GreenSET – Green and circular transformation of services in Mediterranean tourism

Eurostat data shows that tourism plays a significantly greater role in the economies of the Mediterranean region compared to the EU average. However, the majority of value creation within the tourism services sector is concentrated in SMEs and micro-enterprises, which often lack both the innovation capacity and the necessary competencies for circular transformation. While a considerable number of initiatives have been launched to promote circular economy principles and sustainable practices in the tourism sector across the MED area, these efforts tend to address specific challenges or focus on limited geographic or thematic scopes. As a result, they mainly support individual SMEs without establishing a comprehensive and widely accessible framework for the circular transformation of the MED tourism sector as a whole. This lack of systemic, coordinated, and broadly available support from the business development ecosystem represents the main barrier to scaling up circular transformation in tourism-related economic activities—particularly for SMEs.

The project aims to achieve a set of well-defined objectives, all focused on promoting sustainable innovation in the tourism sector across the Mediterranean region. First and foremost, the project seeks to develop a dedicated methodology for sustainable service innovation, known as MEDSSIM. This methodology will be supported by a practical toolkit and a set of tailored skills, designed to strengthen the capacity of Business Support Organizations (BSOs) operating in the region. The ultimate goal is to facilitate the sustainable transformation of services offered by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism sector. Secondly, the project aims to empower BSOs so that they can actively support the creation of circular services within local tourism SMEs. This empowerment will be achieved through pilot actions and demonstration activities that will apply the MEDSSIM methodology in tourism SMEs across nine MED countries. These initiatives will contribute significantly to enhancing the overall sustainability of the regional tourism industry. Finally, the project will develop a sustainability model, along with a transfer strategy and an action plan, to ensure the effective dissemination and adoption of the MEDSSIM methodology and its associated certification scheme. These tools will be essential for ensuring the long-term impact and continuity of the project’s outcomes.

GreenSET will develop the MED Sustainable Service Innovation Methodology (MEDSSIM), a circular and sustainable service innovation framework designed to strengthen the capacity of Mediterranean business support organizations (BSOs) and facilitate the sustainable transformation of SME services in the tourism sector. The project aims to enhance the institutional capacity of 36 BSOs and support 54 SMEs in developing innovative circular services through the integration of MEDSSIM into their operations. In addition, 10 joint strategies will be developed and signed by 9 regional BSOs as a formal commitment to implement and further disseminate MEDSSIM to additional stakeholders.