To diversify the EU tourism offer, the European Commission offers co-funding through the COSME programme to sustainable transnational tourism products.
These are thematic tourism products such as transnational itineraries, routes, trails focusing on different themes such as: environmentally friendly tourism, sports tourism, food and wine tourism, health and wellbeing tourism, nature tourism, or ‘slow tourism’ – travel which allows tourists to engage more fully with communities along their route.
The aim of this initiative is to
- strengthen transnational cooperation in sustainable tourism
- encourage greater involvement in sustainable tourism for small and micro enterprises, and local authorities
- stimulate competitiveness in the European tourism sector
Projects awarded funding in 2020
Six projects are being co-financed under the 2019 call for proposalsSearch for available translations of the preceding link ‘Boosting sustainable tourism development and capacity of tourism SMEs through transnational cooperation and knowledge transfer’ (COS-TOURCOOP-2019-3-01). These projects aim at
- reinforcing transnational and cross-border cooperation to enable sustainable growth of tourism SMEs
- cultivating SMEs’ capacities and skills for solutions for more sustainable management and tourism sustainability in general
- encouraging innovative solutions for sustainable tourism through cross-sectoral cooperation
| Coordinating organisation | Project | Project description |
|---|---|---|
| Chamber of Commerce of Marche Region (CCIAAM) | CEnTOUR – Circular Economy in Tourism | InfoSearch for available translations of the preceding link + presentationSearch for available translations of the preceding link |
| X23- the Innovation Bakery | EU ECO-TANDEM programme | InfoSearch for available translations of the preceding link + presentationSearch for available translations of the preceding link |
| European Centre for Eco and Agro Tourism (ECEAT) | SUSTOUR – Promoting sustainability among the European tour operator sector through a business led approach. | InfoSearch for available translations of the preceding link + presentationSearch for available translations of the preceding link |
| Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Services and Navigation (BCC) | Tourban – Accelerating SME capacity and inn Barcelona Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Services and Navigation (BCC) | infoSearch for available translations of the preceding link + presentationSearch for available translations of the preceding link |
| Consulta Europa Projects and Innovation S.L / CE | TOURISME – Improving sustainability of tourism SMEs through knowledge transfer, international cooperation and multi-stakeholder engagement | InfoSearch for available translations of the preceding link + presentationSearch for available translations of the preceding link |
| Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development, HNEE (Germany) | ETGG2030 – European Tourism Going Green 2030 | InfoSearch for available translations of the preceding link + presentationSearch for available translations of the preceding link |
Projects awarded funding in 2015
Ten projects are being co-financed under the 2015 call for proposalsSearch for available translations of the preceding link, ‘Diversifying the EU tourism offer and products – Promoting transnational thematic tourism products’.
They aim at promoting the development and promotion of transnational tourism products in the fields of a) sport and/or wellness and b) cultural or industrial heritage.
| Coordinating organisation | Project | Project description |
|---|---|---|
| VisitBrabant (The Netherlands) | PITCH VGE
Promoting International Tourism for Culture and Heritage Van Gogh Europe |
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| CULTUREPOLIS (Greece) | DIVERTIMENTO
Diversifying tourism offers in peripheral destinations with heritage-based products and services, |
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| Westcountry Rivers Trust (UK) | FishTrail Improving transnational angling tourism. |
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| University of Central Lancashire, Institute of Transport & Tourism (United Kingdom) | EV5-VRF
EuroVelo 5 cycle route – Via Romea Francigena |
infoSearch for available translations of the preceding link |
| Fédération Française d’Equitation (France) | EERA
European Equestrian Route d’Artagnan |
InfoSearch for available translations of the preceding link + presentationSearch for available translations of the preceding link |
| APIFORM s.r.l. (Italy) | GENIUS LOCI valorising the tourism potential of industrial heritage and living industry |
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| Catalan Tourist Board (Spain) | Hiking Europe
discovering Rural Europe through hiking trails |
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| Mancomunidad del Norte de Gran Canaria (Spain) | TastyCheeseTOUR blended itineraries (cultural, industrial, culinary, agricultural and livestock) in rural regions that produce high quality cheese |
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| Municipality of Brindisi (Italy) | Well-O-live
Wellness and wellbeing experience across the European Routes of the Olive Tree |
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| UNIVERSIDAD DE LAS PALMAS DE GRAN CANARIA (Spain) | SUNRISE
Green Room – SUrfiNg Routes In a Sustainable Europe |
InfoSearch for available translations of the preceding link |
Projects awarded funding in 2014
Five projects are being co-financed under the 2014 call for proposals, Diversifying the EU Tourism Offer and Products – Sustainable Transnational Tourism ProductsSearch for available translations of the preceding link. They aim at promoting sustainable transnational tourism products in sport or wellness activities in coastal, maritime, mountain or rural tourism. The projects started on 1 June 2015 and will last for a period of 18 months.
| Coordinating organisation | Project |
|---|---|
| Fomento de San Sebastián (Spain) | SurfingEurope project description (114 kB) SurfingEurope project presentation (2 MB) |
| Fondazione Campus (Italy) | The Heritage of Olive Tree for Sustainable Tourism (HOST) project description (14 kB) HOST project presentation (733 kB) |
| EURAC – Institute for Regional Development and Location Management (Italy) | Silver Via Alpina Yellow Trail (SilViAlp) project description (60 kB) SilViAlp project presentation (2 MB) |
| Travelecoology (Spain) | WILDSEA Europe project description (457 kB) WILDSEA Europe project presentation (3 MB) |
| EGWA – European Greenways Association (Spain) | Greenways Outdoor project description (17 kB) Greenways Outdoor project presentation (2 MB) |
Projects awarded funding in 2013
Six projects were awarded co-funding under the 2013 call for proposals, ‘Supporting the enhancement and promotion of transnational thematic tourism productsSearch for available translations of the preceding link’. The projects started on 1 April 2014 and will last for a period of 15 or 18 months.
Results of transnational projects supported in 2012 – 2014
| Coordinating organisation | Project | Results |
|---|---|---|
| City of Limoges (France) | CERA-DEST – Ceramic destinations for sustainable tourism (74 kB) | Results CERA-DEST (133 kB) |
| Diputació de Barcelona – Barcelona Province Council (Spain) | EUquus – Equestrian tourism routes in Europe (125 kB) | Results EUquus (204 kB) |
| Fundación de los Ferrocarriles Españoles (Spain) | Greenways Product (157 kB) | Results Greenways product (3 MB) |
| Communauté d’agglomération du Puy-en-Velay (France) | Project Loci Iacobi 2 – The Saint James Ways as a means of European sustainable tourism development (91 kB) | Results Loci Iacobi 2 (54 kB) |
| Municipality of Bullas, Murcia (Spain) | Secret Wine Tours – Discover the hidden charms of Europe (145 kB) | |
| Regione Veneto (Italy) | Venetian Routes: Enhancing a shared European multi-cultural sustainable Tourism (VeRoTour) (98 kB) | Results VERO TOUR (112 kB) |
| EXIT TIM DOO, Private Limited Company (Serbia) | WBAADT – Western Balkan Adventure and Discovery Tour (199 kB) | Results WBAADT (344 kB) |
Results of transnational projects supported in 2011 – 2013
| Coordinating organisation | Project |
|---|---|
| Naturefriends International (Austria) | DanubeHIKE (255 kB) |
| European Greenways Association (Spain) | Greenways4Tour (1 MB) |
| Province of Utrecht (The Netherlands) | Limes Tourism Connection (79 kB) |
| European Cyclists’ Federation (Belgium) | EuroVelo.com (384 kB) |
| Associazione Europea delle Vie Francigene (Italy) | PER VIAM Pilgrims’ Routes in Action (200kB) |