Varna University of Management (VUM) celebrated International Black Sea Day with an innovative forum dedicated to the role of tourism in the sustainable future of the Black Sea region. The event, held on 31 October 2025 at the VUM building, brought together experts from academia, business, public institutions, and the civil sector to discuss opportunities for developing smart and sustainable maritime tourism. This was the national mentoring collaboratory within the INTERSMARTS project.
The forum in Varna focused on innovation and sustainable practices in tourism, with participants having the opportunity to learn about the INTERSMARTS innovation management platform (innoplatform.intersmarts.eu) – a digital tool for sharing knowledge and solutions between business, academia and institutions.
The event included an interactive collaboration workshop, in which participants worked on real business challenges and made over 50 proposals related to the seasonality of maritime tourism, resource management and sustainable practices. Of particular interest was the practical demonstration of zero-waste cooking, “From leftovers to gourmet,” organised by the Institute of Culinary Arts at VUM.
The event concluded with a discussion on opportunities for closer cooperation between business, academia, and local authorities in support of the blue economy and sustainable management of the Black Sea region.
👉 Find out more at https://innoplatform.intersmarts.eu/