Reaffirming Textile Heritage Through 3D Technologies: Scaled Models of a Traditional Embroidered Blouse from Bihor County, Romania, and Their Potential for Inclusive Urban Cultural Tourism, Museum Management and Community Engagement

Urban heritage museums are increasingly expected to act not only as custodians of collections, but also as visitor attractions, partners of the hospitality sector and platforms for community participation. Textile heritage is particularly difficult to integrate into these roles, because handling, light exposure, microclimatic fluctuations and biological agents accelerate the degradation of fragile fabrics and restrict their display and physical access. This paper examines how 3D laser scanning and its derived products can help reconcile preventive conservation with inclusive urban cultural tourism. A traditional embroidered blouse (ie) from Bihor County was digitised with a hand-guided portable laser scanning system while mounted on a display mannequin to preserve its original volume. Multiangle point clouds were merged into a polygon mesh, and colour deviation maps were used to screen for geometric anomalies that may indicate deformation or wear and that warrant direct conservation inspection. The resulting digital model was used to produce an interactive online 3D model and a reduced-scale 3D-printed tactile replica, complemented by a sign-language presentation video. The case demonstrates that a single digitisation workflow can generate outputs of potential relevance to four stakeholder groups: conservators, museum managers, tourism and hospitality actors, and local communities, including artisans and people with disabilities. The technical workflow and its outputs are demonstrated empirically, whereas their effects on visitors, local communities and management entities were not measured. Based on a qualitative mapping, a conceptual framework linking museum digitisation with destination management, hospitality partnerships and community engagement is proposed; its tourism, accessibility and community benefits remain to be validated with stakeholders in future research.