What is ‘circular cultural tourism’ and how can it contribute to sustainable tourism development in European regions?

The last edition of ICLEI’s flagship Breakfast at Sustainability’s series took place on 5 October 2023 from 10:00-12:00 CEST , in collaboration with ERRIN and as part of the Be.CULTOUR project, a Horizon Europe project developing heritage innovation networks as drivers of Europeanisation towards a human-centered and circular economy.

On this occasion, ERRIN members had the opportunity to take the stand and showcase inspiring examples of good practices demonstrating how circular approaches to tourism, human-centred destinations, and heritage-led transformations can contribute to building a sustainable future for all.

Among the speakers, ERRIN members from Joy of Culture (Cyprus), Comune di Genova, Liguria region and HAMI, Visit Häme (Finland) presented their challenges, achievements and lessons learned from a rural, municipal and regional perspective.

In particular, Takala Minna, Senior Advisor at the Regional Council of Häme (Finland) introduced the creative approach and innovative actions combining nature, culture, well-being and sports with digital smart services to offer new opportunities, especially for SMEs in the region. She focused in particular on an insteresting case study from the HAME region: Western Lakeland - promoting and coaching local entrepreneurs of the sustainable tourism sector and supporting local SME's transfer towards more sustainable activities.

During the event, ERRIN member Pays de la Loire was also mentioned by Kirsti Ala-Mutka, Policy Officer, DG GROW, as region putting forward the ambitious Tourism Transition Pathway pledge of becoming the top French destination for cycle tourism by 2030,  with 100% of their destinations becoming accessible by green means of transport.

This online event managed to bring together key representatives of EU institutions, cultural experts, regional officers, and tourism stakeholders to discuss the unexplored potential of cultural heritage as a driver of circular tourism, explore innovative approaches around Europe and analysed the sector's common challenges and identify potential solutions that can be shared at EU level.

The recording of the event will be soon available on the Be.CULTOUR project youtube channel.