Tourism funds to create networks

During the 2014-2020 period, along with the new partnership between European Union and Italy, Italy will manage about 44 billion euros, a sum of European structural and investment funds (SIE Funds), to which will be added about 20 billion euros of national co-financing.

But the opportunities of the new programme don’t stop here.

“Tourism is a strategic sector” affirms Professor Salvatore Messina of European Foundation to Twissen “and, even if nowadays there are no dedicated programmes, there are several opportunities and they are to be researched with a transverse methodology, both for enterprises and public subjects”.

At Twissen we notice an increasing attention to creating and developing networks in tourism.
Tourism is a complex sector that involves diverse stakeholders such as public institutions, small enterprises, big enterprises, consortiums, associations and several other ones. Operating at a destination level, it is necessary a growing coordination in activities in order to promote a competitive and sustainable offer to the target tourists. “This complexity reflects also on finding funds. Even if they exist and they are significant, they need to be found with a particular methodology. In fact, in tourism industry, creating and developing networks is an essential need in order to accomplish an efficient and competitive system. This involves the coordination of actors with specific roles.”
A multi-fund and multi-beneficiary approach is the method that we, at Twissen, consider to be the most effective. A certain network, after defining its operative plan, should search the right fund for every initiative, being aware that the beneficiary could be different from time to time, depending on the role played in the network.
“There is not a unique model of network. Analysing the current scenario and the present European planning, we notice that the successful networks are the ones that represent both the public and the private component, with the participation of a research institution or a specialised university. Most of all, they engage SMEs of the tourism sector which are able to attract enterprises in the linked sectors. Fundamental prerequisites are an efficient activity of local synergy and a clear and shared strategic and operative plan.”

Francesco Redi

President and founder at Twissen. Manager in Local Development, Tourism Policies,  EU Funds. He cooperates with several European universities, public bodies, development agencies, DMOs and enterprises.