securely and sustainably storing 3D models, and introduced platforms such as 3D-heritage.eu and Repox. These platforms enable institutions to manage complex 3D datasets alongside their associated metadata, documentation and related media. The speakers emphasised the importance of viewing 3D models as part of a broader information ecosystem that supports long-term preservation and reuse, rather than as isolated files.

Participants were then introduced to web-based 3D viewers, including solutions developed within the INCEPTION project and by ARCTUR. These viewers demonstrate how large and complex 3D models can be viewed online without the need for specialised software. The importance of mobile and web-based access in widening public reach and enabling use by tourism destinations with limited technical resources was emphasised.

A dedicated session was held to address the publication of 3D models to Europeana. The session outlined the aggregation workflow and presented the upcoming Share3D 2.0 tool. This new version will significantly simplify the capture and assessment of metadata, as well as publication to Europeana and the wider data space. It will enable institutions to make their 3D assets discoverable and reusable on a European scale.

The webinar also presented the XRculture middleware protocol, which is a vital technical concept that facilitates interoperability between repositories, viewers, converters and XR applications. By adopting open standards, the protocol enables institutions to maintain control over their data while ensuring flexibility and future-proof integration.

In the final part of the event, participants were introduced to one of XRculture’s most accessible XR use cases: DIY Holographic Postcards. This low-cost approach enables tourism destinations to reuse existing 3D models to create engaging holographic experiences using smartphones and simple hologram pyramids. This opens up new storytelling possibilities for visitors, eliminating the need for expensive equipment.

Overall, the webinar demonstrated how XRculture translates advanced technologies, including AI-based 3D processing, XR applications and data space integration, into practical, scalable solutions for cultural tourism destinations. By reducing technical and financial barriers, XRCulture enables institutions of all sizes to participate actively in the digital reuse of cultural heritage, thereby strengthening their visibility, engagement and long-term impact.