COSTOURINN2020

COS-TOURINN-2020-3-04: Innovation uptake and digitalisation in the tourism sector

call

The general objective of the call 'COS-TOURINN-2020-3-04: Innovation uptake and digitalisation in the tourism sector' is to promote the uptake of digitalisation and innovation by SMEs in the tourism sector through transnational cooperation and capacity building.

The action aims to:

Strengthen transnational and cross-border cooperation, in particular the integration of tourism businesses and stakeholders into transnational and interregional innovation ecosystems to enable smart and sustainable growth of tourism SMEs;
Promote the capacity and skills of SMEs to improve the use of new digital technologies, giving rise to new business models in the tourism sector;
Promote innovative solutions to improve tourism management and tourism supply through cooperation within the tourism ecosystem, including public-private partnerships.

The specific objective of the call is to develop and implement transnational and cross-sectoral support schemes to build capacity for digital transformation, innovation and smart tourism solutions by SMEs in the tourism ecosystem.

The consortium will organise and provide direct support to businesses to strengthen their capacities to develop and implement new and innovative services and operations with the help of digital technologies, as well as facilitate cross-border/transnational cooperation in order to promote peer learning and exchange of knowledge and good practices.

The actions that the Commission intends to co-finance can, for example, be aimed at encouraging the uptake of digital and smart technologies by businesses, making better use of data, implementing the use of innovative tools based on artificial intelligence, blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), communication systems, etc.

Beneficiaries	The call is open to public or private bodies, in particular: Non-profit organisations (public or private); Non-governmental organisations; Business support organisations (e.g. incubators, accelerators, labs, innovation hubs, universities or educational establishments, research centres and any other body providing expertise and direct support to SMEs. Public bodies and other national, regional or local bodies and their networks or associations at European, international, national, regional and local level or bodies acting on behalf of a public body, responsible for tourism, economic affairs, industry, business support International bodies; Private and profit-making bodies including SMEs active in the tourism sector; Chambers of Commerce and Industry; Training and educational institutions, including universities and research centres active in the field of tourism and business support. Consortium requirements: be composed of 5-10 partners involve at least 5 eligible countries (EU members or participants in the COSME programme); involve 1-2 public institutions; involve 1-2 business support organisations (such as business incubators/accelerators, innovation hubs, universities and research centres).
Type of funding	Contribution to expenditures / Co-financing
Budget in euros	The EU co-financing available for the call is EUR 8 million. The call envisages funding between 8 and 11 projects. The maximum contribution per project is EUR 1 million.
Deadline	11 February 2021
Area	European Union
Challenge	Businesses / tourism
Funding Framework	COSME
Information packet and application forms	Funding & tenders (europa.eu)
Identification	TOURINN-01-2020