Open Call for the FU-TOURISM Acceleration Programme: 20.000 Euros for Innovative SMEs
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The FU-TOURISM Acceleration Programme will accelerate 60 European SMEs with specialised guidance and financial support of €20,000 per company, boosting their success in the era of sustainability and digitalisation in the tourism sector.
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The call will be open from Thursday 31 October 2024 until Friday 31 January 2025 at 17:00 CET.
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All SMEs in the tourism sector and related areas from Croatia, Spain, Belgium Greece, Austria and Poland are invited to apply on https://www.fu-tourism.eu/open-call/
The European project FU-TOURISM opens the call for its Acceleration Programme. This initiative offers a unique opportunity for SMEs from Croatia, Spain, Belgium Greece, Austria and Poland, providing funding, specialised guidance and business consultancy provided by experts from the tourism sector.
The programme will select 60 SMEs, 10 from each participating country, that are already active or wish to engage in sustainable, green and digital tourism. Companies must operate in the tourism sector or related sub-sectors, and propose innovative solutions that can be piloted or scaled in the field of sustainability and digitalisation.
The selected SMEs will benefit from a 8-month hybrid funding and training programme, receiving direct support of €20,000 each. They will also have access to additional business consultancy services, including online training workshops on business models, mentoring in sustainable tourism development, transnational networking webinars, and other benefits offered by consortium members. These benefits include support to access EU funds of up to 2 million euros, with the possibility to transform proposals submitted by SMEs into European projects through calls such as LIFE and HORIZON.
The Finnova Foundation, partner of the project, carried out the official launch of the Acceleration Programme from the iBlue meeting in Lanzarote, with the aim of amplifying the dissemination and transnationality of the call. iBlue is a professional event focused on regenerative tourism and the blue economy, held in Lanzarote, Spain.
The call will be open from Thursday 31 October 2024 until Friday 31 January 2025 at 17:00 CET. Interested companies can register during this period via the following link: https://www.fu-tourism.eu/open-call/
Information Sessions: Open Days
Each participating country will organise an ‘Open Day’ edition, an information session where project partners will present all the details, dates, requirements, and tips for applying to the Acceleration Programme. In addition, during these events, best practices from industry leaders, examples of projects driving the transformation of tourism, and opportunities for collaboration with other key stakeholders will be shared.
Between November and December 2024, these six Open Day editions will take place in Austria, Poland, Belgium, Greece, Croatia and Spain, giving SMEs from all over Europe the opportunity to learn how the FU-TOURISM Acceleration Programme can boost their sustainable growth at national and international level. More information and registration details can be found at: https://www.fu-tourism.eu/events/
FU-TOURISM Project: A Commitment to a Sustainable and Digital Tourism Business Ecosystem
With funding of EUR 4 million from the European Commission through the Single Market Programme (formerly COSME), the FU-TOURISM project is dedicated to supporting the green and digital transition of European tourism SMEs.
This initiative brings together a consortium of partners from seven European countries: the City of Valencia (Spain) and Valencia Innovation Capital as its affiliated entity, the City of Poreč-Parenzo (Croatia), FINNOVA (Belgium), Envolve (Greece), SYNYO (Austria), Vestbee (Poland), and Open Impact (Italy). The consortium is led by Eupolis Grupa (Croatia) with CEDRA as an affiliated entity.
The project provides training and strategy development support in two pilot destinations: Valencia, Spain, and Poreč-Parenzo, Croatia. These destinations, operating under the Destination Management Organisation (DMO) model, will serve as best practice examples and support SMEs through collaboration in the 4-Helix Living-Labs.
Of the 35 proposals submitted in the European Commission’s call for the Single Market Programme ‘SMP-COSME-2022-TOURSME’, only 6 were approved. FU-TOURISM stands out among them for having the largest budget, underlining its importance for the business sector and the recognition of its comprehensive approach towards sustainability and digitalisation in the tourism sector.
The FU-TOURISM Acceleration Programme is the first of two acceleration programmes to be launched by the project. The second programme, planned for 2025, will support 42 SME associations, each with funding of €30,000.
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