Bremerhaven, Germany

On the occasion of Tourism Resilience Day, Erlebnis Bremerhaven, as Lead Partner of the INSPIRES project, reaffirms its commitment to a future-oriented and resilient tourism sector in coastal and maritime destinations. As the destination management organization of a North Sea port city with a unique profile in climate, science and maritime heritage, we are strategically advancing the development of Bremerhaven as a tourism destination and strengthening its resilience against crises.

Within INSPIRES, practice-oriented strategies are being developed to promote the sustainable advancement of tourism, strengthen SMEs, foster diversification of the tourism offer, and structurally anchor the green and digital transformation. Through the INSPIRES training programme and the Europe-wide exchange of best practices, we support tourism stakeholders in identifying risks at an early stage, diversifying their portfolios, and establishing competitive and sustainable business models.

We understand resilience as a key element of modern destination development – ensuring economic stability, ecological responsibility and the long-term attractiveness of Bremerhaven as a tourism destination.

Antwerp, Belgium

Tourism Province of Antwerp champions resilience in the tourism sector.

On the occasion of Global Tourism Resilience Day, we are pleased to inform you how Tourism Province of Antwerp is supporting a future-proof tourism sector. As a partner within the European project INSPIRES, we organized an Ideation Jam: an interactive digital workshop centered on the theme of ‘Resilience’. During this session, we brought together entrepreneurs and experts to take an in-depth look at resilience. Tourism Province of Antwerp played a key role in this process by mapping the needs of the sector and stimulating innovative solutions in the areas of resilience, sustainability, and digitalization.

Five entrepreneurs from the Province of Antwerp — Camping Siësta, Scrab&ble, the Rubenshuis, Bielebale, and Happy Weekends — were officially recognized as European Best Practices due to their high-quality and inspiring way of working. Their ecological approach and innovations regarding accessible tourism (barrier-free tourism) demonstrate how we provide concrete support to entrepreneurs to become more agile in a changing world.

Vratsa, Bulgaria

On the occasion of Global Tourism Resilience Day,  CCI Vratsa highlights how SME-driven innovation strengthens resilience in rural destinations.

A strong Bulgarian example under INSPIRES is Wine Trails by the Iskar Gorge, which demonstrates how diversification and flexible experience design can reinforce economic stability in tourism. By combining boutique wine tastings, local sourcing, cultural storytelling, and digital booking tools, the initiative creates alternative income streams beyond traditional wine sales and reduces reliance on mass tourism flows. Its small-group, low-impact, and mobile format enables quick adaptation to seasonal shifts and external disruptions, while supporting environmental sustainability and local value chains. 

Local Flavours, Lasting Connections – Berkovitsa Experience demonstrates how rural destinations can strengthen their adaptive capacity by building strong local networks and regenerative tourism models. By connecting visitors with local producers, women entrepreneurs, and cultural actors, the initiative keeps value within the community and reinforces local supply chains. Its low-impact, experience-based format supports circular economy practices and distributes benefits across multiple small stakeholders, reducing dependency on mass tourism and external markets. 

Destination Vratsa: Beauty in 360° demonstrates how digital innovation can strengthen tourism’s ability to adapt to disruption. Through immersive 360° virtual reality experiences of iconic natural sites, the initiative reduces environmental pressure on fragile ecosystems while ensuring year-round, remote, and inclusive access. By integrating emerging technologies into destination promotion, the initiative supports continuity of visitor engagement even during mobility restrictions or seasonal downturns, while enhancing digital capacity among local stakeholders.

This approach reflects the UN vision of resilient tourism — a sector that proactively builds environmental responsibility, technological adaptability, and long-term sustainability to secure regional livelihoods and inclusive growth.

ECTN

On the occasion of Global Tourism Resilience Day, ECTN launches its annual Awards  2026 including a category on Resilient Tourism:

Resilience in Sustainable Cultural Tourism Destinations (linked to the INSPIRES SMP-COSME project), including natural heritage, green transition, and climate action, as well as benefits for Tourism SMEs through Resilience.

Awarding entries that demonstrate “Resilient Tourism”, viz:

• Honouring initiatives that have demonstrated exceptional resilience in safeguarding cultural heritage during times of crisis, including disasters, economic downturns, and global pandemics. Such projects may include adaptive responses like virtual heritage tours during lockdowns, innovative restoration efforts in the aftermath of disasters, or the rapid reimagining of tourism experiences to protect both visitors and heritage sites.

• Special recognition will be given to projects that focus on preparedness and climate adaptation strategies, ensuring that cultural and natural heritage remains protected from the increasingly severe impacts of climate change. Initiatives that implement green transition and sustainable tourism practices, such as the use of eco-friendly materials in site restoration or strategies to mitigate the environmental impacts of tourism, will be celebrated for their forward-thinking approach.

• Efforts to manage visitor flow and reduce the pressures of overtourism. Entries that focus on redistributing tourist activity to lesser known, yet culturally significant, destinations are encouraged. By promoting these, initiatives not only alleviate overcrowding at major tourist sites but also support the economic development of smaller communities.

• Fostering collaboration among Tourism SMEs, to develop digital and green transition solutions, with resilience. Tourism resilience refers to dealing with crises for maintaining stability, while ensuring flexibility and diversity for innovation and further development.

Lapland University of Applied Sciences, Finland

Lapland University of Applied Sciences contributes to Tourism Resilience Day through its work on the INSPIRES Train the Trainer Programme (TTP), designed to support the EU’s Transition Pathway for Tourism. The programme provides flexible, adaptable training materials that can be tailored to regional contexts—an essential feature for Northern and Arctic destinations navigating rapid environmental, social, and technological change.

By strengthening the competencies of local multipliers, including DMO representatives, educators, and public officials, TTP ensures that tourism SMEs across Lapland and Europe receive practical support in building resilience, advancing sustainability, and integrating digital solutions.

The programme includes five thematic modules—Risk Management and Resilience, Circular Tourism, Regenerative Tourism, Inclusion and Diversity, and Emerging Technologies and Smart Tourism — each offering actionable tools, real-life cases, and peer-learning methods that help trainers effectively support Tourism SMEs.

Through this approach in the INSPIRES project, Lapland University of Applied Sciences helps build long-term capacity and resilience within the tourism sector, encourages innovation in Arctic tourism, and supports businesses as they adapt to change and contribute to a more sustainable, inclusive, resilient, and future‑proof tourism ecosystem.

Resilient Tourism

Global Tourism Resilience Day (17 February), proclaimed by the General Assembly in resolution A/RES/77/269, aims to emphasise the need to foster resilient tourism development to deal with shocks and crises, taking into account the vulnerability of the tourism sector to emergencies. It is also a call for action for Member States to develop national strategies for rehabilitation after disruptions, including through private-public cooperation and the diversification of activities and products.

Sustainable tourism is a cross-cutting activity that can contribute to the three dimensions of sustainable development and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals by fostering economic growth, alleviating poverty, creating full and productive employment and decent work for all. It can also play a role in accelerating the change to more sustainable consumption and production patterns and promoting the sustainable use of oceans, seas and marine resources, promoting local culture, improving the quality of life and the economic empowerment of women and young people, local communities and promoting rural development and better living conditions for rural populations.

The use of sustainable and resilient tourism as a tool to foster sustained and inclusive economic growth, social development, and financial inclusion enables the formalisation of the informal sector, the promotion of domestic resource mobilisation and environmental protection, including the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity and natural resources, and the promotion of investment and entrepreneurship, including by Tourism SMEs.