About project

About project

PROJECT "THE ROLE OF INNOVATIVE SERVICES IN THE TOURISM MARKET TO SUPPORT REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT" (SMART TOURISM)

Duration: May, 2011 - October, 2013 
Subproject funding: 266 639, 00 €
Co- financing: 57 669, 00 €
Budget: 324 308, 00 €

Project Partners:
Bulgaria
- Burgas Municipality - Lead partner 
Greece
- Regional Development Agency of Western Macedonia- ANKO
- Municipality of Servia-Velvento 
Germany
- Association for planning and development for the Witznitz lakes
- City of Borna

Summary of the project:
The fast changing worldwide economy impacts on the tourism sector with some important changes concerning tourist behaviour and markets of origin. Looking for solutions to face adequate these changes in the sector, the project aims to support the tourism sector in the regions by exchanging experiences about destination management activities and good practices in mobile applications, identifying the relevant players in the regions and to setting up collaboration among them. Destination management activities should be supported by electronic means (e.g. software) to generate additional information and to create dynamics in the sector. In the long term, the project shall contribute to establish regional tourism clusters and to set up collaborations on interegional/international level. Destination Management Systems and Mobile Applications are systems that consolidate and distribute a comprehensive range of tourism services through a variety of channels and platforms. They are generally catering for a specific region, and supporting the activities of a destination management organisation within that region in order to manage and market the destination.
The systems are paying particular attention to support small and independent tourism suppliers to bring together service innovation, culture and tourism in a mutually reinforcing manner.
They provide a complete set of tourism management, promotion and fulfillment tools with product, and business and visitor databases as a foundation.

Outcomes and results of the project:
In the long term aspect the project will contribute to incensement of the regional growth as a result of: 
Integrating services into the overall marketing and management strategy of the destination;
Ensuring the accuracy, fairness and completeness of the supplier data,
Supporting specifically small and medium tourist enterprises;
Transforming tourism into a "knowledge-intensive" service sector;
Enhancing the competitiveness of any tourism destination.

The following results are expected to be achieved:
- Organisation of interregional workshops with presentations, discussions and dissemination activities will increase individual and institutional capacities;
- Mini study and analysis work will lead to identification of key stakeholders and to initiation of new partnerships;
- Awareness raising workshops will increase the capacities in the regions;
- Study visits will increase the capacities in an interregional scale;
- Pilot implementation will stimulate and foster tourism activities, thus contributing to growth and employment;
- Dissemination activities will spread information and knowledge and will lead to increasing capacities.

Last change: 15:09, 26 September 2013
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