European Alliance Against Coronavirus Recap - Clusters and the Enterprise Europe Network in the tourism sector
On 29 June, the European Alliance Against Coronavirus talked about the collaboration between clusters and the Enterprise Europe Network in the field of tourism.
Aija Konisevska Azadi, EEN Sector Group Tourism & Culture Heritage, presented the activities of this EEN sector group, which has 34 members from 21 countries.
She emphasised that tourism is an area that is difficult to move into an online framework in comparison to other sectors. That is why during the pandemic in 2020, the EEN offered 10 brokerage events and five company missions. Furthermore, the EEN helped to exchange information on local, regional, and national support measures for the tourism sector in different countries. Now, they are working on new initiatives, including the COVID-19 safety seal and the European destinations of Excellence for sustainable tourism.
Álvaro Suarez from Asturas Cluster then presented the Asturian tourism cluster. Besides sharing information on legal and safety regulations and health measures, the cluster organised joint purchases for their members and offered a training programme on digital literacy, business strategies, and channel management.
One of the new goals of the cluster is to understand changes in travelling behaviour with regards to the destination, accommodation, booking process, and facilities. They have developed new online sales channels and new products to offer different experiences to the tourists.
Emil Comsa, Transylvania Lands Cluster, reflected on the impact of the pandemic on the Transilvanian region in Romania. The cluster did some qualitative research among their members to understand the concrete impacts and the changes in behaviour and needs that they foresee for the region. Several lines of actions became clear: promotion of investment, digitisation and innovation, sustainability an all aspects of the sector, and public support schemes. Romania is currently putting a special emphasis on becoming a green destination.
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