European cities are facing multiple challenges when it comes to managing the impacts and urban transformation processes deriving from tourism. These include increased sanitary precautions, strain on limited urban resources like water, energy and space, waste management, gentrification, and the cohabitation between residents and visitors as well as precarious hospitality working conditions.
In the light of this development, TOURBAN project concentrates its efforts to tackle the adaptation of European tourism companies towards more sustainable, low-carbon, circular and resource-efficient business models. As essential players in this transition, SMEs need to be provided with the necessary skills, capacity and financial resources, if they are to become innovation and sustainability catalysts. Furthermore, the project supports SMEs in uptaking international best practices and developing innovative solutions that render them both more sustainable and competitive through new and increased revenue streams, reduced costs and decreased resource consumption as well as a better visibility and positioning. Ultimately, TOURBAN aims to foster cross-sector collaboration to close the loop in circular economy processes and spearhead a transnational movement towards tourism sustainability in urban areas across Europe.
Projects
The Mediterranean region is one of the world’s leading tourist destinations. Facing growing competition and deterioration of the political and security situation, the destination has demonstrated symptoms of a slowdown, which makes the recovery of the sector an economic priority. This downturn may also present an opportunity to transform the tourism model into a sustainable and competitive one, addressing current sectorial challenges as the predominance of mass seaside tourism, dependent on the European market and territorial imbalances. MEDUSA will tackle these joint challenges via targeted and inter-related capacity building and cross-border interventions to develop and promote adventure tourism in the region, a niche which grew by 195% between 2010 and 2014. By designing and testing routes and itineraries that offer improved adventure tourism products, MEDUSA will contribute to job creation and income for local communities in the medium and long term. Moreover, the project has the potential to reveal lesser-known destinations and attract tourists throughout the year.
SHAAMS will facilitate the take up of solar technologies by raising public awareness on energy efficiency through the transferability and implementation of good practices in legal, regulatory, economic, organizational issues and new financing mechanisms. Therefore, SHAAMS will define and implement a series of actions, by identifying and highlighting the opportunities and potentialities of solar energy solutions for the social and economic development of the region covered by the ENPI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme. The project will rely on a collaborative approach between partners while facilitating the exchange of data (indicators) between public administration bodies, research centers, universities, firms and agents of the civil society and allowing the consortium to analyze the needs, expectations and requirements of all the actors and to provide solutions coherent with all the agents’ needs.
In order to achieve these objectives the SHAAMS project will be conceived as a threefold action project divided in terms of activity:
- SHAAMS Policy Accelerator: Policy support actions will be implemented in order to identify innovative solutions, solar energy strategies and to generate a unified approach towards a long term policy perspective for solar energy development.
- SHAAMS Enterprise and Research Accelerator: Fostering market support structures and new procedures for the development of a reliable market for solar energy
- SHAAMS Social Accelerator: The activities conceived in the section will address societal agents and intend to promote a cultural and behavioral change towards solar energy among society.