A cultural tourism initiative linking 12 of Norwich's heritage sites with an additional 12 sites in the Belgian city of Ghent has received a 1.15m euro (£1.03m) cash injection from the European Regional Development Fund.

SHAPING 24 – Strategies for Heritage Access Pathways in Norwich and Ghent – aims to promote and support the 24 heritage sites, as well as increasing the profile of both cities as significant cultural and historical locations.

The 4.5m euro (£4m) initiative is led by HEART in partnership with Ghent City Council, and has been part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund from the European Union's INTERREG IVA 2 Mers Seas Zeeën Cross-border Co-operation Programme 2007-13.

It is hoped that the scheme will help to attract more visitors to both Norwich and Ghent, as well as bringing increased economic benefits through visitor spend, hotel stays and extra tourism jobs.

The 12 Norwich sites involved in the scheme include Norwich Cathedral, The Guildhall, The Assembly House, St John's Roman Catholic Cathedral and City Hall, as well as The Forum, Surrey House and Dragon Hall. Norwich Castle, The Great Hospital, The Halls – St Andrew's and Blackfriars', and St James Mill also feature.

Michael Loveday, Norwich HEART chief executive, said: "[The funding] will help us to develop the cultural heritage product in Norwich further for the benefit of the local economy and local communities. Even more significantly, it will help us to develop best practice with one of the world's greatest cultural heritage cities."

Daniël Termont, mayor of Ghent, added: "The city of Ghent is always looking for good international contacts and fruitful co-operation, and our strong partnership with Norwich is a good example of that."

The INTERREG IVA 2 Mers Seas Zeeën Cross-border Co-operation Programme is an EU-funded scheme to promote co-operation projects between organisations in eligible areas of England, France, Belgium and the Netherlands.