Digital Innovation for Blue Enterprises & Social Tourism (DIBEST) is an Interreg Atlantic Area project.
It aims to support tourism microenterprises in coastal regions by adopting digital innovations. This will enable them to increase their competitiveness, market access, and environmental sustainability. The project focuses on family-run and multigenerational businesses, aiming to improve the economy and society of the peripheral region.
Project Information
- Priority: Blue sustainable tourism and culture
- Project duration: 03.07.2023 – 03.07.2026
- Coordinator: Western Development Commission
- Budget: 2,74 M€ (incl. 2,05 M€ ERDF)
Project Actions
- The DIBEST project encompasses a range of work packages designed to holistically support tourism microenterprises:
- Communication Strategy: Implementing a comprehensive communication strategy to ensure the adoption, demonstration, transferability, and sustainability of the project’s initiatives.
- Capacity Building: Establishing a knowledge base, identifying best practices, and conducting a training needs analysis.
- Developing Supports: Crafting tailored support mechanisms for tourism microenterprises to enhance their operational efficiency and market reach.
- Transnational Network: Building a transnational network of business partners and tourism organisations to foster collaboration and knowledge sharing.
- Technology Adoption & Scale-up: Creating a programme for knowledge transfer and assistance to facilitate technology adoption and scaling of business operations.
Project Results
The DIBEST project aims to create a lasting impact by establishing a repository of knowledge that will be disseminated on various platforms. This repository will be accessible to tourism practitioners throughout Europe and higher education institutions. The project will support a network of Blue Economy microenterprises across 4 countries, using a triple helix model involving business partners, higher education institutions, and tourism federations. The project will also explore synergies with other EU initiatives and projects, aiming to apply best practices and learnings to coastal regions across the participating countries.