Project description
Can tourism go circular?
Funded by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the CircTourEU project tackles the environmental and economic pressures facing Europe’s protected areas by reimagining tourism through circular economy principles such as regeneration, resource efficiency and value retention. With small and medium-sized enterprises at the centre, CircTourEU applies complexity science and realist evaluation to understand how circular innovation can thrive in nature-based destinations. Fieldwork in protected areas across Croatia, Greece, Italy and Spain will support co-designed interventions and empower local authorities to lead circular transitions. Embracing a nature-positive vision, CircTourEU aims not only to reduce harm but also to restore ecological integrity. Its results will be shared through toolkits and policy resources, supporting the European Green Deal and enabling scalable, context-sensitive solutions across rural and tourism-dependent regions
Objective
"The CircTourEU project addresses pressing environmental challenges in the protected areas (PAs) in EU by applying Circular Economy
(CE) principles to tourism. CE promotes resource reuse and sustainability, vital for combatting overtourism, greenhouse gas emissions,
and biodiversity decline. Rural regions heavily dependent on tourism face these challenges and require innovative resource
management and governance. The Southern Mediterranean hosts many European PAs, facing tourism surges. To protect these
habitats, a systematic shift to CE involving small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is crucial. Yet, SMEs in EU tourism lack research and
innovation focus, necessitating rural research and innovation pilots.
Led by Dr Ante Mandić, supervised by Prof Xavier Font and Dr James Kennell, the CircTourEU project evaluates CE transition projects
for tourism SMEs in the EU. It tests innovative methods in pilot PAs in Spain, Italy, Croatia, and Greece to promote evidence-based CE
practices in the tourism industry. CircTourEU's innovation lies in using complexity science-based realist evaluation to understand
barriers to innovation and knowledge integration in PAs. This approach offers nuanced insights into intervention effectiveness. The
project recognises the importance of macro-level sustainability transitions and empowering rural SMEs with innovative CE business
models. It considers context-dependent barriers and tailors strategies to unique PA governance and management contexts.
CircTourEU aims to empower PA authorities for evidence-based CE transitions and disseminate knowledge for widespread
implementation. Following the EU's ""evaluation first"" principle contributes to evidence-based decision-making, aligning with the
European Green Deal and Circular Economy Action Plan. The project provides valuable lessons for balancing conservation and
economic interests in European PAs."
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences sociology governance
- social sciences economics and business economics sustainable economy
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
MAIN PROGRAMME
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2024-PF-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
GU2 7XH Guildford
United Kingdom
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.