What is next for the Black Sea research and innovation cooperation? Tourism 4.0 experts Dr Urška Starc Peceny and Tomi Ilijaš attended the SEArica Intergroup event for the launch of the Black Sea SRIA Implementation Plan which took place at the European Parliament on 4th May 2023. At the event they met with fellow experts such as Mamuka Berdzenishvili from Tourism Institute in Georgia (in the picture) and others. Is there a new Tourism 4.0 for the Black Sea project on the way?
The meeting Launch of the Black Sea SRIA Implementation Plan was co-organised by the Black Sea CONNECTProject and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD), with the support of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) and its Balkan & Black Sea Commission (BBSC).
The event was the occasion to launch the Black Sea SRIA Implementation Plan to set the foundational work for protecting unique habitats of the Black Sea while supporting the development of sea-based sectors, which will then boost the blue economy and help create more jobs. The Implementation Plan includes specifically designed research and innovation actions, actions to build vital support systems and innovative research infrastructure, actions to enhance education, and to build, develop and strengthen capacity. The Implementation Plan of the SRIA, as scientific pillar of the Common Maritime Agenda for the Black Sea, calls upon participants from academia, funding organisations, industry, policy, and society to take these strategic joint actions forward, in order to address the fundamental challenges of the Black Sea and promote sustainable blue economy.
Strategic joint actions forward need to be made in the tourism sector as well, as tourism can contribute to the goals of sustainable blue economy only if it is developed and managed in a sustainable way that minimizes negative impacts on the marine environment and local communities, and maximizes economic benefits for those communities. All this can be achieved quickly and efficiently with the use of innovative Tourism 4.0 tools.
