The project, co-funded by the COSME Programme, aims to promote the adaptation of European tourism SMEs towards more sustainable, low-carbon and resource-efficient business models by scaling-up their activities and build capacity through knowledge transfer, exchanges and collaboration with other SMEs, business accelerators, incubators, development agencies and other tourism industry stakeholders.

In particular transversal issues addressed by the project will include:

• promoting circular business models and plastics reduction in SMEs
• facilitating access to EC initiatives promoting sustainable tourism (European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS), European Destinations of Excellence (EDEN), European Capital of Smart Tourism, EU ecolabel and EMAS)
• addressing the growing consumer demand for a more eco-friendly tourism experience (Diversification of tourism routes, Stakeholders engagement methodologies, Marketing, etc.)

The project will address companies covering different sectors of the tourism industry, including coastal tourism, but also natural and cultural tourism and tourism linked to sport events.

Specific project objectives are:

• Design and implement trans-national and cross-sectoral support scheme including capacity building knowledge transfer and scaling-up activities to enable sustainable growth of SMEs in the tourism sector
• Support uptake of innovative solutions for sustainable tourism
• Support participation of SMEs in certification schemes

Partnership 
• Sant’Anna School (partner)
• Consulta Europa Project and Innovation (Italy)
• Instituto Tecnologico de Canarias (Spain)
• Sardinia Region (Italy)
• Confindustria Training Systems (Italy)
• ACR+ (Association of cities and Regions for Recycling and Sustainable Resource Management)