In recent years tourism has been growing in Europe. There are large European cities such as Barcelona, Paris or Florence that suffer from over-tourism. This mass tourism does not generally benefit the local economy, but rather large companies and multinationals that replace local businesses in city centres. Local cultural particularities are also erased in favour of normalized consumption by large multinationals.
The SSE (Social and Solidarity Economy) offers solutions to the challenges of mass tourism by providing an alternative economic system that prioritises social, environmental and community objectives over profit maximisation. It emphasises cooperation, mutual aid and democratic governance in economic activities by encompassing organisations (such as cooperatives, social enterprises, NGOs, etc.) that work to promote social justice, reduce inequalities and promote sustainable development.
This is why the need arose to develop a cooperation project between the tourism sector of different EU cities to support, promote and protect the local economy.
Therefore, the general purpose of this project will be to use transnational cooperation to promote the SSE as a driver of the transition towards sustainable tourism. Cooperation on these issues is crucial, as we are dealing with an international issue that aims to protect local economies by creating a model that could even be used outside the EU in the future.
The initial objectives of the project are:
1. To identify and evaluate approaches, strategies and good practices for the SSE to contribute to a tourist offer in large European city-destinations more integrated with the local economy.
2. To engage a network of diverse actors contributing to reflection on how to improve the role of SSE for a sustainable transition of tourism in large city destinations.
3. To run an awareness-raising campaign in the form of VET, to promote the SSE as a driving force in the transition to sustainable tourism.
4. To promote professional integration in the tourism sector by focusing on skills development and raising awareness of the SSE.
5. To disseminate the learnings, training materials and good practices compiled in the project at an international level in Europe, with a special target on the transferability to SSE actors.
Advantages and innovation
The project considers that Social and Solidarity Economy solutions will improve the tourism sector of European cities by protecting their culture and economies from the effect of over-tourism. The project is innovative, increasing the use of the social and solidarity economy cooperative network in the different economic sectors (tourism, education, ...) to improve the sustainable development of cities.
Technical Specification or Expertise Sought
We are looking for quadruple helix partners, with special focus on civil society organisations specialised in the tourism transformation field.

Framework program
ERASMUS+
Call title and identifier
ERASMUS+ Cooperation Partnerships 2025.
Submission and evaluation scheme
Anticipated project budget
200.000-400.000 €
Coordinator required
No
Deadline for EoI
30/10/2025
Deadline of the call
03/03/2025
Project duration in weeks
100
Web link to the call
https://erasmus-plus.ec.europa.eu/opportunities/opportunities-for-organisations/cooperation-among-organisations-and-institutions/partnerships-for-cooperation
Project title and acronym
ERASMUS+: Cooperation Partnerships 2025: Cooperation Partnerships on Vocational Educational Training (VET) for the Social Economy in the Tourism Sector (first tentative title).