Building Greener Tourism Together: Dissemination Week in Moldova

Between 19 and 21 May 2026, the ENRICHER Hubs project team, representing nine partner universities, came together in the vibrant and picturesque city of Chișinău. Hosted by Moldova State University, the programme included a dissemination conference, project meetings, and a field visit focused on sustainable tourism.

The dissemination conference, “Green Tourism Innovation in Action”, took place on 19 May 2026 and gathered representatives from universities, businesses, entrepreneurship, and international partner organisations. The event provided a platform for exchanging practical experiences, innovative ideas, and valuable insights into sustainable tourism development.

The conference featured several key topics, including:

• University experiences in addressing business challenges
• Entrepreneurship success stories and industry perspectives
• European best practices in sustainable tourism
• Collaboration opportunities among international projects contributing to the Green Deal

The event underscored the crucial role of higher education institutions as drivers of innovation and catalysts for sustainable, place-based development. We would like to express our sincere appreciation to all speakers, participants, and partners who contributed to the success of the conference.

The second day was dedicated to project activities, including a project meeting and a workshop focused on the sustainability plan and exploitation strategy. Participants also visited the Constantin Stere University of Political and Economic Studies, where they had the opportunity to explore the institution’s newly established Green Tourism Hub.

On the third day, the programme began with a brief visit to Moldova State University’s Green Tourism Hub. Participants then had the chance to discover Moldova’s rich cultural heritage and remarkable landscapes. The group visited the scenic hills of Old Orhei, admired the breathtaking views, and explored the historic cave monastery.

The day concluded with a visit to the renowned Cricova Wine City, an extraordinary underground complex featuring more than 100 kilometres of tunnels maintained at a constant temperature of 12°C, creating a unique world beneath the earth’s surface.

About Enricher Hubs

The main objective of the ENRICHER hubs project is to accelerate the twin transition to boost the recovery of the European tourism industry by identifying skills and competence mismatches between Higher education institutions (HEIs) and the labour market in Georgia and Moldova. This will be done by improving the capacity of HEIs related to green tourism service development and experiential learning to better match industry needs of future employees.

ENRICHER hubs is a consortium of the following partner universities: Haaga-Helia University of Applied Sciences (Finland); Caucasus University (Georgia); MCI the Entrepreneurial School (Austria); University of European Political and Economic Studies (Moldova); Akaki Tsereteli State University (Georgia); Moldova State University (Moldova); University of Genoa (Italy); Comrat State University (Moldova) and Telavi State University (Georgia).