Innovation is not only about technology and its use, but it also concerns capacities, cooperation and business models for sustainable development. In fact, following the direction of the Interreg Euro-MED programme, the main priorities useful to adopt innovation in tourism are connected to the use of smart technologies (Smarter Mediterranean Priority) to:

• Improve innovation capacities, competitiveness and internationalisation of tourism SMEs confronted with international competition in economic activities linked to tourism;
• Strengthen Smart Specialization Strategies, promote advanced technology (digitalization is now more than ever an enabler of a sustainable economy) and non-technological innovations in the tourism sector;
• Strengthen cooperation between stakeholders of the quadruple hélix in the tourism sector, considering the environmental dimension in their activities;
• Reinforce tourism as a growth sector supporting environmental and climate change initiatives and representing important job potential;
• Support new business models oriented to the generation of shared value and cultural and creative industries in a post-Covid context.

These broad targets can be achieved with activities and actions where innovative strategies, processes and approaches are applied, developing different types of solutions and tools for:

1. The development of value chains in the tourism sector and setting up transnational cooperation patterns with tourism clusters;
2. Enhancing transnational cooperation among 4 helix stakeholders in the tourism sector;
3. The implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of Research and Innovation;
4. Smart Specialisation (RIS3 strategies) in the tourism sector;
5. Skills development and capacity building of public institutions for the implementation of RIS3 strategies in the tourism sector;
6. Strengthening the competitiveness, internationalization, and sustainability of tourism SMEs, promoting technological and non- technological innovations;
7. Assisting tourism SMEs in extroversion and transnational and/or international cooperation;
8. Establishing sustainable business development practices for tourism SMEs;
9. Acceleration of technology transfer and digital transformation to be applied in the tourism sector;
10. Promoting climate-friendly innovations in tourism activities;
11. Enabling tourism SMEs to turn environmental challenges into opportunities;
12. Promoting entrepreneurship and cultural and creative industries in the tourism sector;
13. The effective change in tourism practices promoting destinations sustainability and “responsible tourism” practices;
14. The management of tourism flow during the high season;
15. A sustainable recovery of the tourism sector in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis;
16. The improvement of data collection, management, and sharing in the field of sustainable tourism;
17. The establishment of knowledge networks focused on both enabling knowledge transfer in the area of data collection and tourism research, and initiating and conducting research on topics related to innovative tourism practices.

The implementation of these targets will be evaluated and prioritised in this document with the collaboration of the projects part of the innovation cluster and with external experts involved in the 1st Annual Meeting of the Clusters.

1. Introduction and explanation of the topic covered by the MED Cluster Innovation and Technology Capacities
2. State of the art from the International, European and Mediterranean perspective
3. The projects’ approach
4. Main challenges and topics for discussion identified
5. Key documents