project

Smarter Amazon of Europe (AoE)

Funding sources: COSME 

The Romanian Hotel Industry Federation was part of the international project Smarter Amazon of Europe, which was joined by entities from 7 countries: Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Hungary, Serbia and Montenegro. The region in Romania included in this project was the Danube Delta.

The initial project includes the Mura-Drava-Danube transboundary biosphere reserve, called the "Amazon of Europe", with unique natural and cultural attractions on the continent and huge potential in terms of developing a sustainable, smart and ecological tourist destination. It is declared by UNESCO as the first Danube biosphere reserve, covering five European countries: Serbia, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia and Montenegro. In the second phase of the project, which began in January 2022, 2 more countries joined: Romania and Bulgaria. 

The main goal of the SMARTER AoE project was to establish a digitally supported international ecosystem (by setting up an online platform) accessible to tourism SMEs in the Amazon of Europe, with the aim of promoting social, digital and ecological innovation and to transfer know-how to other biosphere reserves (BRs) in Romania, Bulgaria and Montenegro.

The Smarter AoE project encouraged digitalization and the implementation of innovation through SMEs in the region, which operate in the tourism sector.

Approximately 130 tourism SMEs in the European Amazon region received direct financial support to promote social, ecological innovation and digital transformation, of which 10 were from Romania. The project improved and simplified the daily operations of tourism SMEs by creating a platform that facilitated B2B business, increased the digital skills and competences of companies by providing access to courses. The SMEs included in the program, including those from Romania (Tulcea County), were supported in developing new business models with local and international support, bringing together sustainable transnational, outdoor tourism projects to be promoted and implemented jointly, within the international destination of the European Amazon.

The project also reduces the environmental impact, while providing a solution to contemporary climate issues. SMEs had the opportunity to test a prototype tool to monitor their key environmental indicators and were supported to optimize resource use and environmental performance.