Partners

The Region of East Macedonia - Thrace occupies the northeastern part of Greece and is bordering with Turkey and Bulgaria. Its area is divided into 5 prefectures and 56 Municipalities. The most populated urban centres are Komotini that is Region’s administrative seat, 2 big port towns Alexandroupoli and Kavala, 2 beautiful islands Thassos/Samothraki, and three other towns Xanthi, Drama and Orestiada.

The Region of East Macedonia – Thrace (REMTH) visions to establish a local network for the development of sustainable tourism in Thassos and Samothraki through an Integrated Quality Management plan in cooperation with the partnership of the project. Stakeholders of the local economy will be informed through seminars and be trained through workshops which will be organised during the project implementation. Capitalisation activities after the end of the project will be ensured with the involvement of the MA of the ROP East Macedonia – Thrace 2007-2013. The Region will also contribute to the dissemination of projects results in local, national and EU level through press releases and already existing networks / associations (CPMR, AER).

The Chamber of Valencia has the following main functions: providing services to the SMEs (external trade, internal market, tourism, transports, co-operation, etc); formation and training of businessmen; improve the relationship between the enterprises and the local administration; to promote the external trade for our enterprises; to co-ordinate these activities at a regional level.

Chamber of Valencia participates in several specific boards such as Professional Qualification Tourism Center Council (Regional Government), the Tourism Sectorial County Council and the Valencia Convention Bureau Tourist Board. Also, Chamber of Valencia has a representative in Signposting Committee of Regional Government, Tourist Quality Integral System and Region of Valencia International Tourism Fair.

Prefecture of Dodecanese is the Local Government Body comprising of 15 islands in the area of South East Aegean. The population of the Prefecture according to the census of 2001 amounts to 190.000 people. The Prefecture is divided into five Districts and has as capital the City of Rhodes (the biggest island in Prefecture).

The uniqueness of Dodecanese islands due to their natural landscapes, clean beaches, quaint settlements and historical monuments and a vibrant modern Greek lifestyle have made the area one of the most popular international destination in Greece. Therefore sustainable tourism is set as one of the main priorities for the Prefecture, since is considered as a core factor of its competitiveness and balanced economic growth. Prefecture of Dodecanese seeks through the implementation of the activities foreseen in the context of SHIFT project, and especially through the development of the transferable integrated management model to preserve its economic, natural, cultural and social heritage.

COEPA, as the main representative of the business community of Alicante, brings together the voice of all industries in the province, therefore, it is a delegate for the business collective in all forums in Alicante, before the civil service, the rest of the social agents, the media and society in general.

Tourism industry accounts for 13% of total GDP of the province of Alicante, so a sustainable tourism is of vital importance for the socioeconomic development of the province. In addition to this, the business concept developed in most of the coastal destinations of the province is becoming mature and facing growing competition from emerging destinations worldwide. SHIFT will provide COEPA the opportunity draw the attention of tourism stakeholders towards sustainable economic development alternatives by exploring profitable pilot actions aimed at diversifying the offer by promoting natural resources and cultural heritage, a more sustainable model which will rise further investments and foster the socioeconomic development of nearby inland areas.

The Andalusian Council of Chambers of Commerce is a Corporation of Public law that represents and coordinates all fourteen Andalusian Chambers, especially regarding the advice and collaboration with the Andalusian Regional Government. The Council has its own legal personality, as well as capacity and competencies established by Law.

The Andalusian Council has been working in different fields of activity, being one of the most important the business advice and support for the beginning - or consolidation- of exporting products and services abroad, carrying out – among other activities- the organisation of visits to important international trade fairs during the whole year. Moreover, the Andalusian Council encourages, in the frame of the business sector internationalisation, business meetings at international level, through direct and inverse trade missions, in order to facilitate and detect business opportunities in third countries. As a result, the Andalusian Council has organised more than 100 activities at international level. Around 700 companies have beneficiated from these activities.

Fundación Comunidad Valenciana – Región Europea (FCVRE) is a non-profit organization set up by the Valencian Regional Government to dynamize the participation of all the regional sectors in EU’s policies by promoting a better knowledge of EU’s initiatives and also helping them to identify new opportunities for sustainable development.

Since its creation by the Valencian Regional Government in 2003, FCVRE has participated as a dissemination partner in more than 60 European part-financed projects. At the same time and in the field of sustainable tourism, FCVRE contributes to the implementation of the regional priorities for the tourism sector.

The CCIMP supports local companies economic development and competitiveness improvement. At the same time, its purpose is to make the territory more attractive, accessible and economically competitive.

As part of its tourism strategy, the CCIMP identified sustainability and environment preservation as a key factor of success on the long run. The CCIMP has been supporting and rolling out quality and environment certification for tourism companies (mainly SMEs). In order to increase off season tourist flows, the CCIMP was at the origin of the bid for being awarded ”European Capital of Culture in 2013” (CeC 2013)