Facilitating Low Season Tourism Exchanges in Europe. Encouraging Senior Citizens to Travel: SENTOUR CONNECT

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Facilitating Low Season Tourism Exchanges in Europe; Encouraging Senior Citizens to Travel: SENTOUR CONNECT EU project.

SENTour Connect logoIn a growing European Senior Market transnational senior tourism can be an important factor in developing low season tourism.

Experienced organisations which are working mostly in the domestic, national structured Senior Market will try to foster the demand and supply of transnational tourism for seniors.

The cross-border cooperation of these organisations must lead to study and develop the mechanisms for supporting transnational stakeholder cooperation, an appropriate programme and product innovation for Senior tourism. Furthermore the SENTour Connect project should enhance equal access to less experienced travellers over 55 years of age.

The eCalypso-platform will serve as a European wide virtual marketplace supporting sales activities and product lines specifically designed to motivate travellers to visit destinations in the low season.

Main objectives

  • Foster the demand and supply of transnational tourism for seniors
  • Enhance equal access to less experienced travellers over 55 years of age
  • Supporting sales activities and product lines specifically designed to motivate travellers to visit destinations in the low season
  • Create innovative tourism packages for seniors, which will be available and sustainable after the EU co financed period.
  • Enrich other themes related to existing thematic destinations such as EDEN as well as Calypso with senior thematic travel (i.e. Spa/thermal tourism from SOWELL, culture and wellbeing from URTS, nature and wellbeing from AAAE....)
  • Develop cooperation protocols which will sustain cross-border and cross-cultural exchanges and programmes aimed at reaching all types of seniors.
  • Set up and strengthen sustainable public-private European partnerships (PPP) to contribute creating a European domestic market for seniors in the long term through the establishment of cooperation between private and public entities within Europe and not specifically limited to a partner’s domestic market.

Work Packages

  1. Identification/Establishment of field assets supporting package/pilot exchange development.Exchanges of knowledge and product development.
  2. Package/pilot exchange development, eCalypso integration and training and Target dissemination.
  3. Package/pilot exchange tests and assessment
  4. Promotion and dissemination of European Tourism and European travel as an asset to European sensibility and citizen participation
  5. Project Administration

Main outcomes

  • Memorandum of Understanding for development of Senior exchange mechanisms
  • Protocol of Cooperation to establish a sustainable exchange of Seniors under specific programmes from partners and third Party organisations/SMEs or other.
  • Market Study of Senior Organisations involved in Travel or Excursion planning
  • Market Sudy of Specialised Senior Travel Service Providers
  • Membership list of SMEs and other service providers within the eCalypso network and related to SENTour Connect Partners
  • eCalypso and package methodology guideline handbook (manual)
  • Specialized Senior offers integrated into eCalypso and in operation by relevant stakeholders and participants
  • 4-6 pilot experiences
  • Pilot Evaluation and recommendations report
  • Promotional Pamphlet and Catalogue
  • Online Senior Travel page (extra service within eCalypso.eu)
  • Fair and event promotional materials
  • Promotional Video
  • Interim + Final Reports
  • Recommendations report

Lead partner/coordinator: International Social Tourism Organisation ISTO/eCalypso (European section)

Partners

  • Instituto de Turismo de la region de Murcia (Spain):
  • Urban Planning Institute of the Republic of Slovenia (Slovenia)
  • Fundação INATEL (Portugal)
  • Happy Age Srl (Italy)
  • Agence National pour les Cheques Vacances (ANCV) (France)
  • Think Camp (Germany)
  • Joie et Vacances Asbl (Belgium)

Contact

Email: lgobin@oits-isto.org
Website: SENTour Connect Project

Download the Project Description and Slideshow from the right-hand panel in PDF format.

Funded by the European Commission under Call for Proposals (June 2013) Supporting the enhancement and promotion of sustainable transnational thematic tourism products" 70/G/ENT/CIP/13/B/N03S04