SUSRUR Second Open call for INNOVATE Program

The call aims to support up to 80 tourism SMEs in implementing sustainable and innovative practices.

SUSRUR – Towards SUStainability and resilient scenarios for tourism SMEs in RUral & Remote Areas, launched in January 2023 to address the inherent challenges for Tourism SMEs from 5 rural & remote areas of Europe by promoting an open call that can help awarded applicants to develop their sustainability and innovative practices & strategies while providing tools and skills to strengthen their competitiveness in a post-COVID-19 scenario.

Objectives

SUSRUR Open Call 2 has the below objectives:

• To uptake and replicate good practice solutions among eligible regions, improving SMEs sustainability performance
• To promote the adoption of sustainable and innovative practices and strategies through Sustainable Tourism Certification Schemes and/or Labels
• To develop skills and capacity building at management level which will enhance the SMEs overall performance towards digital and green transition.

Financial Support

• SUSRUR Open Call 2 indicative budget is 560,000.00€ 2 to support up to 80 applicants with a 7,000.00€ (lump sum grant).

Expected Outcomes

Expected outcomes from SUSRUR Open Call 2 are as follows:

• Contribute to an enhanced sustainability performance and accelerate the twin green and digital transitions in the eligible regions through the adoption of sustainable and innovative services, products or solutions;
• Promote knowledge sharing and networking among eligible regions through the replication of innovative solutions from other european rural and remote regions;
• Stimulate the access to tourism sustainability certifications, labels and schemes to tourism SMEs from rural and remote regions; and,
• Increase the resilience capacity and provide resources and knowledge to rural tourism SMEs to boost their sustainability and digital skills through training and capacity building to develop more competitive services.

Innovate Programme

During the implementation of the Innovate Programme, applicants are expected to implement and be enrolled in several compulsory actions.

• Replication of Good Sustainable Practices
  • The replication of Good Sustainable Practices will be available and focus on six categories: circular economy; clean energy transition; digitalization; smart mobility; biodiversity; and other.
  • The replication of the Good Sustainable Practice will consist on the following activities:
    • Study visit to three selected regional GPs
      • Applicants must select three good sustainable practices (if selected for funding) from one region (other than the applicant’s region) to perform a transnational study visit based on peer-to-peer learning and good practice exchange on sustainable tourism, facilitating the matchmaking and cooperation between rural tourism SMEs and showcasing tourism business with good practices in sustainability.
    • Study visit of GP provider to applicant premises
      • A second transnational study visit must be completed by the selected good sustainable practices provider to the applicant premises to support and contribute for an adequate replication and implementation of the good sustainable practices.
• Implementation of Sustainable Tourism Certification Schemes & Labels
  • Implementation of Sustainable Tourism Certification Schemes & Labels will promote the incorporation of a sustainable tourism label or certificate with the long-term goal of contributing to boost the customer trust towards the SMEs and to embed sustainable activities on their core business values.
• Training sessions focused on sustainable and innovative practices
  • Training sessions will focus on the development of sustainability skills throughout individual growth paths with a relevant impact on the SMEs business performance and capacity building activities in order to empower the rural tourism SMEs towards digital and green transition.
• Access to specialised consulting services
  • Through the access to specialised consulting services, applicants will have at their disposal a range of specialised services from business analysis or/and guidance to develop key competences in digital tools, marketing, sustainability, resilience and economics. Available services in the Innovate Programme will focus on the topics listed below:
    • Digital Marketing Plan
    • Sustainability and Strategy Plan
    • Technology and innovation survey

Eligible Regions

Only applicants legally based on one of the following five regions are eligible under the call:

• Asturias (Spain)
• Western Macedonia (Greece)
• Harghita (Romania)
• Utena (Lithuania)
• Steirisches Vulkanland (Austria)

Eligible Applicants

• Applicant is a SME.
• Applicant is a tourism enterprise under an eligible NACE class;
• Applicant is based in an Eligible Region;
• Applicant did not receive funding from SUSRUR project, or other projects under SMP-COSME-2021-TOURSME-01 topic;
• Application was submitted in English;
• Applicant has submitted only one application.
• In addition, financial support to third parties under the call will be limited to Tourism enterprises under at least one of the following NACE classes:
  • H49 – Land transport and transport via pipelines
  • I55 – Accommodation
  • I56 – Food and beverage service activities
  • N79 – Travel agency, tour operator reservation service and related activities
  • R90 – Creative, arts and entertainment activities
  • R91 – Libraries, archives, museums and other cultural activities
  • R93 – Sports activities and amusement and recreation activities
• Note: Other NACE classes may be eligible since they are aligned with the scope of the project and as long as they relate to SMEs working in tourism.

For more information, visit SUSRUR.