Priority Axis 4: Sustainable and inclusive tourism and culture

Specific objective: RSO4.6. Enhancing the role of culture and sustainable tourism in economic development, social inclusion and social innovation

Intro
The Programme area is largely dependent on tourism or plans to develop into tourist destination. For the Adriatic coastal part of the area the main challenge in relying on tourism, as the dominant form of economic activity, is its sustainability and effects it has on environmental and social circumstances in the communities that live of tourism. In the continental part of the area, tourism still plays a secondary, but an ever-growing role in tourist offer and can only develop if the advantages of rural environments or specific geographic and cultural traits of the area are in the forefront of the offer. Therefore, the Programme aims at tourism and culture that develop sustainably (including financial self-sustainability) and that bring an added value both to the consumers and to the local communities.

Types of actions
The Programme aims to support the specific, innovative, sustainable, green, digital and smart forms of tourism and culture (including new and existing sustainable tourism/cultural sites) that develops the advantage for the local communities and economies, with strict observance of potential impacts on the environment.
Examples of cross-border actions to be supported (non-exhaustive lists):

  1. Developing and implementing joint (pilot) actions to support diversification and sustainability of the tourism by investing in lesser-known destinations (e.g. less developed parts of the programme area, hinterland and continental parts of the programme area) and diverse forms of tourism (cultural, rural, agro, active, health tourism, etc.) including small-scale infrastructure preferring nature-based solutions
  2. Developing and implementing innovative solutions and creating smart destinations (e.g. through digitalisation and creative industries), and new services and products for specific targeted market segments such as seniors, young people or people with disabilities including small scale infrastructure preferring nature-based solutions
  3. Development and implementation of measures to protect, develop and promote sustainable cultural heritage and cultural services, public tourism assets and tourism services including investments in physical regeneration and security of public spaces (including small scale infrastructure preferring nature-based solutions), in the scope of their inclusion in the touristic and/or cultural circuit
  4. Support of social innovation and inclusion in tourism and culture – development of existing and/or new tourism and culture businesses models to support job creation including up-skilling and re-skilling of vulnerable groups (e.g., upgrading digital skills)
  5. Protection, development and promotion of natural heritage and eco-tourism including Natura 2000 sites (including campaigns to eliminate invasive species and integration of green infrastructure as means of stopping the loss of biodiversity and supporting multiple ecosystem services)
  6. Integration of existing tourist products into cross-border thematic routes, products or destinations and their further advancement
  7. Capacity building for innovation in tourism and cultural heritage, focusing on recovery and resilience, and sustainable development of new or upgrading of existing cross-border tourism products, product diversification to adapt to new trends and needs, including sustainable mobility measures such as use of public transportation, alternative mobility modes, low-emission transport
  8. Adoption of green concepts and standards in cross-border tourist products and services and sustainable use of culture and tourist potentials of the border regions, including activities that address marine environment protection (from exp. pollution from tourism and traffic activities) and support to existing mainstream tourism destinations to make them more environmentally sustainable.

Allocation: 18,187,000.00 €

Main target groups
Target groups include all of the actors in creation and provision of the tourist services in tourism and culture, especially:
– public authorities (national/regional/local level) and bodies governed by public law
– regional and local development agencies
– associations and NGOs operating in the field of tourism, culture, nature, training and education, rural development
– sectoral agencies active in the field of tourism, culture and nature protection, rural development
– education and research organisations
– tourism organisations and institutions
– culture organisations and institutions
– chambers of commerce
– chambers of trades and crafts
– clusters of producers
– SMEs (only indirectly).