ECOTOURS – Empowering local communities turning them into laboratories for co-development of circular and sustainable tourism ecosystems
EU Programme: [EISMEA SMP-COSME-2021-TOURSME] COVID-19 Recovery through sustainable Tourism Growth and SME Support – Grant agreement n° 101085853
Reference: 101077333
Start date: 01/01/2023
End date: 30/06/2025
The project is meant to contribute to turning marginal coastal and rural areas that are experiencing an economic slowdown, into circular, green and sustainable tourist destinations that offer significant travel experiences based on people to people exchange, holistic discovery of territory, its natural environment and biodiversity, its cultural and traditional heritage.
The ECOTOURS project enhances the capacity of tourism’s Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and community tourism’s ecosystems to promote circular tourism and to uptake environmental principles, practices and standards in their businesses. At the same time ECOTOURS promotes sustainability principles and practices, fostering environmental protection, the reduction of wastes and natural resources consumption (energy, water, soil, biodiversity), the use of clean energy and green transport means, the recycling and reuse of materials/products, the promotion of locally based food and craft productions.
- To increase the capacity of tourism’s SMEs and community ecosystems in EU to incorporate and promote sustainable strategies and practices on circular tourism;
- To boost the transition process of tourism’s SMEs by increasing their capacity to uptake sustainable and circular principles and standards;
- To engage key actors and local communities in Europe in cohesive and collaborative strategies and actions to build-up a support system to tourism SMEs;
- To increase sustainability, competitiveness and economic regeneration of rural destinations in Europe through circular tourism.
- Transnational capacity building programme based on peer-to-peer learning and practices sharing on circular tourism;
- Multi-stakeholder and multidisciplinary support system to tourism’s SMEs;
- Open Educational Resources (OERs) based on circular tourism, business development and sustainability assessment;
- 6 integrated circular tourism’s itineraries in target communities;
- Sustainable tourism marketing strategy and plans to promote circular cultural tourism in the target communities;
- Tailored collective and multi-stakeholders’ dashboard including (economic, social and environmental) sustainability impact indicators.
Results
- Better understanding of the concept of “circular tourism” in the local communities involved and at EU level, with a view on how circular tourism can respond to community needs and generate sustainable development;
- Co-created and tested an innovative and multi-stakeholder support system to tourism’s SMEs and community tourism’s ecosystems on circular tourism at both local and EU level;
- Enhanced resilience, key competences and capacity of N.96 tourism’s SMEs to incorporate circular tourism’s principles and uptake sustainability standards into their businesses, services and practices, with the view of improving and measuring their green, social and sustainable performances;
- Strengthened strategic cooperation, exchange of best practices and synergies between tourism’s SMEs and community tourism’s ecosystems actively engaged in knowledge-sharing and co-development of sustainable strategies and practices based on circular tourism;
- Increased governance (public/private), multi-stakeholder engagement and cross-sectors coalitions to explore innovative circular business strategies and models in the field of tourism and community development.
Co-experts
- Tourism Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs);
- Public actors competent in the field of tourism, environment and community development;
- Tourism Experts with sustainability experience, public body engaged in tourism, university, chamber of commerce, consulting private bodies providing business support of SMEs.
Partnership
Keywords
Sustainable tourism, Experiential tourism, Blue economy, Business Model, Policy reform, SMEs.
Website
Co-funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. The European Union cannot be held responsible for them.
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