Skip to content
Home » About the project

About the project

The CE4RT project is funded under Single Market Programme (SMP COSME) call – “COVID-19 Recovery through Sustainable Tourism Growth and SME Support” (SMP-COSME-2021-TOURSME).

Name of the Project: Circular Economy for Regenerative Tourism
Acronym of the Project: CE4RT
Proposal Number of the Project: 101085456
Project Duration and start date: 25 months, start: January 1st 2023
Lead partner/coordinator: Munster Technological University (MTU), Ireland

The  project is a trans-national collaborative project supporting a network of tourism SMEs across five partner European hubs in the areas of Sustainable Practice, the Circular Economy and Regenerative Tourism. The focus of this project is to provide tourism SMEs with the tools to implement regenerative practices as a long-term strategy within their region and to contribute to the continued resilience, viability and competitiveness of the industry.

CE4RT purposes a cooperative and innovative approach to tourism development that goes beyond sustainable practices and focusses on the constructs of the Circular Economy and Regenerative Tourism. A Circular Economy can be defined as a purposefully designed “socio-economic system inspired by natural systems, regenerative of human and natural capital that works long term for all stakeholders” (EMF, 2012). The Circular Economy provides opportunities for the individual tourism business, the destination and from the perspective of the visitor. From the business perspective it can support competitiveness and provide opportunities for innovation, diversification and differentiation. From the destination perspective circularity can bridge the gap between the tourism business and the local community by supporting local and providing opportunities for employment and general wellbeing. For the tourist, it can provide the opportunity to leave a positive impact on the destination (UNWTO, 2022)1

Additionally, the emphasis of regenerative tourism is on a whole systems approach that provides the host community and the tourist with the same prominence in terms of tourism development while purporting to the theme of ensuring the tourism destination is in a better place after the tourist visit. The whole systems approach to regeneration is about the land, the people, the culture/heritage, the community and the wildlife (McEnhill et. al., 2020)

The success of a Circular Economy is evident in many industries but its use in a tourism context is in its infancy. However, it has been noted that the adoption of such a system can lead to sustainability through innovative practices not only in the manufacture of goods but also through the delivery of services, such as tourism. The circular model seeks to add value to the value chain through the supply chain; by recycling and upcycling; through product life extensions and sharing platforms in which the product does not require ownership.

Finally, CE4RT will have a particular focus on; the local community and the visitor who both play a role in the regenerative process. The host community not only form part of place and the visitor experience but also in their role as suppliers of goods and services and in the delivery of an authentic interpretation of a destination’s culture and heritage. CE4RT seeks to provide training and mentoring on the communications piece to tourists and in the development of innovative behavioural changes that inform the tourist on how their actions can have a positive impact on the destination being visited.

CE4RT seeks to provide financial and business support to a minimum of 80 tourism SMEs through a programme (maximum EUR 8,000 per SME) with the following objectives: 

  1. To develop a peer-to-peer focused approach and share knowledge, expertise and best practice among tourism SMEs, in relation to the circular economy and regenerative tourism practices.
  2. To deliver hands on training for tourism SMEs in developing sustainability practices and influencing positive behavioural changes amongst visitors.
  3. To provide funding towards achieving recognized sustainability accreditation/certification.
  4. To support tourism SMEs in the adoption of sustainable best practice through one-to-one coaching to develop sustainable plans and measure carbon footprint and coaching.
  5. To offer tourism SMEs the opportunity to participate in international networking events.
  6. To encourage tourism SMEs and other stakeholders in the development of innovative solutions towards regenerative tourism.