STORIE - Enhancing the Capacities of Rural SMEs

The Erasmus+ project STORIE (2018-2020) aims to improve the competitiveness of rural businesses that operate in tourism and related sectors. STORIE will create an online learning tool and a set of guidelines to help develop skills and capacities of small rural companies in design and promotion of sustainable tourism products based on intangible cultural heritage.

Project partners are 7 organisations from 5 EU countries - Croatia, Cyprus, Hungary, Lithuania and Spain - involved in rural tourism, training, consulting, research, and association activities. The project is coordinated by Lake Velencei Development Nonprofit Company - VELENCEI (Hungary).

​Why is this important? 
 
Rural tourism supports about 1 million direct and indirect jobs in Europe. It deals with issues of depopulation of rural areas, encourages environmental conservation and enhancement, helps retain “traditional” skills; it can be a great tool for safeguarding and promoting cultural heritage and enrich the lives of enormous numbers of people.  
At the same time, there is a need for small rural businesses to become more professional in their marketing efforts, enhance cooperation and learn how to use the valuable unique resources of their region to create memorable tourism experiences. ​