The project is moving towards an open call that will offer direct support to craftspeople and artisanal SMEs.
CRAFT-TOUR is preparing to move into a more visible stage. The next major milestone will be an open call for proposals, designed to bring new craft-led ideas into the project and turn the work on paper into activity on the ground.
The date of the call will be announced on the project website, together with the deadlines and full requirements. For applicants, the structure is expected to be straightforward: the project is looking for professional craftspeople and artisanal SMEs with up to five employees that want to develop new or improved traditional products and marketing strategies.
The package on offer is clear. Selected projects will receive a lump-sum grant with full funding, plus tailored mentoring and access to a European collaboration network. This is meant to provide not just money, but the kind of support that small craft businesses often need to move from concept to implementation.
National business support organisations in Italy, Greece, Spain, Bulgaria, Finland and Estonia will help guide participants through the process, from application to delivery. That local support matters, because it makes the call more accessible and helps beneficiaries make practical use of the funding.
For the project, the open call is also a test of momentum. It will show how many artisans are ready to respond, what kinds of ideas they want to pursue and how quickly the network can move from setup to action. In that sense, it marks the moment when CRAFT-TOUR becomes more than a framework.
If the call is well received, it could give the project the concrete examples it needs to show how craft, tourism and local enterprise can work together in a realistic way. For now, it is the clearest sign that the project is beginning to gather pace.