With this project the partnership wanted to increase the organisational capacity building of local/regional tourism professionals to build resilience, provide safe tourism experiences/destinations through the use of digital tools. Partners also wanted and still want to raise awareness about the need for advanced digital skills and increased stakeholders’ connectivity to ensure more sustainable tourism.
The Opale-Coast where EURAKOM is located is highly dependent on tourism and EURAKOM has been very active in developing sustainable tourism concepts, for example through the development of the successful European Regions ofGastronomy bid for 2023 as well as the co-development of Tropicalia, the world's largest greenhouse under one dome. While doing this work we discovered that digital tools exist but that efforts are not coordinated and as such do not have the efficiency they could have. Professionals also often lack the skills to benefit from these tools and need guidance as to what can work in their context. Sustainability is a big theme and professionals are paying attention to this priority but they know little about how digital tools can lead to more sustainable tourism. This is the main motivation behind this project. The project focussed on addressing this specific need, to promote digital skills as a tool for sustainable tourism transformation.