Several interesting tourism projects have received funding by the EU, often via calls for proposals through the Single Market Programme (or through the previous COSME Programme).
Below are links to a selection of different calls (co-)implemented by DG GROW or EISMEA (the individual projects funded via calls for proposals are added to the Funding & tenders portal once this information is available, usually several months after the closing date).
The European Commission also works on pilot projects, preparatory actions and several other initiatives to promote the competitiveness of enterprises in the tourism ecosystem.
Green Transition
Calls and projects under the Single Market Programme (or COSME)
- Unbalanced Tourism Growth at Destination Level - Root Causes, Impacts, Existing Solutions and Good Practices (COSME Programme: Call for tenders, 2020-2022)
- COVID-19 Recovery through sustainable tourism growth and SME support (call for proposals, 2021-2025)
- Empowering SMEs to carry out the twin transition – COVID-19 recovery (call for proposals, 2022-2026)
- Support to SMEs in transition towards a more sustainable and resilient ecosystem (call for proposals, 2023-2027)
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
- Pilot project: The Product Environmental Footprint method (PEFCR) for hotel accommodation services (Call for tenders, 2023 - 2026)
- Pilot project: Sustainable EU tourism destinations – Shaping the Tourism of tomorrow (Call for tenders, 2023 - 2025)
Digital Transition
Calls and projects under the Single Market Programme (or COSME)
- Innovation uptake and digitalisation in the tourism sector (COSME Programme: Call for proposals 2020)
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
- Preparatory action: Smart Tourism Destinations (Call for tenders, 2020 - 2023)
- Pilot project: Creation of a code of conduct for online rating and review for tourism accommodation (Call for tenders, 2023-2024)
- Preparatory action: EU Competence Centre to support data management in tourism destinations (Call for proposals, 2023 – 2026)
- Preparatory action under the Digital Europe Programme: A draft blueprint for a common European data space for tourism (Call for proposals, 2022-2023): DATES project – European data space for tourism
More calls and projects
Resilience and inclusion, policy and governance, skills and support for transition under the Single Market Programme
- Sustainable growth and building resilience in tourism – empowering support to SMEs to carry out the twin transition (Call for proposals 2022)
- Transitioning to a more sustainable and resilient ecosystem – empowering tourism SMEs (Call for proposals 2023)
Pilot projects and preparatory actions
- Preparatory action: Crisis management and governance in tourism (Call for tenders, 2021 – 2024)
- Pilot Project: Building Capacity for Tourism Ecosystem (Call for tenders, 2024 – 2026)
- Preparatory action: The promotion of handicraft products and support of craftsmen (Call for proposals, 2025-2027)
The EU Funding & Tenders portal gives information on EU programmes, open calls and their results.
The portal also allows you to search for different key words. Here is an example of the results that appear when you search "tourism" with the filter "Single Market Programme". It lists the title, a short description, beneficiaries and the EU contribution per tourism project funded under EU programmes.
The European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA) implements and monitors many projects funded by the Single Market Programme (SMP). EISMEA also publishes implementation reports on different calls from the SME Pillar. In addition, the agency publishes monitoring reports on the tourism calls that EISMEA manages.
For a more comprehensive overview on tourism projects, visit the EU Tourism Platform, which allows you to filter the projects you are most interested in.
More
- European Capital and Green Pioneer of Smart Tourism – an EU invitation to reward European cities
- EU Tourism Platform
- Discover tourism projects funded under the COSME programme (2014-2020)