Dear Sir or Madam,
We are delighted to invite you to the second Ideation Jam of the INSPIRES project. This innovative event offers small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism sector a unique opportunity to collaboratively develop ideas that can shape the future of the industry.
The INSPIRES project aims to foster the innovative potential of SMEs through targeted support and knowledge sharing. In the series of three Ideation Jams, we will address the central themes of resilience, sustainability, and digitalization to prepare SMEs for future challenges.
Why participate?
✅ Future-proofing SMEs: INSPIRES awards a total of €1.4 million to SMEs with innovative ideas. The application process begins in the August 2025.
✅ Promoting innovation: Collaborative with other industry experts to develop new approaches to current and future trends.
✅ Sustainable business: Gain practical insights into modern tools and methods to make your services more sustainable or move towards regenerative tourism business.
✅ Free support: Until the start of the application phase, we offer interested SMEs free hybrid formats to inspire, provide know-how, and enable international exchange with other tourism SMEs and experts. The first IJ on the topic of resilience (Antwerp) has already taken place and the three main findings which you can find from the project website.
The Ideation Jam is a creative workshop format designed to develop and refine innovative ideas in a short time. This dynamic and interactive event encourages collaboration to find solutions to specific challenges. Participants bring diverse perspectives and benefit from an open, cooperative environment.
About the event
Theme: From sustainability towards regenerative tourism & examples of Best practices
Date: Thursday 05.06.2025
Time: 10.00-12.15 CET
Location: Online via Zoom
Language: English
Registration link: https://forms.gle/vZJnrW9FsEED1keo8
Please register at the latest on the 2nd of June 2025!
Data protection: Please see our data protection info here and privacy notice here.
Participation is free.
Take this opportunity to be part of an initiative that actively shapes the future of the tourism industry. We look forward to welcoming you to this inspiring event!
Key note speaker: Sanna-Mari Renfors
Sanna-Mari Renfors (PhD) works as a Principal Lecturer and the Head of the Regenerative Business Master’s Programme at Lapland University of Applied Sciences. She also acts as an Adjunct Professor in tourism research at the University of Lapland. For the last ten years, she has been working as a project leader, researcher and developer in international tourism projects related to sustainable, circular, and regenerative tourism business. Her main passion is accelerating sustainability and regenerative transition in tourism SMEs.
From sustainable to regenerative tourism business: SMEs as change agents
In recent years, our awareness of the environmental and social challenges caused by tourism has increased. To address these challenges, sustainability is not deemed sufficient, and regeneration has emerged as an alternative paradigm to increase the planet's wellbeing, society, and individuals. Tourism SMEs are considered drivers of change, but a deeper understanding is needed of how exactly they can contribute to this with their efforts. Therefore, this presentation aims to explore how a tourism SME can adopt and integrate the principles of regenerative development as a part of their business journey.
