The European project IKAT, which has promoted innovation and sustainability in maritime and coastal tourism, comes to an end.
December 2024 – After 28 months of activity, the European project IKAT comes to an end this December, having achieved its objectives of fostering innovation among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the maritime and coastal tourism sector across the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. With the aim of contributing to the European Commission’s tourism strategy, the project has focused on providing solutions and support to promote internationalisation, competitiveness, digitalisation, and sustainability in the sector, while taking into account the specificities and vulnerabilities of this value ecosystem, such as insularity, seasonality, and the commitment to environmental preservation.
Innovation and collaboration at the core of the action
The IKAT project has structured its work mainly through two open calls targeted at SMEs in the tourism sector, addressing topics such as business acceleration, internationalisation, sustainability, digitalisation, and innovation.
Through these calls, a total of 84 projects from fourteen European countries have been funded, with a total investment of €1,040,000. Thanks to the involvement of CWP in the IKAT project, 16 of these initiatives have been linked to sustainable water management, with participation from cluster companies, which have received €183,000 to implement projects aimed at improving water management for tourism SMEs in Catalonia and Spain, moving towards greater sustainability of tourism in coastal areas.
The IKAT initiative has helped to re-establish business alliances and identify innovative solutions to make the sector more resilient and competitive, in line with the sustainability principles promoted by the European Union. With the project’s closure, IKAT positions itself as a reference for future initiatives in the maritime and coastal tourism sector.
For more information about the IKAT project and its results, please visit: www.ikatproject.com
