- The congress, held in Almeria from 15 to 17 November, is a pioneering space on the blue economy applied to tourism at European level.
- Finnova presented the European projects FU-TOURISM, LIFE COSTADAPTA, CulturalDeTour and LIFE ECODigestion 2.0, in which it is a partner.
17/11/2023, Brussels. Today, Friday 17 November, Juanma Revuelta, CEO of the Finnova Foundation, participated in the Sun & Blue Congress, an event held in Almeria focused on innovation in blue tourism. Sustainable development, water management, tourism and European funds were the main topics of his presentation at a congress that aims to position itself as a benchmark meeting at European level in the field of blue tourism, providing an opportunity to learn about successful initiatives in various destinations and with presentations by renowned experts related to tourism and marine conservation.
Juanma Revuelta took part in the round table «Smart Blue Islands», a space in which the speakers discussed issues such as the perspective of islands as smart territories, the problem of insularity, the management of natural disasters and water management in those destinations most prone to suffer it and the use of European funds in island projects. The panel, moderated by Adolfo Borrero, senior advisor of Sun&Blue, also included Robert Tabone, representative of the Ministry of National Heritage, Arts and Local Government of Malta, Gustavo Ventura, secretary of tourism of the municipality of Ushuaia (Argentina), Carlos D. Gutiérrez, coordinator of the Fuerteventura Smart Island Project and Paola Plasencia, CEO of HECANSA.
Revuelta took advantage of this space to highlight the Foundation’s commitment to sustainable development, water management, tourism and the promotion of the financing of European projects through European funds such as LIFE, INTERREG, HORIZON and ERASMUS +.
The CEO of the Finnova Foundation explained Finnova’s role in projects related to these issues and also those that focus on island territories.
He presented the FU-TOURISM project, which supports European tourism SMEs in their transition to a green, digital and inclusive economy. The Consell Insular de Menorca is one of the partners in this project, budgeted at €4 million and funded by the SMP-COSME programme.
He also spoke about LIFE COSTAdapta, a project coordinated by the Energy Council of Gran Canaria whose objective focuses on the adaptation of the Gran Canarian coast to sea level rise by means of a Tidal pool-reef construction system. LIFE COSTAdapta is a 7-year project funded through the @LIFE Programme, with a budget of €3.4 million.
Another of the projects he explained was CulturaldeTour, which aims to boost collaboration and entrepreneurship in the cultural tourism sector, and has a 6-month Acceleration Programme to help startups and SMEs to expand their business, explore new models and improve sustainability practices. This programme is funded by Creative Europe and has a budget of €200,000.
Finally, Revuelta presented the success story of LIFE ECODigestion2.0, which focuses on the production of biogas from slurry, agri-food and organic waste from the HORECA sector. The project, led by Global Omnium, is funded by the LIFE programme and has a budget of €970,000.
About Finnova Foundation
Finnova is a Spanish-Belgian non-profit foundation working for the promotion and development of innovation and entrepreneurship at EU level. Based in Brussels, it operates through collaborations and partnerships in all EU countries. Finnova’s expertise in leading European project communication and dissemination activities is combined with a strong proven track record in start-ups and business support programmes, such as accelerators, incubators and ceremonial event selection and awarding.