The project held its final event on 14 June, in the company of the consortium, beneficiary SMEs, sisters projects, and the European Commission.
The event, which took place online and attracted 50 participants, was the opportunity to share the final project’s results, present SMEs’ experiences to the European Commission and other international stakeholders working in sustainable tourism as well as connect with tourism SMEs from similar EU funded projects.
Michelle Perello, Coordinator at Consulta Europa, TouriSME lead partne, and Alan Vella, Project Adviser at the European Innovation Council and SME’s Executive Agency (EISMEA) opened the meeting to reflect on the journey that the SMEs undertook to become more sustainable. Alan Vella reminded the importance of paving the way towards more sustainable tourism practices, and while congratulating the SMEs and the consortium, highlighted that the European Union finances sustainable tourism initiatives under different programmes such as LIFE and Horizon Europe.
A first panel on enhancing sustainable practices of tourism was lead by Tiberio Daddi from the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna and Beatrice Avagnina, Managing Director of Consulta Europa. Tiberio presented the Scientific Article “Adoption of Circular Economy and Environmental Certifications: Perceptions of Tourism SMEs” and advertise the Compendium of best practices, Beatrice promoted the latest report on the results of the different support schemes.
The second panel aimed at sharing experience and TouriSME legacy and 4 beneficiary SMEs led the show, along with the 3 sisters projects. Indeed, Irina Bolocan from Duo Hotel, Clément Gougeon from Japan Experience, Marta Templado from Turiart and Giaciento Marchionna from Turismore were invited to share the different achievements they reached thanks to the project, and the efforts they will make to continue to improve sustainability in their companies now that TouriSME is ending. This exchange allowed to appreciate the richness and diversity of experiences among the SMEs. Three sisters projects were part of the panel in order to share their knowledge and upcoming opportunities: EU Eco-Tandem was presented by Marika Mazzi Boém, Innovation Strategy Director at X23 ; SUSTOUR was promoted by Laura Selenz, the project’s coordinator; and EURO EMOTUR made another guest appearance, with a presentation by Sergio Moreno from the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
The replay of the final event is available on our Youtube channel !
