StarGrowth project aims to enhance the sustainable growth of SMEs operating in the rural tourism and ecotourism sectors in Greece (for the 1st Call only), 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.

• Eligible applicants are those who meet the following criteria:
• SMEs established in an EU member state & operating in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Romania or Slovenia
• Are a small-or medium sized enterprise (SME), according to the EU Recommendation 2003
• Are having at least one completed financial year
• Are having economic activity related to:

Hotels and similar accommodation

Holiday and other short-stay accommodation

Camping grounds, recreational vehicle parks and trailer parks

• Are operating in one of the following rural (NUTS 3) regions*:

Predominantly rural regions

Significantly rural regions / Intermediate

According to the Urban-rural typology, by NUTS 3 regions.

Refer to the Call For Proposals for further information.

The application is a one-step process. The application process does not allow the application form to be saved and edited at a later stage. For your convenience, we recommend that you check the uploaded template of the Application form in the section Important Documents.

Published on 05.06.2023

Only if it is possible to ensure that the involved persons are not the same. It is not recommended to apply this way.

Published on 05.06.2023

According to Art 1 of the SME Definition (Recommendation 2003/361/EC), an enterprise is considered to be any entity
engaged in an economic activity, irrespective of its legal form. This includes,
in particular, self-employed persons and family businesses engaged in craft or other activities, and partnerships or associations regularly engaged in an economic activity. An economic activity is usually seen as ‘the sale of products or services at a given price, on a given/direct market’.

Published on 16.06.2023

You may find official information in the following links mentioned in the Call Guide: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/topics/circular-economy/eu-ecolabel-home_en https://green-business.ec.europa.eu/eco-management-and-audit-scheme-emas_en https://www.iso.org/standard/60857.html https://www.unido.org/our-focus/advancing-economic-competitiveness/competiti ve-trade-capacities-and-corporate-responsibility/corporate-social-responsibi lity-market-integration/what-csr https://sustainablehospitalityalliance.org/resource/hotel-carbon-measurement -initiative/

Published on 26.06.2023

Please note that according to the Call Guide (Section 4: Types of eligible activities and eligible costs) infrastructure, equipment and related services are not eligible.

Published on 26.06.2023

The eligibility of costs is clarified in section 4 of the Call Guide, namely “4) Types of eligible activities and eligible costs”, point “Eligible costs”

Published on 26.06.2023

Consortium partners are not allowed to propose and/or indicate specific providers.

Published on 26.06.2023

Costs for renewing of already obtained environmental certificate are not eligible cost. Please refer to the Call Guide.

Published on 26.06.2023

Be a small and medium enterprise (SME)as defined by the EU recommendation 2003/361:

i) Company category Medium-sized: Staff headcount <250; Turnover ≤ 50 million €; Balance sheet total ≤ 43 million €;

ii) Company category Small: Staff headcount < 50; Turnover ≤ 10 million €; Balance sheet total ≤ 10 million €;

iii) Company category Micro: Staff headcount < 10; Turnover ≤ 10 million €; Balance sheet total ≤ 2 million € (published on 03.07.2023)

According to the Call Guide (Section 4: “Types of eligible activities and eligible costs”), activities related to the upgrade of existing digital tools for increasing competitiveness and / or sustainability are eligible. (published on 03.07.2023)

According to the Call Guide (Section 4: “Types of eligible activities and eligible costs”), activities related to the upgrade of existing digital tools for increasing competitiveness and / or sustainability are eligible. (published on 10.07.2023)

According to the Call Guide (Section 4: “Types of eligible activities and eligible costs”), the main activity to be realized as cost for advertising is not eligible cost. (published on 10.07.2023)

Applicants may request funding below the threshold per SME. The remaining grant budget may be used by other successful applicants from the same country until the grant threshold per country is reached. (published on 10.07.2023)

According to Art.1 of the EU Recommendation 2003/361/EC “An enterprise is considered to be any entity engaged in an economic activity, irrespective of its legal form”. In other words, only entities that are engaged in an economic activity can be considered as an SME. Please refer to the EU Recommendation 2003/361/EC to define if you meet this eligibility criteria. (published on 10.07.2023)

Among the eligibility criteria is for the Applicant to be an SME. According to Art. 3, para 4 of the EU Recommendation 2003/361/EC. ” Except in the cases set out in paragraph 2, second subparagraph, an enterprise cannot be considered an SME if 25 % or more of the capital or voting rights are directly or indirectly controlled, jointly or individually, by one or more public bodies.” (published on 12.07.2023)

According to the Call guide (Section 2: “Applicant eligibility and exclusion criteria”) company that has a registered activity within the subclassifications under NACE I5510, I5520, I5530 is eligible. (published on 12.07.2023)

Examples are given in the Call Guide, section 4: “Types of eligible activities and eligible costs”.

In addition, you might consider the following examples:

1. For SMEs lagging behind on sustainability performance, digitalisation and innovative practices and solutions: • Digitization of the business: development of apps and digital solutions (platforms, websites, etc.) increasing SME’s visibility, enrichment of the digital content of the IT tools of the business with the aim of promoting it to consumers interested in resilient and sustainable tourism, software development for communication with customers (e.g. online bookings) • Promotion: Participation in exhibitions, events, etc. focused on sustainability • Education: Participation in training programs on sustainability, digital innovation and data management; eco-friendly trainings, etc. • Development of strategic sustainability plan/s; etc.
2. For SMEs that are more advanced (and relatively large) • Preparation and/or application for sustainability / environmental certification, preparation and/or production of Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) studies and Organization Environmental Footprint (OEF) studies, implementation of improvement measures following the recommendation of PEF / OEF studies, development of strategic sustainability plans; adoption of an environmental certification scheme • Sensors for measuring indoor quality and energy consumption • Conferences (incl. international), exhibitions on sustainability, transfer of good practices on sustainability, etc. (published on 14.07.2023)

The final payment will be deposited upon the approval of deliverables, which cannot be submitted later than June 2025. The timeplan of the activities should be described within the proposal. (published on 14.07.2023)

Eligible costs for eligible grant activities can be claimed up to the grant threshold. (published on 14.07.2023)

According to the Call Guide (Section 4: “Types of eligible activities and eligible costs”), “equipment” is not an eligible cost. (published on 20.07.2023)