All economic activities impact the environment and tourism is no exception. In this context, sustainable tourism, often categorised as tourism that offers a balance between economic and environmental issues, is the holy grail of the industry. The direct relationship built on the continuous search for the right equilibrium in turn leads to the link between the sustainability and the tourism sector’s competitiveness.
Long-term tourism sustainability requires a balance between sustainability in economic, socio-cultural and environmental terms. Since the quality of tourist destinations is strongly influenced by their natural and cultural environment, the competitiveness of the European tourism industry is closely linked to this balance. Finding the right tension between the autonomous development of tourist destinations and the protection of the environment on one side and the development of a competitive economic activity on the other, presents a number of challenges. Among the challenges identified by the European Union one can mention the preservation of natural and cultural resources, the limiting of negative impacts, the promotion of the well-being of the local community, a reduction of the concept of seasonality, making tourism accessible to all and improving the quality of tourism jobs.
However, despite these problems, the European Union’s Tourism Sustainability Group, set up by the European Commission in 2004 and made up of individuals from international bodies, member state governments, regional and local authorities, the tourism industry, professional bodies, environmental organisations, trade unions and research and educational bodies, who have expertise and experience in the sustainability of tourism, believes that, more than any other economic activity, tourism can develop synergies in close interaction with the environment and society. This is because the development of destinations is closely related to the natural environment, cultural distinctiveness, social interaction, security and well-being of local populations.
Directly through raising awareness and income support to them, and indirectly through the supply of an economic justification for the provision of such support by others, these characteristics make tourism itself the driving force for the conservation and development of tourist localities.
To ensure that this takes place, the challenges posed by the search for this intricate balance are addressed through the European Commission’s, Agenda for Sustainable and Competitive European Tourism, which lays down a set of principles intended to overcome these obstacles. A holistic and integrated approach, long-term planning, an appropriate pace for development, the involvement of all stakeholders, minimising and managing risk, reflecting impacts in costs, setting and respecting limits and continuous monitoring are all tools proposed by the European Union to facilitate the achievement of sustainability in tourism.
In order to contribute towards sustainable tourism, the European Union co-funds projects on sustainable transnational thematic tourism products. An important number of such products with the potential to contribute to tourism growth have been developed, and these include cultural routes crossing several countries, cycling paths, eco-tourism products and other niches such as sports tourism, religious tourism, health and well-being tourism, agro-tourism and eno-gastronomic tourism.
Within this scenario, the European Commission has published a call for proposals for Supporting the Enhancement and Promotion of Sustainable Transnational Thematic Tourism Products, which closes on 3 July. The call falls under the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (EIP), which is one of the specific programmes under the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP). The programme seeks to support innovation and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the European Union, focusing on access to finance, business services, improving innovation policy, eco-innovation pilot projects and SME policy-making.
The overall objectives of the current call are to support the enhancement and promotion of sustainable transnational thematic tourism products contributing to the development and promotion of sustainable tourism in Europe, by improving their visibility and market uptake, and to contribute to the creation of an environment favourable to trans-national co-operation among tourism-related stakeholders with a particular emphasis on SMEs.
For the purpose of this call, a sustainable transnational thematic tourism product should be made up of a set of tourism destinations, attractions or services, and has to take the form of a physical or conceptual transnational route, itinerary, trail or tourism offer, having a common thematic link and a high potential for sustainable tourism development. Applicants should propose a tourism product, which covers at least four countries.
Apart from being transnational and thematic, the product should already be developed. This is because the aim of the call is to support the market uptake of the products that have already achieved a certain development level.
Through this call, the European Commission hopes to stimulate competitiveness in the European tourism sector by encouraging diversification of the supply of tourist services and products. By supporting projects promoting sustainable thematic tourism products the European Union aims at strengthening trans-national cooperation in the sector, and ensuring a higher involvement of small and micro enterprises and local authorities.
More information about this call can be obtained from Meusac on [email protected]