NEST – Networking for Smart Tourism Development

NEST is a cross-border project aimed to sustain the competitiveness of the Ionic-Adriatic destination by empowering Tourism Enterprises (small and medium ones) with innovative approaches, tools and strategies that leverage on the potentialities of digital technologies, networking and collaboration.

The project aims to sustain the process of socio-economic development in the IPA area, in coherence with priorities of the Europe 2020 strategy, by contributing to Programme Objective SO 2.1: Boost attractiveness of natural and cultural assets to improve a smart and sustainable economic development.

NEST will operate as an experiential laboratory and engine for nurturing competitiveness of SMTEs and destinations on global markets, by allowing to overcome barriers related to the adoption of digital technologies and innovation.

The achievement of such objectives will derive from the realization of the following outputs: Tourism competitiveness

assessment; Booklet on tools and technologies for smart tourism destination; Action Plan for creation of smart tourism destination; Virtual joint experiential laboratory for smart tourism; Smart tourism entrepreneurial development roadmap;

Update and upscale of skills for tourism entrepreneurs; Smart destination pilot sites.

NEST will favour the creation of a strategic model of “Interreg smart destination” by adopting collaborative and user-driven innovation models inspired by the principles of Living Lab approach.

Partners:

Albanian Ministry of Finance and Economy

Ministry of Economy – Directorate for Development of Small and Medium Enterprises – Montenegro

EuRelations European Economic Interest Grouping (EEIG)

Tecnopolis Science and Technology Park Scarl

UNIVERSITY OF SALENTO

Funder: European Commission under the programme Interreg IPA CBC Italy-Albania-Montenegro