- As part of the European FU-TOURISM project, funded with 4 million euros by the Single Market Programme, the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels hosted the FU-TOURISM Open Day: Belgium Edition.
- This hybrid event, organized by the Hispano-Belgian Finnova Foundation, brought together tourism SMEs, institutional leaders, and experts from across Europe to introduce the FU-TOURISM Acceleration Programme that will support the green and digital transition of the tourism ecosystem.
With institutional backing from the European SME Week and the EURegionsWeek Close to You initiative, the European Committee of the Regions hosted the FU-TOURISM Open Day: Belgium Edition on November 6, 2024. The main goal was to present the FU-TOURISM Acceleration Programme – Future-Ready Business Support Ecosystem for Tourism SME Transition to Green and Digital Resilience. This programme aims to create a support ecosystem for tourism SMEs, benefiting 60 companies from six countries (Croatia, Spain, Belgium, Greece, Austria, and Poland) with specialized consulting and a grant of 20,000 euros per company to facilitate their transition towards sustainability and digitalization.
The hybrid event, organized by the Finnova Foundation, gathered tourism SMEs from Belgium and other European countries, policymakers, and industry experts. During the meeting, attendees learned about the benefits of the FU-TOURISM Acceleration Programme, which is open for applications until January 31, 2025. The event also provided a space to explore new funding and cooperation opportunities, highlighting collaboration strategies and success stories in European tourism, with a focus on the green transition and digital innovation.
The institutional opening was led by Ms. Isabel Yglesias, a member of the European Economic and Social Committee and EU rapporteur on tourism, who began the session by expressing her condolences for the recent devastating floods that affected Valencia. The FU-TOURISM project includes partners such as the Ajuntament de València and its innovation center, València Innovation Capital, reinforcing solidarity with local institutions. In her speech, Yglesias also highlighted the programme’s importance within the framework of European policies.
Juanma Revuelta, CEO of the Finnova Foundation, emphasized the impact of these initiatives for local businesses, stating that “projects like FU-TOURISM demonstrate the power of European collaboration to boost sustainable tourism. Belgian SMEs and other European partners can leverage this program to become leaders in green tourism and digital innovation.”
In a second session, institutional representatives and experts from international and national entities discussed global tourism trends, EU challenges, and sustainability strategies. The panel featured renowned experts, including Antonio López de Ávila Muñoz, Director of Innovation, Education, and Investment at UN Tourism, who shared insights on digitalization and innovation. He emphasized the significance of key global data and emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, essential for strengthening the tourism ecosystem at both business and institutional levels.
Ms. Dorota Tomalak, Deputy Head of Unit at the Natural Resources Commission (NAT) of the European Committee of the Regions, followed this line, underlining tourism’s economic importance. She emphasized how digitalization expands the sector’s horizons and the need for regions to innovate to stay competitive. Tomalak also addressed some key public policy challenges for supporting sustainable growth in regional tourism.
Concluding the panel, Ms. Inma Valencia Bayón, Director of the Cantabria Government Office in Brussels, analyzed the specific challenges of tourism in the Atlantic region. She emphasized the importance of de-seasonalization and other critical issues they are working on, sharing strategies that could serve as good practices for other regions with similar challenges. She also highlighted the importance of Cultural Tourism and funding tools such as INTERREG Atlantic Area.
Next, Laia Mani Rodríguez, EU Manager at the Finnova Foundation, took the floor to present the FU-TOURISM Acceleration Programme. During her presentation, she detailed the eligibility requirements, the application process, and the benefits to be received by the 60 selected companies from Croatia, Spain, Belgium, Greece, Austria, and Poland. Each will receive 20,000 euros in funding, in addition to access to training workshops, specialized mentorship, and support networks. Her presentation included a Q&A session to address questions from SMEs interested in participating.
Finally, in the panel “Innovation in Tourism within the Competitive Ecosystem,” tourism industry experts shared their views on key challenges and opportunities. Frank Bosteels, CEO of the Belgian Travel Confederation, analyzed how sustainability can be both a constraint and an opportunity for the travel and tourism sector. Tim Fairhurst, Director General of the European Tourism Association (ETOA), discussed tourism resilience in the face of current crises and the path to a robust transition. Emiliano Deferrari, Executive Board Member of the European Network for Accessible Tourism, presented innovative practices that promote accessibility and inclusion in tourism. Bart Neuts, coordinator of the SmartCulTour project, introduced a taxonomy of innovative methodologies in cultural tourism, while José Luis Galar Gimeno, Head of the Strategy and Tourism Analysis Area of Aragón, highlighted the role of data in strategic tourism decision-making.
ACCELERATION CALL OPEN UNTIL JANUARY 31, 2025
The acceleration program offers a unique opportunity to SMEs, startups, and scale-ups from Croatia, Spain, Belgium, Greece, Austria, and Poland, providing funding, specialized guidance, and business consulting from tourism industry experts. The initiative will select 60 SMEs, 10 from each participating country, that are already active or want to engage in sustainable, green, and digital tourism. Companies must propose innovative solutions that can be tested or scaled in the areas of sustainability and digitalization.
The call will be open until Friday, January 31, 2025. Interested companies can register during this period through the following link: https://www.fu-tourism.eu/open-call/
Selected SMEs will benefit from an 8-month hybrid program of funding and training, receiving direct support of 20,000 euros each. They will also have access to additional business consulting services, including online training workshops on business models, sustainable tourism development mentoring, transnational networking webinars, and other benefits offered by consortium members.
These benefits include support for accessing EU funds of up to 2 million euros, with the potential to transform SMEs’ proposals into European projects through calls such as LIFE and HORIZON. Additionally, selected companies will participate in a special edition of the Startup Europe Awards (SEUA), which will provide further mentoring, visibility, and support to access European funding. The Startup Europe Awards (SEUA) are an open innovation methodology promoted by the Finnova Foundation in collaboration with Startup Europe and with institutional support from the European Commission. Their main goal is to promote the success of entrepreneurs and SMEs developing innovative solutions to challenges aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, providing efficient access to EU funds.
This platform also offers support for EU fund management, internationalization in Latin America and the United States, and access to other European markets. It also helps overcome legal-administrative barriers that hinder tourism innovation, and promotes networking and access to international investors in key markets such as London, the United States, and Belgium.
FU-TOURISM: ACCELERATING A MORE SUSTAINABLE AND DIGITAL TOURISM SECTOR
With a 4 million euro grant from the European Commission under the Single Market Programme, the FU-TOURISM project stands out as one of the six projects selected in the SMP-COSME-2022-TOURSME call by the European Commission, having the largest budget. It is supported by a consortium of key institutions from seven European countries. Among its main members are Finnova (Belgium), Envolve (Greece), SYNYO (Austria), Vestbee (Poland), and Open Impact (Italy), coordinated by Eupolis Grupa (Croatia) and València Innovation Capital of the City Council of València (Spain).
ABOUT THE FINNOVA FOUNDATION
Finnova is a Hispano-Belgian foundation based in Brussels and Spain (headquartered in Valencia), working to promote and develop innovation and entrepreneurship in the EU. Finnova’s experience in leading communication and dissemination activities for European projects is complemented by a solid track record in business creation and entrepreneurship support programs, such as accelerators, incubators, and events, as well as its commitment to youth training and employability.