Future-proofing sustainable cultural tourism

The EU funding opportunity HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-HERITAGE-06 focuses on "Future-proofing sustainable cultural tourism" within the Horizon Europe program. This call aims to address the challenges faced by the cultural tourism sector due to technological changes, climate impacts, and evolving consumer expectations. It is classified as a Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-RIA) and utilizes a Lump Sum Grant funding mechanism.

Eligible applicants include universities, research institutions, public authorities, private enterprises including SMEs and larger companies, cultural heritage organizations, NGOs, and community organizations. The call specifically encourages multidisciplinary consortia that may include partners from non-EU countries, particularly for projects related to sustainable local development in less-developed areas.

The overall budget for this initiative is €14.5 million, with a minimum grant of €4 million and a maximum of €4.8 million per project. Three projects are expected to receive funding. The application process is a single-stage procedure, with the call opening on May 13, 2027, and applications due by September 23, 2027.

The initiative has two main focus areas: Focus 1 emphasizes the integration of AI and emerging technologies to enhance cultural tourism resilience, while Focus 2 aims at developing sustainable cultural tourism frameworks for emerging and less-developed destinations. All projects are expected to contribute to evidence-based policy recommendations and strategies that integrate cultural tourism with broader sustainability, digital transformation, and social inclusion goals.

Partnerships and collaboration with various stakeholders are strongly encouraged, as successful proposals should ensure continuous knowledge exchange among researchers, policymakers, and practitioners. While there is no mandatory co-funding requirement, leveraging additional funding sources is recommended to strengthen applications.

Projects are anticipated to produce practical solutions and policy interventions that can be readily implemented by policymakers. This call for proposals represents a strategic move to support sustainable development through cultural tourism and is aligned with European policy priorities regarding cultural heritage preservation and socio-economic transformation.

This EU funding opportunity, under the Horizon Europe program, specifically targets the Culture, Creativity, and Inclusive Society call for 2027. The focus is on "Future-proofing sustainable cultural tourism" (HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-HERITAGE-06), aiming to address the transformations and challenges faced by the cultural tourism sector. It is a HORIZON Research and Innovation Action (HORIZON-RIA) and uses a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant [HORIZON-AG-LS] funding mechanism. The call is a single-stage application process with a planned opening date of May 13, 2027, and a deadline of September 23, 2027, at 17:00 Brussels time.

The primary goal is to provide evidence-based policy recommendations and solutions for integrating cultural tourism into broader strategies for regenerative sustainability, environmental protection, digital transformation, social inclusion, and gender equality across all levels of government. The desired outcome is to strengthen cultural tourism as a driver for sustainable development, enhance workforce skills and numbers, and improve working conditions. The research impact should be maximized through coordinated dissemination and policy co-creation, facilitating the implementation of research-based solutions by policymakers and stakeholders.

The scope of the funding opportunity is divided into two main focus areas, from which applicants must choose one:

Focus 1: Transformative AI integration and strategic foresight for cultural tourism resilience.

This focus area aims to explore how integrating AI-powered tools and other emerging technologies can enhance the resilience, inclusivity, and sustainability of cultural tourism. Projects should address the need for tourism systems to shift from reactive management to anticipatory governance models using AI-assisted participatory foresight.

Key aspects to investigate include:

AI applications that reshape cultural tourism experiences while maintaining authenticity and respecting local integrity.
Enhancing inclusivity, including equal access to technology and improved accessibility for persons with disabilities.
Managing visitor pressure through AI-driven solutions.
Leveraging public and private data and infrastructures, such as the European Data space for Tourism.
Utilizing AI and immersive technologies like virtual and augmented reality to boost visitor engagement and cross-cultural appreciation while preserving historical integrity.
Developing novel approaches to AI-driven personalization that create inclusive, non-discriminatory, and ethically managed cultural experiences, ensuring fair representation of minority or lesser-known heritage and cultural expressions.
Integrating AI in multilingual interpretation and cultural mediation to overcome language barriers and deepen cultural understanding.
Refining AI-powered tools for visitor flow management and real-time heritage monitoring.
Developing methodological frameworks for AI-assisted foresight to anticipate trends and challenges in cultural tourism, such as shifts in visitor behavior, cultural commodification risks, and potential disruptions related to climate, pandemics, or energy crises.
Combining AI-based predictive analytics with participatory workshops to engage local communities, authorities, and cultural organizations in co-creating forward-looking sustainable tourism strategies.

Focus 2: Cultural tourism as a catalyst for sustainable local development.

This focus area aims to develop sustainable cultural tourism frameworks and strategies tailored to emerging and less-developed destinations, particularly in low-income and lesser-known regions. The goal is to leverage culture and creativity for economic growth and social development, including addressing depopulation and preventing overtourism.

Key aspects to investigate include:

Developing frameworks that foster creative entrepreneurial ecosystems for regional development.
Encouraging partnerships with non-EU countries.
Investigating cross-border collaboration models that enable mutual learning, upskilling, fair working conditions, knowledge transfer, and capacity building between EU and non-EU partners.
Identifying and adapting proven sustainable cultural tourism models to diverse less-developed settings (urban, peri-urban, rural), emphasizing equitable benefit-sharing.
Analyzing case studies of successful community integration in cultural tourism decision-making.
Prioritizing partnerships among local communities, creative industries (including crafts), local businesses, and cultural heritage organizations to co-create economically viable, environmentally balanced, authentic, and culturally respectful tourism offerings, potentially using living labs and pilot demonstrations.
Establishing collaborative networks for small businesses and civil society actors in cultural tourism, supporting them through access to researchers, policymakers, expertise, knowledge, resources, and collaborative opportunities.

Regardless of the chosen focus, all proposals must:

Ensure cooperation with and policy uptake of existing knowledge, tools, and best practices from past and ongoing EU-funded research on cultural tourism and related areas.
Develop frameworks integrating cultural tourism with broader sustainability, digital transformation, and social inclusion goals.
Create co-creative policy development methodologies involving diverse stakeholders (policymakers across various government levels, local communities, NGOs, businesses, industry) to translate research insights into evidence-based strategies and contextually appropriate interventions.
Establish continuous knowledge exchange mechanisms among researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to ensure ongoing relevance and impact.

The general conditions for this funding opportunity include:

Admissibility Conditions: Compliance with proposal page limits and layout as described in Annex A and Annex E of the Horizon Europe Work Programme General Annexes and Part B of the Application Form.
Eligible Countries: As described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes, with specific provisions for non-EU/non-Associated Countries as detailed in the Horizon Europe Programme Guide.
Other Eligible Conditions: Subject to restrictions for the protection of European communication networks, as described in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Financial and operational capacity and exclusion: As described in Annex C of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Evaluation and award: Adherence to award criteria, scoring, and thresholds as described in Annex D of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Submission and evaluation processes: Compliance with submission and evaluation processes as described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Online Manual.
Indicative timeline for evaluation and grant agreement: As described in Annex F of the Work Programme General Annexes.
Legal and financial set-up of the grants: The granting authority may object to a transfer of ownership or exclusive licensing of results for up to 4 years after the action's end. Eligible costs will be in the form of a lump sum, as defined in the Decision of 7 July 2021.

Application and evaluation forms and model grant agreement (MGA) information:

Application form templates are available in the Submission System, including the standard application form (HE RIA, IA).
Evaluation form templates will be used with necessary adaptations, including the standard evaluation form (HE RIA, IA).
Guidance is provided in the HE Programme Guide.
Model Grant Agreements (MGA) include the Lump Sum MGA.
Call-specific instructions are available, along with a detailed budget table (HE LS) and guidance on lump sums.

Additional documents to consult include:

HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 1. General Introduction
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 5. Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society
HE Main Work Programme 2026-2027 – 15. General Annexes
HE Programme Guide
HE Framework Programme 2021/695
HE Specific Programme Decision 2021/764
EU Financial Regulation 2024/2509
Decision authorising the use of lump sum contributions under the Horizon Europe Programme
Rules for Legal Entity Validation, LEAR Appointment and Financial Capacity Assessment
EU Grants AGA — Annotated Model Grant Agreement
Funding & Tenders Portal Online Manual
Funding & Tenders Portal Terms and Conditions
Funding & Tenders Portal Privacy Statement

The budget overview for 2027 includes several topics related to Democracy, Heritage, and Transformation, each with specific budget allocations, opening dates (May 13, 2027), deadlines (September 23, 2027), contribution ranges, and indicative numbers of grants. For example, HORIZON-CL2-2027-01-HERITAGE-06 has a budget of 14,500,000 EUR, with contributions ranging from 4,000,000 to 4,800,000 EUR, and an indicative number of 3 grants.

Partner search announcements are available, and LEARs, Account Administrators, or self-registrants can publish partner requests on the Funding & Tenders Portal.

This funding opportunity aims to future-proof sustainable cultural tourism by integrating it with broader sustainability, digital transformation, and social inclusion goals. It encourages research and innovation actions that address challenges such as environmental degradation, commodification, and accessibility, while also promoting the use of AI and other emerging technologies to enhance the resilience and inclusivity of the sector. By fostering collaboration between researchers, policymakers, and stakeholders, this initiative seeks to create evidence-based strategies and interventions that will boost cultural tourism as a resource for sustainable development, workforce growth, and improved working conditions.

Eligible Applicant Types: The eligible applicant types are not explicitly stated, but based on the nature of Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA), eligible applicants can include universities, research institutes, SMEs, large enterprises, NGOs, public organizations, and other relevant entities from EU member states, associated countries, and potentially some third countries as specified in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Horizon Europe Programme Guide. The call encourages partnerships with non-EU countries.

Funding Type: The funding type is primarily a grant, specifically a HORIZON Lump Sum Grant, used for both Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA).

Consortium Requirement: The opportunity encourages partnerships, especially with non-EU countries, suggesting that a consortium is preferred, although the possibility of a single applicant cannot be ruled out completely. The call emphasizes collaborative networks, which implies a consortium approach.

Beneficiary Scope (Geographic Eligibility): The geographic eligibility includes EU member states, countries associated with Horizon Europe, and potentially some non-EU/non-Associated Countries, as detailed in Annex B of the Work Programme General Annexes and the Horizon Europe Programme Guide. Partnerships with non-EU countries are encouraged, particularly for Focus 2.

Target Sector: The primary target sector is cultural tourism. Sub-sectors include artificial intelligence (AI), digital transformation, sustainability, environmental protection, social inclusion, gender equality, cultural heritage, creative industries, and regional development.

Mentioned Countries: The opportunity mentions EU countries and non-EU countries in general, encouraging partnerships with the latter, especially in less-developed regions.

Project Stage: The project stage targets research, development, and innovation, aiming for evidence-based policy recommendations and solutions. This suggests projects should be at the development, validation, or demonstration stage, with a clear path towards implementation and policy uptake.

Funding Amount: The funding amounts vary depending on the specific topic within the call. For HORIZON-CSA actions, the contribution ranges from €3,000,000 to €5,000,000. For HORIZON-RIA actions, the contribution ranges from €2,500,000 to €4,800,000. The total budget for each topic ranges from €3,500,000 to €20,000,000.

Application Type: The application type is an open call with a single-stage submission process.

Nature of Support: The beneficiaries will receive money in the form of a lump sum grant.

Application Stages: The application process involves a single stage.

Success Rates: The success rates are not explicitly mentioned, but the indicative number of grants for each topic is provided, allowing for an estimation of the potential success rate based on the expected number of proposals. The number of grants varies from 1 to 5 depending on the topic.

Co-funding Requirement: The information does not explicitly mention a co-funding requirement. Given that Horizon Europe typically funds a high percentage of eligible costs, co-funding may not be mandatory, but it could strengthen a proposal.

Summary: This Horizon Europe call, part of the Culture, Creativity and Inclusive Society program for 2027, focuses on future-proofing sustainable cultural tourism. It aims to integrate cultural tourism with regenerative sustainability, digital transformation, social inclusion, and environmental protection. The call offers funding for Research and Innovation Actions (RIA) and Coordination and Support Actions (CSA). Projects should contribute to evidence-based policy recommendations and solutions, selecting either Focus 1 (AI integration and strategic foresight) or Focus 2 (cultural tourism as a catalyst for sustainable local development). Partnerships with non-EU countries are encouraged, and the funding is provided as a lump sum grant. The call targets a wide range of stakeholders, including researchers, policymakers, businesses, NGOs, and local communities, to co-create sustainable and inclusive cultural tourism models. The application process is a single-stage submission, with varying budgets and indicative numbers of grants for different topics within the call.