General objective

The general objective of the call for proposals is to enhance the competitiveness of tourism ecosystem, in particular the SMEs in the tourism ecosystem. It aims at equipping and empowering SMEs to become more resilient by building capacity of SMEs to successfully carry out the twin transition towards more sustainable, digital and competitive practices as prioritised in the Tourism Transition Pathway.

Specific objectives

1. Gather best practices and raise awareness regarding resilience, digital, and sustainable changes relevant to tourism SMEs in the tourism ecosystem.
2. Conduct 'train the trainers' activities regarding resilience, digital, and sustainable practices for key tourism stakeholders, including business associations, destination management organizations (DMO), and public authorities, to enhance awareness and knowledge spreading in tourism ecosystems.
3. Provide targeted consulting, coaching, and technical support to SMEs in identified tourism subsectors, attempting to cover a wide geographical scope, from management consulting on sustainable measures, digital literacy or implementation of solutions proved efficient to the transition of EU tourism (e.g. Ecolabel/EMAS certification) by tourism SMEs.
4. Offer direct support for the development of new business concepts, projects creating/promoting new products, and fostering cross-sectoral cooperation, with a special focus on projects that increase resilience and develop tourism offerings with other ecosystems (e.g., culture, agri-food, construction, proximity, social economy, textiles).

Eligible activities

The eligible activities include financial support to third parties for innovative collaborative projects.

Themes funded under this call

The actions resulting from this call for proposals shall promote the following themes (the list is not exhaustive):

• diversification in the tourism offer by implementing diversified business models and by tackling seasonality and fluctuations in seasonal tourist flows - be it throughout the year or throughout the territory; targeting different market segments, such as types of clients, origin of clients and sources of income; working with an increased variety of suppliers
• regenerative tourism experiences that respect the authenticity of local tourism offerings while contributing to the well-being of host communities and promote cultural tourism encompassing both tangible and intangible cultural heritage
• the support to remote and rural regions within the EU, with their specific challenges as regards their transition towards a more sustainable and resilient ecosystem.

Available budget & number of projects

The available call budget is €8 500 000.

The expected number of projects to be funded is 4.

Documents

• Operational capacity: training institution
• Guidelines for awarding financial support to collaborative projects submitted by third parties

Info session

EISMEA will host an informative session about this call on 19 January 2024. For more information check the related event page.