fuTOURiSME: Mapping the Sustainability Landscape for Tourism SMEs Across Europe

Under Work Package 5 of the fuTOURiSME project, all partners have completed an extensive research and compilation exercise to identify the sustainability certifications most relevant for tourism SMEs in Europe. This work covers six partner countries: Greece, Spain, Cyprus, France, Germany and Italy, and includes both internationally recognised labels and national or sectoral schemes.

Today, we are pleased to announce that the full set of materials from Task 5.1 – Research and collection of existing certifications and development of guidelines is now publicly available on the fuTOURiSME website.

These resources are designed to support tourism SMEs in understanding the certification landscape and preparing their own sustainability journey.

What has been published?

1. Consolidated Research Report (European Synthesis)

A cross-country overview presenting:

• a comprehensive list of 80+ certifications mapped across Europe,
• the main trends and insights,
• a comparative analysis of environmental, social, economic and integrated certification schemes,
• the methodological framework used by partners.

This synthesis brings together the findings from all national research teams and establishes the foundation for the next WP5 activities.

2. National Reports & Certification Fiches

Each partner country has produced:

• a national executive summary, and
• detailed fiches for each certification mapped at national level.

The fiches include information on governance, scope, indicators, audit requirements, technology, usability, sector applicability and alignment with EU or international standards.

All national documents are now accessible online for full transparency and reference.

3. Guidelines for Tourism SMEs

To support small businesses directly, fuTOURiSME has developed practical, step-by-step guidelines tailored to SMEs that want to:

• understand what sustainability certifications exist,
• choose the one most suitable for their activity,
• prepare for audits and data collection,
• integrate sustainability practices into daily operations,
• and communicate their achievements effectively.

These guidelines will be further complemented by the capacity-building activities and coaching sessions planned in upcoming tasks.

Why this work matters

Certification is a powerful tool for tourism SMEs. It helps them:

• improve environmental and social performance,
• reduce operational costs,
• meet emerging EU sustainability requirements (CSRD, ESRS),
• increase visibility on booking platforms and tourism channels,
• and build credibility with travellers seeking responsible experiences.

Task 5.1 provides the essential knowledge base that will feed into the development of the Sustainable Tourism Toolkit and the Self-Assessment Tool later in the project.

Next steps in WP5

• Development of training modules and coaching sessions for SMEs
• Creation of the fuTOURiSME Self-Assessment Tool (Task 5.3)
• Publication of the final Sustainable Tourism Toolkit (Month 35)

These activities will build on the research now available online.

Access the Resources

All materials are available on the fuTOURiSME website.

We invite SMEs, destinations, industry stakeholders and the broader tourism community to explore the findings.