Destination SMEs

The aim of the project is to improve the competitiveness of SMEs in the tourism sector which are beneficiaries of the mainstream programmes (mainly European Regional Development Fund), by supporting the deployment of these programmes through the implementation of destination management policies.

Based on the sharing of experiences, the project will identify and transfer good territorial policies or instruments developed by Managing Authorities and dedicated to the tourist destination management, with a strong focus on the involvement of the SMEs in the local decision making process. Relevant policies will then be transferred among the project partners.

The main expected outputs and results are;

• Identification and exploration of policies or instruments to be developed or transferred to reach the above mentioned objectives.
• Creation of recommendations in this field targeting public stakeholders.
• Actual transfer of policies and/or practices to improve the implementation of mainstream programmes in the partner regions.

The consortium comprises partners from France, Italy, Malta, Finland, Latvia and Slovenia.

This is a five year project, the first three years of which (Phase 1) related to the exchange of experiences and the preparation of a subsequent action plan with the final two years (Phase 2) directed towards implementing the action plan and achieving policy change. The project is currently approaching the end of  Phase 2 (i.e. June 2021) and has focused on implementing the project action plan with a view to influencing future policy development.

The Destination SME’s Project is co-financed from the European Union by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) through the Interreg Europe Programme.

More information can be found on the project website - interregeurope.eu.