The Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry has opened a tender for studying 'tourism exchanges in Europe: enhancing employment, extending the seasonality spread, strengthening European citizenship and improving regional/local economies through the development of social tourism'.

The aim of the study, tendered on the 7th April, is to identify an appropriate mechanism for the development of social tourism at European level, the Commission intends conducting a study across all European countries interested in the project. Through the study, the contractor will be expected to examine ways and means to implement such a mechanism in each of the countries interested in participating, in collaboration with the countries involved. As a primary objective, the contractor's final report will indicate a feasible, practical mechanism to develop a structure at national level — with possible regional and local level networks/groups feeding into the national structure — that coordinates the organisational set-up favouring the sending of target groups (senior citizens, disabled adults, youths or families with special needs) on holiday in the low season in other Member States. The initiative will take place in each of the interested countries and proposed structures may vary from country to country or from one target group to another, according to the prevailing characteristics and conditions.

Proposals must be submitted before 15.6.2009 (14:30) in the Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry, Directorate I — New Approach Industries, Tourism and CSR
B100 04/028
Bruxelles/Brussel
1049 BELGIUM