Sustainable Tools & Activities for Rural Tourism and Ecotourism SME’s Growth
The European Union has been aiming for sustainable development for nearly 20 years, and the European Green Deal is the roadmap to make the EU’s economy sustainable. The SME Strategy for a Sustainable and Digital Europe also recognizes that capacity building and support to SMEs is key to transition to sustainability and digitalization. Tourism is one of the largest and fastest growing sectors, contributing to 11% of the EU’s GDP and 11.2% of total EU employment. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an acute and pervasive effect on the tourism sector. Rural destinations and ecotourism have emerged as the most attractive options in the wake of the pandemic, bringing many potential benefits such as seasonality mitigation, promotion of local economies, protection of natural capital, and enhancement of environmental awareness. Therefore, the Star Growth project will focus on supporting the transition to sustainability and digitalisation of rural tourism and ecotourism SMEs in 6 countries, providing customized support services and training for the sustainable and slow development of these sectors.
Tourism is one of the largest and fastest growing sectors, contributing to 11% of the EU's GDP and 11.2% of total EU employment.
The projects’ overall objective is to enhance the sustainable growth of SMEs operating in the rural tourism and ecotourism sectors in Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Romania and Italy by providing technical and financial support, whilst boosting their awareness, development and capacity in the area of sustainable innovations.
Supporting 90 rural tourism and ecotourism SMEs in Greece, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Romania and Italy in developing their skills and capacities in sustainable tourism, whilst creating sustainability strategies in line with the needs and priorities of their territory
Providing capacity building and technical assistance to the selected SMEs, by applying European sustainability frameworks and tools (such as Environmental footprint methods, EMAS, EU Ecolabel, ISO 14001:2015, CSR, HCMI etc.)
Fostering innovative practices and solutions, which can provide business destinations with heightened resilience to shocks, enhanced social, economic and environmental awareness and responsibility
Building effective mechanisms for best practice exchange and dissemination of transferable tools and knowledge between the SMEs, also at a European level
Are you a SME operating in the field of sustainable and ecotourism? Read more about our requirements.
Apply in with our easy step-by-step procedure. Submit your applications here.
Not sure if you're the right fit? Visit our Resources section and check out our FAQ.
European Profiles SA (Greece), StarGrowth Consortium Leader, is pleased to announce a 2-day seminar titled “Performing PEF/OEF Studies and Applying for Environmental/Sustainability Certification”, tailored for
The StarGrowth Handbook for SMEs on Sustainability and Digitalisation has been released!
A new report, the StarGrowth Comparative Report of Tourism SMEs’ Needs, has been released.
This website was co-funded by the European Union.
Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the Star Growth partners and its developer National Tourism Cluster “Bulgarian Guide” only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or EISMEA. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.
