(Brussels,20December2011) AconsortiumformedbyECTAA,HOTREC,ITH,UniversitàBocconiandZN*havebeenawardedaEuropeanCommission’servicecontracttodevelopademonstrationprojecttofacilitatethecreationofaseamlessdigitalenvironmentfortourisminEuropeandenabletheintegrationofsmallerenterprisesinglobaltourismbusinessnetworks.
TheultimategoaloftheP.ICT.URISMproject,-whichwillbefundedbyDGEnterpriseandIndustry,undertheEIPprogramwithan1,95MEurosbudgetandwilllast30months-,istocatalysetheinterconnectionofsmallandmediumsizedhospitality,tourismandleisureserviceprovidersindestinationcountrieswithtravelagents,touroperatorsanddistributorsinsourcemarkets,throughthecreationofacommontechnologicalarchitectureofbusinessprocessesanddataexchangemodels.ThiswillenhancethecompetitivenessoftourismenterprisesalloverEuropeandwillhelpsmallerenterprisesbecomeinternationalbusinesspartners.Theprojectcapitalises,uponrelevantworkalreadydevelopedinSpaininordertoadaptandexpanditattheEuropeanlevel(ThinkTurandTravelOpenAppsplatform).ThemainscopewillbetocreateacommonframeworkforatechnologicaleBusinessenvironment,i.e.aframeworkforinteroperabilityamongdifferentICTsolutionsandsystems,buildingonexistingICTsystemsandstandardisationachievementsandjoiningtheminaseamlessarchitectureatEuropeanand/orinternationallevel.Thisrespondstothecurrentneedsoftourismenterprises,SMEsinparticular,andenhancestheirbusinessopportunities.Thefeasibilityofthisarchitecturewillbetestedinaseriesofpilotprojectsinvolvingbusinessesfromdestinationandsourcemarkets.Promotionalcampaignsarealsoforeseen.TheP.ICT.URISMdemonstrationprojectispartoftheCommission’seBSNpolicyinitiativetopromotethesmartuseofICTandtheintegrationofEUSMEsinglobalindustrialvaluechains,withtheobjectivetocreateaseamlesseBusinessenvironmentinEuropeandhelpSMEsbetterlinktolargerenterprises.WhilethefocusoftheseactionsremainsonSMEs,theultimatebeneficiarieswillbetheentireEuropeaneconomy.Thisinitiativeconsistsofaseriesoflarge-scaledemonstrationactions,(otherrelevantactionsarecurrentlycompletedoron-goingintheautomotive,food,fashionandthetransportandlogisticsindustry),withbroadSMEsparticipation,remarkableinvolvementofreferencenames,pan-EuropeancommonframeworksforICTsystemsandimplementationguidelines,andprospectsforbroadervalidationandmassmarketpenetrationthroughtheEuropeanstandardisationorganisationsandconsortia.Inaddition,thisdemonstrationprojectisintegratedintotheEuropeanCommission’s“ICTforTourismInitiative”,whichalsoforeseesthesettingupofaHighLevelExpertGroupandanICTandTourismPortalthatwillassisttourismbusinessesineachstepoftheirdecision-makingandbusinessprocesses.FurtherinformationontheeBSNpolicyinitiative“promotingthesmartuseofICTandtheintegrationofSMEsinglobalindustrialvaluechains”aswellastheICTforTourismInitiativecanbefoundontheEuropeanCommission’swebsite.
*ECTAAistheEuropeanassociationoftravelagentsandtouroperators;HOTREC,theEuropeanumbrellaassociationofhotels,restaurantsandcafés;ITH,InstitutoTecnológicoHotelero(SpanishHotelTechnologicalInstitute);UniversitàBocconi(Milano);andZN,aBrussels-basedcommunicationsagency.
PRESSCONTACTS:
ECTAA(projectcoordinator):PaolinaMarone,Manager,+32(0)26443450,secretariat@ectaa.org,www.ectaa.org
HOTREC:AnnaTorres,CEO,+32(0)25136323,hotrec@hotrec.eu,www.hotrec.eu
ITH:PatriciaMiralles,SeniorProjectManager,+34902110784,pmiralles@ithotelero.com,www.ithotelero.com
BOCCONI:ProfessorRodolfoBaggio,+390258365437,rodolfo.baggio@unibocconi.it,www.unibocconi.it
ZN:OlivierRase,SeniorAccountManager,+32(0)25540675,olivier@zn.be,www.zn.be