Question

How can we help revitalise Europe’s Business Events industry?

Answer

By joining an EU-funded project delivering solutions to create a greener, more resilient sector able to integrate new digital challenges

The BEFuture project is re-shaping the Business Events industry by identitying solutions to make the sector more sustainable, more resilient and more able to harness the opportunities digitilisation brings.

A stimulating sector with a substantial carbon footprint

Business events play a key role in the European tourism industry, attracting high-spending visitors and enhancing off-peak tourism. Pre-COVID-19, the sector held 5.4 million business conventions a year, welcoming 704 million visotrs all over Europe. Business events are, in addition, vital stimulators for local economic growth and social development, influencing knowledge exchange, culture, innovation, technomogy access, business opportunities and attracting talent. Yet, the sector has a substantial carbon footprint, using a lot of materials and generating enormous amounts of waste.

Solutions for a green, digital and resilient sector

The BEFuture project takes up the challenges of the business events industry by supporting its green and digital transitions towards a resilient business tourism ecosystem. It guides the adoption of solutions and supports the development of alternative and sustainable business models as well as broadly stimulating innovation and start-up activities. The project will develop a transnational and cross-ecosystem support service scheme for SMEs with high added-value services tro share, learn and collaborate.

Its Acceleration programme – open in early December 2024 – offers €30 000 in funding and support to SMEs driving innovation in the sector.

Eight partners, over €3 million

BEFuture is funded by the EU’s programmes for the competitivity of SMEs under the Single Market Programme. It brings together eight partners, each with different expertise, from across Europe for a period of three years. The project has a total budget of €4 174 193,05, €3 996 773,70 of which is an EU grant.

Tipik’s partners are:

• Catalan Tourist Board/Catalan Convention Bureau (Spain)
• Tipik Communication Agency (Belgium)
• Visit Flanders (Belgium)
• Linkeus (France)
• Verband der Vranstaltungsorganisatoren (Germany)
• NHL Stender/European Tourism Futures Institute (Netherlands)
• UNIMIB – Milano University (Italy)
• B.Link Barcelona Strategic Projects (Spain)

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