Tavoite

According to the World Tourism Organisation, Sports Tourism represents the fastest growing sector in global tourism. Many destinations and host locations already possess the appropriate infrastructure for sports facilities and offer a diversity of sports activities to capitalize on this global opportunity. The Joint Research Centre of the EC reports that certain European regions and cities that put sports tourism at the hearth of their smart specialisation strategies. This expansion of the sports tourism does not always come with positive effects. At present, the excessive growth of sports tourism and its lack of planning in the last decades of the twentieth century have made some tourist destinations victims of its success, and are testing their carrying capacity (UN, 2020). DEPART will put forward strategies that ensure the development of the sports tourism in a socially responsible way, taking into account the particularities of the sector in the participating regions.The overall object of DEPART is to improve the impelementation of the regional policies on the field of sustainable sports tourism (SST). DEPART will strengthen the relationship between sports tourism, sustainable development and the 2030 Agenda, promote diversification, differentiation and deseasonalization and enhance opportunities on the sector through innovation. The project will address also social aspects such as inclusivity and accessibility, minimize the environmental impacts to meet the needs of both the visitors and the host communities. 

Tulokset

89 organisations cooperating across borders9 policy instruments addressed11 interregional policy learning events organised35 good practices identified