INSPIRES-Tourism

02/10/2026

Policy Brief – Insights from the INSPIRES Project
published on the EU Tourism Platform:

https://transition-pathways.europa.eu/tourism/news/policy-brief-insights-inspires-project

Key Messages:

● Tourism SMEs are essential to regional economic stability and territorial attractiveness.

● Digitalisation and sustainability are mutually reinforcing drivers of resilience.

● Regional and local policy frameworks play a decisive role in enabling SME resilience.

30/09/2026

World Tourism Day | Innovating to transform tourism

On the occasion of World Tourism Day, Chamber of Commerce of Seville was invited to participate in the roundtable “Innovating to transform: digitalisation and sustainability in the future of tourism”, organised by the Faculty of Tourism and Finance of the University of Seville.

The discussion brought together different perspectives from the tourism ecosystem, with the participation of Cámara de Comercio de Sevilla, Sevilla City Office, Everyone Consultores and Travel That Creates Life, and was moderated by Manuel Rey, Professor of Marketing at the University of Seville.

From Cámara de Comercio de Sevilla, we presented INSPIRES, together with the practical case of Travel That Creates Life, showing how EU-supported initiatives can translate into concrete actions for tourism SMEs.

Our contribution focused on some key questions:

🔹 Digitalisation & AI: technology should not be an objective in itself. The key question is not “What can we do with AI?” but “What real problem can we solve with it?”

🔹 Tourist experience & inclusion: digital tools can help personalise experiences, improve accessibility and reduce barriers, while technology should remain at the service of people.

🔹 Sustainability & resilience: digital and green transitions need to go hand in hand. It is not enough to incorporate technology or simply claim that a project is sustainable: there needs to be a real and demonstrable link between the action and the environmental objective.

🔹 People & governance: technology and data can support better decisions, but human judgement and criteria remain essential. Responsible transformation requires people with the right skills who can interpret information, question results and make informed decisions, together with cooperation between companies, destinations, public authorities, universities and other stakeholders.

Thanks to the Faculty of Tourism and Finance of the University of Seville for inviting us and for opening this space for dialogue and exchange. 🌱🤝

29/09/2026

World Tourism Day 2026: INSPIRES presents 10 Bulgarian projects transforming tourism

On 27 September 2026, INSPIRES joins the global celebration of World Tourism Day, dedicated this year to the theme “Digital Agenda and Artificial Intelligence to Redesign Tourism”.

For tourism SMEs, redesigning tourism does not always begin with complex technologies. It can start with a multilingual digital menu, real-time information from a mountain route, a solar-energy system for a rural guest house or a local story brought to life through virtual reality.

INSPIRES supports tourism SMEs in strengthening their capacity and developing collaborative solutions related to digitalisation, resource use and business resilience. In Bulgaria, CCI Vratsa, a partner in the INSPIRES consortium, works directly with ten collaborative projects selected to receive financial and technical support:

The Mamadelle Project – A Healthy Bite into Sustainable Living
Through the Gates of the Northwest. Discover, Explore and Taste.
LIVE – Local, Innovative, Vivid and Eco Experience in the Vratsa Balkans
DIGITAL PATHWAYS: Engaging Youth with Culture and Sustainability
SMART & GREEN DINING EXPERIENCE: Digital Menus for a Sustainable Future
Sweet Delight for a Pleasant Journey
Close to Nature: Integrated Educational & Youth Eco-Camp Model Kartala–Belitsa
Enhancing Energy Efficiency Through Solar Panels and Digitalization via Website Development
DIGI-KOMPO: Digital Transformation and Operational Resilience for a Sustainable Tourism Restaurant
Green and Digital Transformation of Hotel Zora.

The projects address different aspects of tourism transformation, including digital visitor services, solar-energy solutions, food-waste monitoring, rail travel and e-bike mobility, virtual and augmented experiences, cultural heritage, local food, outdoor tourism and new year-round tourism products.

To present their work and achievements, CCI-Vratsa is launching the series “INSPIRES in Action: 10 Bulgarian Tourism Transformations”.
Starting in October 2026, one project will be featured every two weeks. Each story will introduce the participating organizations and present the challenge addressed, the solution developed, the activities implemented, the documented results available at the time of publication, and the project’s relevance and possible transferability to other tourism stakeholders in Europe.

The series will show what has been implemented in practice, what has been learned and which approaches may be useful to other tourism SMEs and destinations.

02/09/2026

INSPIRES celebrates World Tourism Day 2026" ​at the ECTN Conference in Skiathos, Greece

The emphasis is on the digital transformation of cultural tourism destinations and related DMOs, towards redesigning tourism with resilience and smart solutions, also through AI.

The event will take place in conjunction with the 19th ECTN Conference in Skiathos, Greece, on 25-27 September 2026

The INSPIRES project focuses on empowering tourism SMEs through training and funding, involving tourism resilience, digitalisation and sustainability.

Eent registered on the UN Tourism website:
https://www.untourism.int/node/17133

27/08/2026

INSPIRES project is holding a special session on "Tourism Resilience for SMEs and DMOs", with sister projects, at the annual ECTN conference to be held in Skiathos, Thessaly Region, Greece, on 25 September 2026, 09:00-11:00 EEST.

The planned programme is:

- Keynote address: Developments and achievements of the Single Market Programme for Tourism SMEs and DMOs by EISMEA, Mr Alan Vella

- INSPIRES: Digitalisation, Sustainability and Resilience in European Tourism – What Works? Claudia Harms, City of Bremerhaven, and Franziska Stenzel, Experience Bremerhaven, Germany, with inputs by INSPIRES partners from Belgium (Antwerp Province Tourism) and Spain (Sevilla Chamber of Commerce).

- DETOUR: Development of Resilient Tourism Ecosystem Along Mediterranean Walking Routes, Luca Bruschi, European Association on Via Francigena, Fidenza, Italy

- PHOENIX 4.0: Resilient Ecosystem for Empowering Tourism SMEs, Lucija Barišić, ARCTUR, Ljubljana, Slovenia

- TASTE: Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, Spain (tbc)

- Policy implications and Discussion.

Moderator: Manos Vougioukas, Communications Manager of INSPIRES SMP Project, ECTN Secretary-General.

Hybrid facilities are planned. Further details to follow in due course.

This session is an event of the SME Week:
https://sme-week.ec.europa.eu/home/view/event/detail/305db9c1-4818-444d-9241-bcfaf1fa0f1b

inspires-tourism.eu

12/07/2026

Tourism in Europe is evolving rapidly. More diverse visitors, changing expectations, and higher standards for accessibility are reshaping the sector. How can tourism SME respond? These questions were at the heart of the webinar Diversity and Inclusion in Tourism SMEs across Europe, held on 23 June 2026.

The Diversity & Inclusion webinar, hosted by INSPIRES, AccessibleEU Belgium and ENAT, provided an opportunity for tourism professionals from across Europe to exchange knowledge, learn from experts and discover practical approaches to more inclusive tourism.

Missed the webinar or want to revisit the sessions?

Whether you could not attend the live event or would like to watch the breakout sessions you could not join, the recordings give you access to all presentations and practical insights.

Tourism in Europe is evolving rapidly. More diverse visitors, changing expectations, and higher standards for accessibility are reshaping the sector. How can tourism SME respond? These questions were at the heart of the webinar Diversity and Inclusion in Tourism SMEs across Europe, held on 23 June 2...

05/07/2026

The INSPIRES Second Call selection process is complete!

The 13 selected projects bring together creative ideas, new partnerships and forward-looking solutions to support tourism SMEs in becoming more sustainable, digital and resilient.

Meet the selected companies and discover their project ideas:

https://www.inspires-tourism.eu/calls/results-of-the-2nd-call

The INSPIRES Second Open Call for Collaborative Projects (2 March 2026 – 11 May 2026) has been successfully concluded. The Second Call was launched as a targeted call under the PIONEER category, with the aim of further supporting tourism SMEs in their green and digital transition.

09/06/2026

INSPIRES Trainer’s Guides published on "How to Train Tourism SMEs", for Resilient, Circular, Regenerative and Smart Tourism.

Published on the EU Tourism Platform:

The INSPIRES Trainer’s Guides on "How to Train SMEs" provide practical support for trainers working with tourism SMEs to drive the sector's green and digital transition. There are five key themes addressed: risk management and resilience, circular tourism, regenerative tourism, diversity and inclu...

06/05/2026

INSPIRES presented at Eurochambres Community of Interest on Sustainability and Tourism

The team from the Seville Chamber of Commerce was invited to present the INSPIRES project during a session of the Community of Interest “Sustainability and Tourism”, coordinated by Eurochambres. The event brought together chambers of commerce from across Europe to exchange experiences and explore strategies to reach and provide guidance to tourism SMEs at the same time as supporting their transition towards more sustainable and resilient models.

During the session, we highlighted INSPIRES main goals and outcomes, including training for trainers, ideation jams, the collection of best practices, and financial support for SMEs. It was also the occasion to present the outcomes of the 1st call for innovative ideas as well as the second call currently open, which provides new opportunities for SME partnerships to access funding and support for developing innovative and sustainable tourism solutions in Finland, Germany, Belgium and Poland.

INSPIRES continues to strengthen and enlarge its network and invites interested SMEs to engage in the upcoming call and benefit from the project’s support.

04/05/2026

Is your tourism business ready for the traveler of tomorrow? 🌍✨

Tourism in Europe is becoming more diverse every day. Accessibility and inclusion are no longer just ‘nice-to-have’ features—they are essential components of a high-quality visitor experience and a future-proof business.

On Tuesday, June 23rd, the INSPIRES project, in close collaboration with AccessibleEU and ENAT, is hosting the Tourism Lab: Diversity & Inclusion. In just 75 minutes, we’ll help you take your expertise to the next level!

What can you expect?
✅ Insights into why intersectionality is crucial for inclusive tourism.
✅ Practical tools to provide a warm and customer-friendly welcome to diverse visitor groups.
✅ Inspiration for developing accessible products and inclusive promotion.
✅ A step toward creating your own comprehensive "tourism package".

Whether you are focusing on accessibility as a business model or want to make your communication more representative, there is a breakout session tailored to your needs. To ensure you don’t miss any valuable insights, all sessions will be recorded. This allows you to review every theme later and build a comprehensive "tourism package" for your organization.

Practical Details:
📅 Tuesday, June 23, 2026
⏰ 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM CET
📍 Online via Zoom (featuring an English Sign Language interpreter and subtitles)
🎟️ Participation is free of charge!

Don’t miss this opportunity to expand your network and strengthen your offer for a broad audience, all year round.

👉 View the full program and register here:
https://www.inspires-tourism.eu/events/diversity-inclusion