Good practices

Located in Vienna’s 15th district, Boutiquehotel Stadthalle has earned global recognition for its sustainability revolution. It became the world’s first city hotel with a zero-energy balance, generating as much energy as it uses, while fully aligning with the United Nations’...

Justgood Tourism, founded in 2020 and based in Padova, Italy, is a multidisciplinary consultancy specializing in transforming tourist destinations, DMOs (Destination Management Organizations), and public bodies into proactive agents of sustainable tourism. Their mission is clear: shift the focus from...

URBAN-WASTE, funded under the EU’s Horizon 2020 program (2016–2019), tackled one of urban tourism’s thorniest challenges -- waste overflow during peak seasons, with a clever goal: shift from waste disposal to reclaiming it as a resource in other words -...

Alpine Pearls is a transnational network of Alpine destinations across Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and Italy, formed in 2006 to promote sustainable, car-free tourism. Since 2022, this cooperation operates as a European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC) to deepen eco-travel solutions....

CROSSDEV—short for Cultural Routes for Sustainable Social and Economic Development in the Mediterranean—is a European project with a mission: to turn lesser-known areas of the Mediterranean into models of sustainable tourism. Running from 2019 to 2023 and funded by the...

The Toolkit for Tourism Destination Management, developed by Etifor (a University of Padova spin-off), adapts the European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS) to offer a practical, stakeholder-driven guide for sustainable destination management. It equips local leaders with hands-on tools to monitor,...

The European Capital of Smart Tourism initiative, run by the European Commission, showcases outstanding innovation in European tourism. Each year, cities compete and share their most successful practices across four key categories: Accessibility, Sustainability, Digitalisation, and Cultural Heritage & Creativity....

The Solar Cities project, funded by the European Climate Initiative (EUKI), helps Sofia and Burgas tap into their rooftop solar potential. Its mission is to drive cleaner, greener energy while supporting Bulgaria's national climate goals. That's how it creates the...

SPARK Bulgaria is the first fully electric car–sharing service in the country. Born out of Ride Share Bulgaria EAD and launched in 2017, SPARK now operates in Sofia and Plovdiv, offering a sustainable, flexible alternative to private vehicle ownership ....

The Green Corridors project is a cross-border initiative funded by the Bulgaria–Turkey IPA CBC Programme (2007–2013). Managed by the Municipality of Burgas and Kırklareli municipality, it aims to promote natural, cultural, and historical heritage through sustainable tourism and green transport...