The National Cluster Association is part of the EuroCluster Rural Tourism project that focuses on rural tourism service providers. The new open call aims to help SMEs that are interested in developing their knowledge and growing their digital, eco-sustainability, and soft/social skills gap. 

Funded by the COSME program of the European Union, the EuroCluster Rural Tourism Project aims to support 190 small and nano enterprises in the tourism sector. The project has total funding of 950,000 Euros, and selected SMEs will receive financial support in the form of a service pack valued at 5,000 Euros each. The objective is to assist SMEs in designing and developing new tourism products for international markets, incorporating digital, sustainable, and socio-cultural improvements.

The Financial Support program will commence in November 2023 and last for 9 months. During this period, participating SMEs will work closely with qualified consultants from EU member states or third countries participating in the COSME program. These consultants will provide technical assistance and guidance to bridge the digital, eco-sustainability, and soft/social skills gap. 

SMEs will have the opportunity to choose and improve at least 4 out of the following 12 action areas:

Digital

• Digitization of processes in SMEs 
• Digital marketing and promotion
• Marketing intelligence and data analysis, marketing strategy based on data

Green and Sustainable

• Sustainable management practices for SMEs
• CO2 management and reduction to address climate change
• Sustainable mobility
• Gastronomy and food based on local supply chains

Soft/Social

• Social-cultural skills (interaction with visitors from different cultural backgrounds)
• Experience generation for visitors (development of corresponding products)
• Inclusive tourism for visitors with special needs
• Integration with the local community
• Interpretation techniques for cultural, historical, natural resources

The support provided to SMEs includes capacity-building events, self-assessment, on-site audits, mentoring, technical advice, a budget for additional external services, final evaluation, and follow-up visits by experts.

OPEN CALL: 7 JULY 2023

CLOSED CALL: 10 SEPTEMBER 2023

The financial period: NOVEMBER 2023 - JULY 2024

Eligibility

This Call is open to SMEs that fall under the following NACE classifications:

• Hotels and similar accommodation (I5510)
• Holiday and other short-stay accommodation (I5520)
• Camping grounds, recreational vehicle parks, and trailer parks (I5530)
• Travel agency, tour operator reservation service, and related activities (N79)

The official registration certificate provided by responsible national tourism authorities for any of the above classifications is sufficient, even if it does not contain the NACE classification code.

Participation is limited to SMEs established in the following EU member states or their regions, as well as third countries participating in the COSME program or their regions:

To apply, you need to send an online application via the Cluster Submission Platform. The deadline is 10 SEPTEMBER 2023, 17:00 CET. In the online application, you must complete the mandatory questions and ensure that you meet the eligibility criteria set out in Sections II.a and II.b of the open call.

Applicants should demonstrate clear objectives in line with the project goals, expected results, innovation and potential for implementation. The evaluation criteria for ranking applications are described in the evaluation forms[3] set out in Annex III of the call.

A full summary of the call is available HERE.