Shared economy based solutions in cross-border sustainable tourism

A major territorial challenge that the CBC GR-BG region is facing, is the low competitiveness of the SMEs, including in the tourism sector. At the same time, the tourism sector is considered as rising in recent years for the CB economy. There is a lack of integrated tourist destinations with quality characteristics that satisfy the respective customer groups and the quality characteristics of the tourism sector are generally low. In addition, there is weak business access (except for Thessaloniki) to a wider market area and in particular to international markets. Therefore, our investment plan is addressing the business challenge to increase the competitiveness of two newly established enterprises by growing their productive capacity and supporting their access to new markets. The main benefits the investment is expected to bring are related to increase of exports of tourist services, increase of sales in other regions of same country and creation of new employment positions. Both partners will equally benefit from the investment and will grow and expand together. The project will help them to acquire the necessary tools in order to start and sustain a successful business. Thus the implementation of the investment plan will also help them increase sales via their newly established strategic partnership, which will produce joint tourist products.

The joint investment initiative is based on the innovative tourist trend for timesharing. The investment plan envisages that the Bulgarian company will offer timesharing opportunities for accommodation plus complementing services in line with the current trends in timesharing industry. On the other side of the border, the Greek partner will offer yacht charts (cruises) mainly using the timesharing approach both for bareboat and skippered charters. In addition, a joint product with a working tittle “Rhodope and Aegean Sea adventure” will be developed, which will offer to customers the best features of both destinations – mountain and sea tourism, which can be planned years ahead. Both partners operate in the sector of sustainable tourism and at the same time their main activities do not overlap but complement each other. The lead partner, Smart Trip LTD will do the reconstruction of an existing residential building into a holiday home for timesharing offerings, located in the village of Shiroka Laka, Smolyan municipality, Bulgaria. The partner, SP Sailing Single Member P.C., will purchase a cruise Yacht to be used to offer charter services, including via timesharing options, in the North Aegean Sea of Greece, within the aquatory/ territorial waters of the Samothraki and Thasos Islands.

The jointly developed tourist product named will also be based on the principles of timesharing. Timesharing works for many travellers, because a person gets the benefits of a high-end vacation home without the high cost of expenses and upkeep. Most timeshare ownership programs also now offer the option to exchange somebody’s timeshare for a vacation at a different resort in a different location—so a person is not tied down to the same spot year after year. The complexity of the project idea and the innovative actions proposed in this project require working in partnership and transfer of validated experience at national and cross-border level. The project was designed and will be implemented jointly by both partners. The partnership has been tailored to the project objectives. Each partner will contribute with specific competencies to the achievement of project results. The established partnership will use the principle “act and work together” not only at project level but after the investment is a fact.