Cross-Re-Tour funds the green and digital transition for 87 tourism SMEs across Europe

06/05/2025 - 10:54

Cross-Re-Tour is a three-year project funded under the European Union’s Single Market Programme. Its main goal is to support European tourism SMEs in achieving the twin transition, digital and green, with a focus on circular economy principles.

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The Cross-Re-Tour project is coordinated by project leader Elisa van den Heuvel (BUas) and initiated by our research groups Tourism Impacts on Society and the Centre for Sustainability, Tourism and Transport (CSTT). The project aims to enable tourism businesses to embrace regenerative and sustainable tourism by connecting them to innovative tools and solutions.

Following its Call for Challenges, Cross-Re-Tour officially launched its Call for Proposals in November 2025. Under this Call, small and medium-sized enterprises from the Cross-Re-Tour consortium countries were invited to present innovative tourism project proposals to enhance their green and digital innovation in the project’s exploration areas: food, energy, water, plastic, mobility, equipment and furniture, staff nudging and client nudging.

A minimum of 80 of the best rated innovative projects would receive funding to implement their innovation during 14 months in the framework of the project’s Cross-Domain Open Innovation Programme.

This initiative proved successful, with more than 200 applications. In this highly competitive environment, 87 lighthouse projects were selected for funding, with 2,400,000 EUR awarded across de consortium countries.

The distribution of approved projects is as follows: The Netherlands (10), Slovenia (12), Spain (11), Germany (10), Montenegro (11), Latvia (12), Malta (10) and Portugal (11). The scope of the awarded projects is quite vast, with projects focused on gamification, augmented-reality, blockchain technology, IoT and many more.

Open Innovation Programme

The Open Innovation Programme officially launched on April 1, 2025, 87 beneficiaries will implement their innovative projects, supported and guided by their respective Cross-Re-Tour Consortium partners from each participating country.

The beneficiaries gathered for the first time in Riga from May 6 to 8, 2025, for the Cross-Re-Tour Workshop on Client and Staff Nudging. This event provided a valuable platform for exchanging knowledge and ideas, fostering numerous networking opportunities throughout the sessions.

The Programme will conclude with a Show and Share event in Malta in 2026, where participants will showcase their project outcomes and explore opportunities for replication and scalability in the presence of key tourism stakeholders and investors.

Cross-Re-Tour consortium countries

The project’s consortium spreads all across Europe: Slovenia (ARCTUR), Spain - Catalonia (Barcelona Chamber of Commerce), Germany (Institute for Tourism Research in Northern Europe), Montenegro (Regional Development Agency for Bjelasica, Komovi and Prokletije), Latvia (Latvian Country Tourism Association), Malta (Malta Tourism Authority), Portugal (INOVA+) and (BUas) the Netherlands.