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iSTARS: Sustainable Tourism for Small and Medium Enterprises

Thanks to the European iSTARS project and with the support of experts, our tour operator is developing a sustainability strategy to strengthen its commitment to ethical and responsible tourism.



Addiopizzo Travel has joined the project “iSTARS – Island Sustainable Tourism Action Through Resilient SMEs”, co-financed by the European Commission under the Single Market Programme (SMP SMP/SME Pillar), aimed at promoting a more resilient, innovative, and sustainable tourism by supporting 125 micro, small, and medium-sized tourism enterprises operating in Cyprus, Greece, Ireland, Spain, and Italy. A transformation journey, the 2030 journey towards recovery and sustainability. The initiative marks a crucial step in fostering more environmentally conscious approaches within the tourism industry across Europe.

Project objectives

After the Open Call was launched in July 2023, the iSTARS project received an enthusiastic response from tourism businesses, committed to facilitating their transition towards sustainable practices through the granted support. The strong interest confirmed a growing commitment from the sector in considering sustainability as a strategic priority.

Currently, the 125 awarded companies are utilizing the financial support to collaborate with sustainability experts from across Europe. This contribution allows them to develop and implement concrete initiatives to improve the sustainability of their operations. Among ongoing activities, some companies are allocating funds to obtain sustainability certifications, a crucial step to validate their commitment to environmentally friendly practices: these processes help strengthen the companies' credibility and demonstrate their compliance with international sustainability standards. Other companies are working on developing sustainability strategies and tailored action plans for their operations: by investing in strategic planning, these businesses aim to integrate sustainability into every aspect of their operations, ensuring a continuous reduction of environmental impact.

A significant portion of the funds has been dedicated to improving key aspects of sustainable tourism, such as food waste management, waste reduction, and energy efficiency optimization, also through participation in training/information courses held in April and May 2024. 

Partners

The I-STARS project is implemented by the following partner organizations:

  • Cyprus Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Cyprus)
  • Network of the Insular Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the European Union
  • INSULEUR (Greece)
  • Tourism Observatory for the Economy of the Islands (Italy)
  • Mallorca Chamber of Commerce (Spain)
  • Mallorca Tourism Foundation (Spain)
  • Vagabond Tours of Ireland (Ireland)

The official project website can be visited at this link: https://ccci.org.cy/istars-project.

What Addiopizzo Travel is working on

Following a national selection process, Addiopizzo Travel was chosen alongside 24 other Italian companies to develop its sustainability strategy, with the support of the expert ACTA – Sensi Contemporanei srl Impresa Sociale from Milan (www.actanet.it).

Our tour operator is actively engaged in promoting ethical and certified consumption, offering "100% Mafia-free" experiences through collaboration with the Addiopizzo network. Our guests connect with a virtuous social supply chain, raising awareness of ethical economic practices. Our work is an ongoing process, where we constantly reflect on ethics and sustainability to ensure consistency between our offerings and the socio-economic benefits for the local community.

Sustainability for us is not only about social and cultural impact, but also requires a greater commitment to environmental issues, and the project provides us with the opportunity to develop a strategy and intervention plan to shape future activities.
Our main objective is to create a sustainability strategy, a sustainable tourism development plan that defines theoretical and operational guidelines in line with the company vision and European and national policies (such as the Green New Deal and the SDGs).

The strategy will include:

  • an analysis of the current state of the company with regard to sustainability;
  • an evaluation of ongoing projects and their alignment with sustainability principles;
  • identification of priority intervention areas and the necessary economic resources;
  • proposals for specific actions that can have significant environmental, economic, and socio-cultural impacts;
  • the definition of a symbolic action that concretely demonstrates the company's sustainable commitment;
  • planning communication actions to raise awareness among various targets, such as tourists, schools, and local suppliers.

With the support of experts, we aim to address these challenges systematically, contributing to an ethical tourism model with long-term positive impacts.


The iStars project is co-funded by the European Union