News from Partners

INSPIRES presented at Eurochambres Community of Interest on Sustainability and Tourism

The team from the Seville Chamber of Commerce was invited to present the INSPIRES project during a session of the Community of Interest “Sustainability and Tourism”, coordinated by Eurochambres. The event brought together chambers of commerce from across Europe to exchange experiences and explore strategies to reach and provide guidance to tourism SMEs at the same time as supporting their transition towards more sustainable and resilient models.

During the session, we highlighted INSPIRES main goals and outcomes, including training for trainers, ideation jams, the collection of best practices, and financial support for SMEs. It was also the occasion to present the outcomes of the 1st call for innovative ideas as well as the second call currently open, which provides new opportunities for SME partnerships to access funding and support for developing innovative and sustainable tourism solutions in Finland, Germany, Belgium and Poland.

INSPIRES continues to strengthen and enlarge its network and invites interested SMEs to engage in the upcoming call and benefit from the project’s support.

INSPIRES Beneficiaries Engage in Sustainability Training and Climate Fresk Workshop in Vratsa, Bulgaria

27 April 2026

On 24 April 2026, the winners of the INSPIRES grants under the INSPIRERS and PIONEERS categories gathered in Vratsa, Bulgaria, for a dedicated training session combining knowledge sharing and hands-on learning.

The event began with a presentation of good practices identified across all participating countries in the INSPIRES project, providing participants with concrete examples of sustainable and innovative approaches in tourism and related sectors. This was followed by an introduction to the INSPIRES training modules programme, which offers structured learning on key topics such as risk management, circular economy, regenerative tourism, inclusion, and digitalization.

The programme continued with an interactive Climate Fresk workshop, where participants worked in small teams using science-based materials to explore the causes and impacts of climate change. Through discussion and collaboration, they connected global climate challenges with the realities of their own projects and business models.

The session addressed key needs identified among SMEs, including limited capacity to respond to sustainability challenges and the need for practical, applicable approaches to climate adaptation and risk management.

As a result, participants gained:

a clearer understanding of climate change and its business implications
insights into how sustainability and risk management apply to their projects
initial ideas for integrating resilient and sustainable practices

The event is part of the INSPIRES coaching programme, supporting funded SMEs in developing innovative, sustainable, and future-proof solutions aligned with the green and digital transition.

ECTN Awards 2026 Call for entries launched with Tourism Resilience included

The ECTN Awards enhance the visibility of European cultural tourism destinations, create a platform for sharing experience and knowledge and promote networking between destinations. The Awards contest is open to tourist destinations across Europe to showcase their results and outputs in sustainable cultural tourism under several selected categories each year.

"Tourism Resilience", linked to the INSPIRES project, is included as the No 1 topic for the 2nd year running. "Digitalisation and Smart Tourism" is a separate category. For the first time, "Regenerative Tourism" is a new category. Other categories are "Creative Tourism", "Active Tourism" and "Transnational Thematic Tourism".

Selected collaborative projects by SMEs are eligible to apply as candidates for the Awards, provided that the application refers to a specific tourist destination.

All details about the Awards call for entries can be found online at:

https://www.culturaltourism-network.eu/awards-2026.html

Submission of entries online at:

https://culturaltourism.awardstage.com

International Learning & Experience Sessions in Andalusia, Spain

30 January 2026

INSPIRES project partner Official Chamber of Commerce of Sevilla has been invited to join the International Learning and Exchange sessions in Sevilla by Interreg Europe project "Tourism in Balance" (TIB) to share with them its insights and outcomes from INSPIRES.

The Official Chamber of Commerce of Sevilla has been collaborated as a stakeholder in TIB, and also the TIB team from the Regional Ministry of Tourism of Andalusia has joined most of the local stakeholders meeting in INSPIRES and TOURBO projects as well, and synergies have been established on the path to a green,digital and resilient transition in the tourism sector.

The Official Chamber of Commerce of Sevilla have highlighted how INSPIRES connects policy-makers and SMEs to co-develop smart-green solutions. Together with TOURBO, both projects empower the tourism industry to be smarter and more sustainable, benefiting communities and travellers alike.

Aligned with "Tourism in Balance" project goals, INSPIRES also contributes to supporting better management of tourism flows and promoting lesser-known destinations and more balanced year-round tourism. How important and stimulating it is to collaborate in smart tourism across Europe to foster innovation, sustainability, and seamless travel experiences while addressing shared challenges efficiently!

INSPIRES project at the European Tourism Day 2026 in Brussels, Belgium

27 January 2026

The INSPIRES project partnership was represented at the European Tourism Day 2026 event in Brussels by partner ECTN. This highly relevant event, organised by the European Commission DG MOVE Tourism Unit, presented and discussed the latest developments in European tourism, viz:

Digital solutions (access to data and AI), new trends (marketing and offer), media (traditional and social media)
How to access and how make best use of data
Tourism for tomorrow: the EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy, with keynote speech by the Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, Mr Apostolos Tzitzikostas
The accessible destination: strategic mobility, accessibility, and the path to rebalance tourism flows
Sustainability, resilience, regenerative tourism (with contribution by the Mayor of Skiathos Mr Thodoris Tzoumas, Greece, ECTN member)
Destination Europe: our tourism, our brand.

The European Tourism Day was an opportunity to take stock of recent EU tourism policy developments and to exchange on priorities in light of the EU’s upcoming Strategy for Sustainable Tourism. The related exhibition included the 2026 EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF SMART TOURISM (Tampere, Finland) and 2026 European GREEN PIONEER OF SMART TOURISM (Dubrovnik, Croatia, ECTN member).

The participant representing INSPIRES project (ECTN Secretary-General) had several discussions with officials and other delegates, regarding Resilient, Smart and Regenerative Tourism aspects, towards enhancing the twin transition and capacity of SMEs. The next steps of INSPIRES will reflect relevant developments presented at the European Tourism Day 2026 event.

The recording of all sessions is available here.

Ideation Jam with 108 Participants from Six EU Countries

Erlebnis Bremerhaven GmbH Connects European Tourism Stakeholders Digitally Bremerhaven, [insert date] – Erlebnis Bremerhaven GmbH has once again demonstrated its ability not only to coordinate European projects but also to successfully implement international innovation formats. An Ideation Jam with 108 participants from six EU countries transformed the organisation’s conference room into a digital headquarters for a large-scale European online workshop.
The Ideation Jam was organised and facilitated by Franziska Stenzel, Helmut Berends and Taurean Reddeck, who worked together with European partners to develop new digital ideas and practical solutions for tourism businesses. The aim of the workshop was to provide small and medium-sized tourism enterprises in particular with concrete, hands-on approaches to strengthening their digital visibility even with limited financial resources.
A key practical impulse was delivered by Eva Forkel, Digitalisation Manager at Tourismus Agentur Nordsee GmbH (TANO). She shared step-by-step insights into how digital visibility can be successfully built in practice. This was followed by interactive breakout sessions held in seven different languages, during which participants presented good practice examples and creative digital approaches from their respective countries.
The Ideation Jam is part of the EU-funded project INSPIRES, which operates under the guiding principle “Tourism gets smart.” The project focuses on developing innovative, transferable and practice-oriented solutions to strengthen the digital transformation, sustainability and resilience of tourism SMEs across Europe. In total, INSPIRES provides €1.14 million in funding, sending a strong signal for the future of European tourism.
With the successful implementation of this Ideation Jam, Erlebnis Bremerhaven GmbH once again underlines its role as an active driver of European innovation in tourism and highlightsBremerhaven’s growing importance as a hub for sustainable and digital tourism development.

Bremerhaven Takes on Leadership Role in the EU Project “INSPIRES”

29 April 2025

Climate change, inflation and uncertainty caused by war have clearly shown in recent years how sensitive tourism in Europe is to external pressure. Developing a strategy that combines greater resilience with flexibility is the goal of INSPIRES. Erlebnis Bremerhaven GmbH has assumed the leadership role in this ambitious EU project and coordinates all processes as well as the exchange between the six partner countries. Project implementation is supported by the Department for Economic Affairs, Tourism and Science through EU representative Claudia Harms.
“This vote of confidence clearly demonstrates the international recognition that the seaside city’s expertise in tourism—particularly in the fields of sustainability and innovation—has nowachieved,” emphasizes Michael Gerber, Managing Director of Erlebnis Bremerhaven GmbH. The INSPIRES kick-off meeting recently took place in Antwerp. The project runs until 31 October 2027 and has a total budget of around €2 million. Seven partners from six EU countries are involved.

Strengthening businesses for future crises.

At the heart of the initiative is the aim to better equip small and medium-sized tourism enterprises (SMEs) to cope with fluctuations in demand and, consequently, in revenue. This includes developing appropriate strategies, sustainable and innovative practices, and the targeted use of digital technologies.
“INSPIRES views setbacks in tourism as an opportunity to learn from them and to prepare the sector for the future with a strong focus on resilience,” explains Franziska Stenzel, Sustainability Manager for Tourism at Erlebnis Bremerhaven GmbH. To this end, targeted projects are being launched and objectives defined in close cooperation with partners from Belgium, Spain, Poland, Bulgaria and Finland.

Financial support for small and medium-sized tourism enterprises.
In addition to training programmes for key stakeholders in the partner countries and the transfer of management strategies, the project’s activities and objectives also include the collection of experiential data as well as financial support for small and medium-sized tourism enterprises. A total of €1.14 million will be made available to foster creative cooperation among the selected businesses.
“We are looking for companies that are willing to team up with other businesses as partners and develop their own concepts in the fields of sustainability, resilience and digitalisation. To this end, we will shortly be launching a survey in the region. Companies will then be able to apply in around four weeks via the INSPIRES website at https://www.inspires-tourism.eu,” explains Franziska Stenzel of Erlebnis Bremerhaven GmbH. If a consortium of companies is selected, the project proposals they have developed and submitted will receive financial support and be implemented. For each of the six partner countries, funding of four grants of €25,000 and six grants of €15,000 is available.

Making experience available across Europe.

The long-term goal of INSPIRES is to use the experience gained, developments achieved and input provided by the participating companies and make them available to all tourism businesses across Europe. To this end, a database will be created in the future, providing access to best practice examples from which other companies can learn. The next meeting of the INSPIRES partners will take place in Lapland on 5 June, focusing on
sustainability in tourism as the core topic.

Note:
“Funded by the European Union. The views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.”