RFAs: Upskilling and reskilling the Tourism Ecosystem l Tourism Knowledge hub and Tourism Data Space

The selected proposal must join the Pact for Skills and participate in the LSP (large-scale skills partnerships) for tourism, in particular as regards the support for digital skills.

The support must take the form of clear and friendly guidelines for the use of destination management organizations (DMOs) and of SMEs and micro-enterprises, disseminated strategically over the target countries in order to maximise outreach. The guidelines must be published and be broadly disseminated, and accompanied by training opportunities.

Within the scope of this call for proposals, a DMO is defined as a public or private stakeholder, an authority that manages a local, regional, or national tourism strategy in one of the countries forming part of the consortium. DMO responsibilities may include, but are not limited to, taking responsibility for the local tourism offer, sustainable tourism planning/development, and the impact tourism has on the territory.

Themes and Priorities

• The actions resulting from this call for proposals shall promote the following themes (the list is not exhaustive):
  • To promote data-driven solutions in tourism by:
    • Supporting upskilling and training for DMOs and SMEs;
    • Ensuring synergies with existing measures (policy initiatives, tools and actions) at EU level;
  • To encourage a better understanding and uptake of EU initiatives in place in the field of tourism digitalisation
• To meet the objectives of this call, the proposal has to address the following priorities:
  • To provide clear guidance on how to access resources for managing and sharing of data.
  • To increase the use and adoption of digital tools, platforms and smart technologies by transferring knowledge to DMOs and SME on how to better use and take advantage of the digital tools available.
  • To increase reliance on data: its generation, collection, use and re-use.
  • To advise DMOs and tourism SMEs, in their transition towards more digital and sustainable activities.
  • To improve access to training, upskilling and reskilling opportunities for DMOs and tourism SMEs.
  • To promote the innovation and resilience of the tourism sector

Funding Information

• Project budget (requested grant amount) is expected be around EUR 1 000 000 per project. This does however not preclude the submission/selection of proposals requesting other amounts. The grant awarded may be lower than the amount requested.
• Project shall have a duration of 24 months. Extensions are possible, only if duly justified and through an amendment.

Eligibility Criteria

• In order to be eligible, the applicants (beneficiaries and affiliated entities) must:
  • be legal entities (public or private bodies).
  • be established in one of the eligible countries, i.e.:
  • EU Member States (including overseas countries and territories (OCTs))
• Beneficiaries and affiliated entities must register in the Participant Register — before submitting the proposal — and will have to be validated by the Central Validation Service (REA Validation). For the validation, they will be requested to upload documents showing legal status and origin.
• Other entities may participate in other consortium roles, such as associated partners, subcontractors, third parties giving in-kind contributions, etc.

For more information, visit European Union.