CONTENT – What can be funded?

A transition to sustainable tourism demands actions from multiple angles. Sustainable tourism; (1) makes optimal use of environmental qualities and resources in tourism development and the destination’s offer, (2) respects social-cultural authenticity of the destination, and (3) ensures viable long term economic operations.

There are many ways to promote sustainable tourism. Most of them refer to reducing the environmental effects of tourism-related activities or increasing the positive social and economic return on local communities. This can be done in numerous ways, for example introducing carbon-free travel at local level, promoting regionally produced food and beverages, or promoting eco-labels for accommodation.

RRP funding asks for a focus on digital transition and on climate-related measures, which means reducing negative effects on the environment and CO2 emissions. Moreover, investments for smart, sustainable, and inclusive growth, productivity, research, development and innovation, as well as for social and territorial cohesion, education and skills, gender equality and the economic empowerment of women are possible under the RRP. Details for each country can be found in the different National RRP documents and websites.

The ERDF proposes Policy and Specific Objectives that need to be attended, including digitalisation and innovation, climate change adaptation, circular economy approaches, renewable energy use and sustainable transport, but also education, training, and labour-related measures. ERDF projects can support the development of SMEs, contribute to the development of an inclusive digital society, for example smart cities and villages, and promote pollution-free and sustainable multimodal mobility with a focus on public transport, shared mobility, walking and cycling. ERDF projects can support ‘social economy’ entities such as cooperatives, mutual societies, non-profit associations, and social enterprises. Investments supporting the creative/cultural industries, cultural services and cultural heritage sites can be financed provided they contribute to the specific objectives. Overall, operations under the ERDF are expected to contribute 30 % of the overall financial envelope of the ERDF to climate objectives.

For the RRP, the documents and relevant thematic areas of funding are already available.

However, for ERDF each country or region can have a specific thematic focus which is described in the Operational Programme. These Programmes are not yet published, so it is still too early to analyse if a country or region will concentrate its ERDF projects on certain thematic areas.

In the context of tourism, the focus of RRP and ERDF funding can be on individual tourism businesses, for example with aid schemes to modernise the company, buy new equipment, renovate infrastructure, or introduce energy efficiency measures. Other funding actions can focus on the level of associations and clusters, for example helping them with capacitybuilding or free technical assistance to develop pilot projects, strategies, or support schemes for their members. Local entities can also benefit from the funding, for example with funding for sustainable destination strategies or training.

Tourism is explicitly mentioned in only some national RRP documents, for example, as Component 14 in the Spanish RRP “España puede”. However, still it might be inserted under horizontal actions referring to economic development in general.

Under ERDF, sustainable tourism is covered as one of the many areas of local and regional development. The approach of sustainable tourism is mentioned in the ERDF Regulation.

It should “take into account the welfare of tourists, respect the natural and cultural environment and ensure the socio-economic development and competitiveness of destinations and businesses through an integrated and holistic policy approach”.

The ERDF shall support sustainable tourism in an integrated manner, in particular through strengthening cooperation. “Enterprises and public authorities should systematically cooperate to deliver quality services more efficiently in areas with a high potential for tourism, taking due care to create a stable legal and administrative environment conducive for sustainable growth of such areas”. Supported actions around sustainable tourism could take into account best practices in this area.

Examples of how tourism might be integrated in the different ERDF Policy Objectives are:

Initiatives enhancing competitive levels and making the sector more resilient (ERDF Policy Objective 1).

• Uptake of advanced technologies in tourism
• Big data in tourism analytics as basis for data-driven planning and services
• Tourism safety through use of web-based solutions and big data
• Smart tourism destination management
• Modernisation of SMEs
• Digital connectivity and use of IT in tourism companies
• Creation of innovative tourism companies

Improvements of environmental qualities and use of resources (ERDF PO 2).

• Resource efficiency and circular approaches in tourism
• Preservation of biodiversity with calculation of carrying capacity and managing visitor flows
• Promote renewable energy in hotels and other tourism businesses
• Increase energy efficiency in tourism.
• Climate change adaptation of tourism destinations
• Sustainable urban transport
• Low-carbon transport and travel (EuroVelo routes etc.

Sustainable Transport (ERDF PO 3).

• Climate resilient and intelligent national, regional, and local mobility
• Cross-border mobility

Education and inclusion for safe and sustainable tourism (ERDF PO 4).

• Training and skills for sustainable tourism
• Improve quality of education and employment in tourism
• Social innovation for tourism
• High-quality tourism infrastructure at small local destinations
• High-quality tourism information
• Inclusive and accessible tourism

Connecting to local communities (ERDF PO 5 – only in integrated territorial strategies).

• Public participation tools and practices
• Local initiatives and community-led local development
• Platforms that connect local community, operators, local governments, and visitors

The ERDF Regulation (2021) enables support for investments in infrastructure, including; research and innovation and business infrastructure for SMEs, culture and heritage, sustainable tourism and services to enterprises, investments in relation to access to services with a particular focus on disadvantaged and segregated communities, productive investments in SMEs, equipment, software and intangible assets, as well as measures with regard to information, communication, studies, networking, cooperation, exchange of experiences between partners and activities involving clusters. Sometimes, investments in infrastructure can have important effects on tourism sustainability.

CALLS – How is funding made available?

National and regional authorities make funding from ERDF and RRF available to projects. Funding programmes approved by the European Commission, national, and regional authorities (Operational Programme for ERDF, Cooperation Programme for Interreg or National Recovery and Resilience Plan), inform about concrete measures and publish programmes and calls for proposals.

Sometimes, calls for proposals are developed in line with national or regional strategies on tourism or in the context of new support programmes.

During a programming period multiple calls will be launched. Single calls are generally thematically organised. As such it becomes easier for the authorities to manage the promotion activities and selection procedures.

When embedded in national or regional support programmes, regular annual calls (or even several calls in one year) are possible. An open application process is also possible, where applications can be submitted all the time in a longer timeframe.

General information on specific measures and programmes might be already presented within the national RRP documents. In some countries, recent national or regional tourism already define specific action lines and measures that will surely be implemented in the next months and years with projects and grant schemes.

In 2021-2027, most ERDF national and regional programmes as well as Interreg programmes in the Mediterranean region, will address tourism. In a few programmes this is explicitly covered via programme priorities. In most programmes funding is available via horizontal measures and calls e.g., calls not explicitly referring to tourism, but that can still be relevant for tourism players. For example, the Interreg EUROMED PROGRAMME 2021-2027 addresses sustainable tourism transversally in all Programme priorities, to allow MED regions to practice a tourism governance that enables continuous improvements of environmental, social, and economic sustainability and increases competitiveness through quality and innovations.

The next section on CONTEXT will present more information on national and regional strategies and how they align with RRP and ERDF funding.

Some recommendations can be useful to ensure a swift and effective implementation of measures via calls for grant schemes:

Authorities who launch calls should:

→ Consider the timing of the calls and allow enough time for applicants to react.

→ Optimise the outreach to possible applicants, for example by informing, in due time, the relevant tourism associations, business associations, cluster or intermediaries such as Chambers of commerce. These organisations can be involved in communication of call information.

→ Be as clear as possible about target groups, eligibility, type of actions and requirements that are linked to funding.

→ Provide explanations and supporting documents (templates, guidance, manual for applicants) to reduce the workload for applicants.

→ Plan time after the launch of the call for interactive information and answering questions from applicants, for example, via Q&A web sessions, FAQ documents or explanatory videos on YouTube.

Potential applicants should:

→ Be aware and alert that many relevant calls might now be launched in a relatively short time, especially in the context of RRP funds that have to be spent by 2024.

→ Keep an eye on and regularly check programme websites related to national RRP or of Ministries in charge of tourism.

→ Subscribe to Newsletters related to national RRP or to information from tourism organisations that usually inform about new funding opportunities.

→ Join seminars or information sessions (also web-based) organised by national or regional authorities.

→ Register now for online submission platforms that might be used for the web-based application process and get yourself familiar with the system. In some countries, submission of applications can now be only done via these submission platforms.

→ Establish contacts with business support organisations or potential service providers (e.g. on renovation or digitisation measures) to see exactly what would be feasible and needed in a project. Ask for a first indicative budget proposal.

→ Plan ahead and make sufficient capacities available to prepare the application, maybe hire extra staff or join forces with other companies or local development agencies.

CONTEXT - How to have strong project ideas?

The best project ideas address societal challenges. Project results shall be beneficial for specific end-users and ideally have long term effects. Projects create added value by introducing a new type of service, facilitating the development of a new product, or enhancing partnerships. An entity’s regular activities are usually not financed. Programme documents as well as local, regional, and national tourism strategies provide good guidance to relate projects ideas to societal issues and opportunities.

To understand which measures exactly are eligible for funding it is necessary to understand what the tourism sector wants to achieve – at national, regional, and local level. Strategies and Action Plans are necessary tools to agree with all stakeholders on long-term goals and necessary measures, instruments, and milestones.

Strategies represent the context in which calls for RRP and ERDF funding are embedded. Strategies and Action Plans also help to integrate and organise measures from different Ministries and Line Departments (e.g. on SME and Business Development, Digital Development, Ecology and Environment and Tourism).

Strategies help to avoid sectoral silo-thinking and help to structure support to the tourism sector from an integrated territorial point of view.

In this sense, it is highly recommendable that countries, regions, and even local destinations develop strategies for sustainable tourism, easing the framing of funding programmes and calls towards the relevant tourism development objectives.

Overall, it is highly recommended to know and understand the most recent tourism strategies. This will be not only helpful for potential applicants but also for funding authorities or intermediary organisations such as chambers of commerce, cluster or local tourism agencies. These can be national strategies or regional strategies, such as in larger countries like Spain, France, and Italy. Strategies at either level offer an important framing of future funding measures and grant schemes.

Strong projects will fit perfectly into the action lines of relevant tourism strategies.

Some recommendations can be useful to generate strong project ideas:

Authorities who launch calls should:

→ Develop programmes and calls based on recent tourism strategies.

→ Consider other public authorities who might launch calls in the same thematic area to avoid overlaps.

→ Learn about positive examples and pilots from INTERREG projects and other pilot projects. Take on board lessons learned and mainstream good ideas into general support.

→ Define calls for specific territories. The needs of businesses in rural areas are different from the ones in larger cities.

Potential applicants should:

→ Respond to the objectives of the funding programme.

→ Align the investments you planned to do with the objectives and thematic areas of strategic documents in your region/country.

→ Inspire programme authorities on funding needs by highlighting results from pilot actions (e.g. from Interreg projects) and expressing needs in tourism strategies.

→ Start developing a local or micro strategy that fits with an overarching strategy.

→ Read the most recent strategies and think how you can develop a project that fits with the overall objectives and action lines. This will help prepare for future calls.

→ Look for external support and assistance while developing a project idea. See more on this in the section on CAPACITIES.

Do I need to align project ideas to programme priorities?

Yes, successful projects contribute to achieving programme objectives. In doing so, project ideas need to relate to programme logics and proof contributions via monitoring and reporting. Project proposals speaking the language of programme authorities may be more likely to receive funding. Local or regional authorities, as well as some destination management organisations or external experts, may guide and assist applicants to relate project ideas to programme objectives. In doing so, tourism strategies are important tools to relate needs and opportunities from the start, as strategies are used by programme authorities to draft programmes and define specific calls. As such strategies help to reflect funding needs on funding programmes.

CONDITIONS – Which requirements need to be fulfilled?

EU investments shall address public needs and respect transparency and competition standards, like any other public investment. In doing so, programme authorities need to set up different procedures and define specific criteria to fund initiatives. For funding authorities, this often requires the development of new routines and use of expert knowledge on different fields, such as state aid and public procurement rules, ecological standards, cost options, and electronic systems for communication and reporting. Management authorities of funding programmes need to set up respective systems to comply with these requirements and clearly communicate the need and use of these systems to their beneficiaries. Among the key elements to consider are electronic reporting systems, state aid, and public procurement requirements.

State Aid. Public investments may not distort competition or create any unfair advantage for one business over the other. Public investments, including ERDF and RRF investment, therefore need to respect European State Aid rules. Programme authorities need to consider these rules when setting up their calls, and provide the necessary information and tools for applicants to deliver the justification for not breaching state aid law. Programme authorities may introduce, for example, maximum ceilings of investments, to make sure that the investment falls below state aid threshold, so-called De Minimis levels. Programme authorities may also use General Block Exemption Rules applicable in a country, e.g., for certain SMEs. As such they may ask for statements justifying investments in small and medium-size companies.

Public Procurement Rules. Beneficiaries of RRP funds or ERDF may need support from external parties, e.g., for the construction of infrastructure, legal advisory services etc. As beneficiaries of public investments, public procurement rules shall be followed when contracting externals. Depending on the financial size of the services different rules may apply, for example asking for at least three offers to allow selection of the most adequate partner. Programme authorities generally provide guidance to beneficiaries on the application of public procurement rules.

Co-funding. European funding generally does not cover the full investment need of tourism activities. Investments via the ERDF need additional funding. National, regional, and local authorities may co-fund the activities, or programme authorities may ask beneficiaries to ensure private funding in combination with the ERDF-investment. The share of co-funding differs per region. Following the ERDF’s objective to rebalance socioeconomic development between European regions, fewer additional investments are needed in well-developed regions. Beneficiaries in the least developed regions, e.g., in Southern Italy, large parts of Greece, Croatia, Andalucía, Castilla-la-Mancha and Alentejo, receive up to 85% of their investment from the ERDF. Beneficiaries in the most developed regions, e.g., Catalunya and regions in Northern Italy and western Slovenia, receive up to 50% of their investment from the ERDF. National authorities may also oblige private cofunding for RRF investments. Beneficiaries of the French sustainable tourism programme receive grants for 50% of the investment costs.

Specific requirements of Recovery and Resilience Plans. Regarding the new RRP funds, some requirements are new and come on top of the previously known conditions. National RRP measures should contribute to the green transition, reducing contribution to climate change and protection of the biodiversity and to the digital transformation. All interventions funded under the RRP will need to show if and how they contribute to the green transition, including biodiversity. At least 37 % of the recovery and resilience plan’s total allocation are dedicated to green transition, in addition to the minimum 20% of national RRP allocation dedicated to the digital transition. Therefore, it will usually be necessary for projects presented to the RRP to carry out a climate and environmental contribution labelling. In each country, there will be specific methodologies for these processes called ‘climate tracking’ and ‘digital tagging’. For potential applicants this means that any link to climate and environmental contribution or to digital modernisation will surely be beneficial for a project application.

Aspects such as keeping track of climate relevant actions or of digital measures funded by the RRP, as well as the integration of the ‘Do no significant harm’ (DNSH) principle, need to be taken into account by all stakeholders. Considering these aspects in due time helps to set up effective administrative support systems and develop useful guidance.

The ‘Do No Significant Harm’ principle. All RRP investments and most other EU funded investments will need to show that they do not cause significant damage to the environment. They will need to follow the ‘Do no significant harm’ principle. In some cases, proof compliance with this principle is already provided at the level of the NRRP. In other cases, beneficiaries of funding need to provide proof to not do specific harm, for example by a self-declaration or by compliance to national or regional criteria for sustainability, e.g., having an energy efficiency or green tourism label. In other cases, only certain types of investment may be eligible for funding e.g., energy saving lights or installing public lights that limit light pollution.

Programme and fund managers shall invest in systems, procedures, awareness raising and capacity building activities to limit administrative burden at the level of final beneficiaries. At the same time, any beneficiary shall be aware that EU funding, like any other public investment, comes with administrative tasks. Many aspects need to be documented, reported, and evidence provided. Potential applicants need to be aware that some paperwork needs to be done and that, for example, documents need to be stored and saved for a considerable number of years, in case audits and controls ask for them.

CAPACITIES – How to develop high-quality projects?

For the RRP and ERDF programmes it is crucial to develop project ideas and applications in a short time, to carry out projects in a timely manner, and to deliver good quality.

Some, especially small players such as local tourism agencies and SMEs, might find this challenging and could need help to develop project ideas and applications. Larger players, such as regional tourism boards, destination management organisations, and tourism agencies need to prepare themselves to support the smaller players in multiple ways and to take the lead in larger integrated projects that represent local and regional destinations.

Many projects require collaboration with partners from the tourism ecosystem. While it might sound weird to cooperate with the ‘competitor’, the tourism ecosystem view tells us that all tourism stakeholders in a destination are linked together and are perceived as one system by the visitors. Therefore, collaborative projects will become very important in promoting sustainable tourism.

Some recommendations can be useful to develop high-quality projects:

Larger players should:

→ Follow-up closely on information published by ministries and on RRP websites.

→ Develop newsletters or documents for members or local tourism stakeholders to inform regularly about funding news.

→ Offer information sessions (interactive) to inform members or tourism stakeholders about funding opportunities and clarify requirements and eligibility.

→ Have staff trained and prepared to work on applications that refer to a local or regional destination as a whole.

→ Offer support and guidance to check project ideas and proposals from small players.

Small players should:

→ Appoint a person responsible for the (administrative and financial) management of a potential project.

→ Connect to support organisations (DMO, chamber of commerce, clusters, business associations) to learn in due time about new funding opportunities, e.g., via newsletters, phone calls, website searches.

→ Look for external support and assistance while planning (and implementing) a project, e.g., on administrative management or reporting.

→ Look early for partners or service providers, e.g., on IT or environmental standards, and develop project ideas with them in order to already be able to give many details of the project in the application.

→ Take part in trainings on “effective project development” or “management of EUfunded projects”

→ If you already have ideas for projects, meet support organisations (DMOs, chamber of commerce, clusters, business associations) to get advice on how they are best presented and to which call.

Continuous Capacity Building

This chapter provides a further outlook to continue making use of available EU funds in Mediterranean countries, with concrete support from the Interreg MED Sustainable Tourism Community.

Making good use of available EU funding to boost sustainable tourism requires continuous capacity building. Capacity building describes a process of developing and strengthening skills, instincts, abilities, processes, and resources that organisations and communities need to survive, adapt, and thrive in a fast-changing world. Aligning EU funds with needs and opportunities for sustainable tourism is subject to different changes. Programme authorities’ staff, for example, need to remain up to date on the use of the latest programming and monitoring tools and on the needs of their target group, and ensure swift allocation of available funding to relevant projects. Applicants and beneficiaries need to be aware of new and upcoming calls, requirements, and electronic application and monitoring systems. Together, programme authorities and beneficiaries need to remain in contact to make sure that funding addresses specific needs and opportunities. Such exchanges can take place per region, country, or across countries.

Lessons from other regions or countries provide external views and out-of-the-box lessons on programme management and implementation. As such, exchanges with peers working in other institutional contexts help to build capacities and stimulate making good use of EU funds. European territorial cooperation (Interreg) is a great instrument that supports cross-national exchanges and offers incentives for continuous capacity building.

Different initiatives encourage and support cross regional and national exchanges to advance capacity building on the use of EU funds for sustainable tourism.

INTERREG programmes, such as EURO MED 2021-27, provide funding to build capacities, develop common solutions, cooperate with partners from other countries, and develop joint strategies. Local and regional authorities as well as destination management organisations, private partners, and research institutes may benefit from the transnational cooperation programme. Sustainable tourism is one of the four missions of the programme. Besides this transnational programme, cross border programmes support capacity building activities as well. An overview of programmes is available via https://interreg.eu/. Links to programme websites and managing authorities can be accessed via this webpage.

In addition to Interreg programmes, the European Commission offers different capacity building opportunities. Programme authorities can, among other benefits, enhance their capacities via the TAIEX Peer 2 Peer programme or DG REGIO Communities of practice. Such schemes provide platforms for programme authorities to enhance their knowledge on programme development and implementation. An overview of capacity building schemes can be accessed via the Commission’s webpage.

Networking and exchange also take place beyond ERDF funding programmes. European Regions for competitive and sustainable tourism are united in NECSTouR. This network provides an important link between regional and wider European levels of government, highlighting the importance of tourism as a driver for sustainable development and competitiveness. Network members have a common voice to highlight the need for funding and cooperation at European level. Their activities go thus beyond the RRF and ERDF and address all European support to sustainable tourism.

This handbook is a relevant tool for MED Managing Authorities and national, regional, and local authorities, or other European tourism stakeholders, on how to integrate solutions to change their approach on tourism funding or accelerate the tourism transition to sustainability in their programmes.