Promoting sustainable development of exemplary tourist sites Grant

Conseil régional de Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

About this grant

The Région Sud (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur) call for projects "Sites touristiques exemplaires" supports managers of emblematic tourist sites that have strong development potential or need urgent preservation. It aims to support lasting development of these sites and improve reception and visitor information. The call has two strands that a single site manager can apply for together. Volet 1 funds investment in the customer experience and the enhancement of tourist sites through a capital grant of up to EUR 200,000, covering 40% of eligible costs. Eligible spending includes development schemes, visitor flow channelling, eco-counters, signage and interpretation panels, paths, reception points, water points, toilets, bicycle hire, site warden costs, accessibility for reduced-mobility visitors, and electric vehicle and bicycle charging points. Parking is excluded except for landscaping, and running costs such as staff, communication and label fees are excluded, as are carrying-capacity studies and visit schemes. Volet 2 supports experiments with technological solutions for steering visitor flows. It offers either fully funded consultancy of 20 person-days per selected site from specialist tourism, smart-territory and digital service design consultants, or a capital grant of up to EUR 80,000 covering 60% of eligible costs, or both. Eligible spending covers flow measurement, data collection and processing (real-time or predictive), data visualisation, user interaction tools such as mobile apps and information kiosks, and preliminary studies. Collected data must be publishable on the DataSud portal. Projects must sit within a global approach covering governance, data-driven management, territorial mobility and site development, and carrying capacity is assessed. Selection criteria include a comprehensive tourism and flow-management approach with works already started or planned, the quality and relevance of the approach, local impact over the medium and long term, governance for the management plan, environmental ambition aligned with the regional climate plan, innovation, adequacy of human and material resources, transferability, and alignment with valley-area action plans where relevant. Only applications with a global approach are examined. Applicants must first contact the Region's tourism service to confirm eligibility. Complete files are submitted online through the regional platform before the project starts. Applications are accepted year-round and proc…

Eligibility

Eligible applicants are managers of large tourism sites and of alternative sites, including departments, intercommunal bodies (EPCI), natural parks, communes, tourism offices, associations and companies. The call is run by the Région Sud (Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur), so projects are expected to be located in that region. Applicants must contact the regional tourism service before applying to confirm eligibility, and the project must not start before the file is submitted. A single site manager may apply under both Volet 1 and Volet 2.

How it's scored

Projects are selected on a set of criteria: a global tourism development and flow-management approach with works already under way or planned; the quality and relevance of the approach and levers; local impact and medium- to long-term benefits for services, users and partners; governance to steer and share the management plan; credibility of the proposal and of any partnership with another site; environmental ambition and contribution to the regional climate plan; innovation, especially in flow management; adequacy of human and material resources; transferability of solutions; and integration into valley-area action plans for projects in mountain zones. Only applications presenting a global approach are examined. Files are reviewed chronologically in order of arrival. No scoring weights or panel composition are stated.

Key requirements

• ✓Applicant must be a manager of an emblematic or alternative tourist site in the PACA region (departments, EPCI, natural parks, communes, tourism offices, associations or companies)
• ✓Volet 1 covers visitor experience and tourism enhancement; eligible costs include visitor flow canalisation, eco-counters, signage, paths, accessibility and EV charging, while parking and operating costs are excluded
• ✓Projects should present a global reflection including preservation awareness and promotion where relevant

Funder contact

The notice names a programme contact you can speak to before applying.

Frequently asked questions

How much funding does Conseil régional de Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur offer?

Promoting sustainable development of exemplary tourist sites offers $220K.

Who can apply for Promoting sustainable development of exemplary tourist sites?

Eligibility covers organisations in FR; local-authority, nonprofit, sme, large-company, consortium. See the eligibility criteria above for the full conditions.

Relevant sectors

About this sector

Biodiversity funding backs habitat restoration, species protection, protected areas and nature-positive business. It comes from environment agencies, multilateral nature funds and conservation philanthropy, often through competitive calls with defined regions. Applicants are usually asked for baseline surveys, local partners and indicators that show ecological change.