The Alps2Adriatic partnership secured 100,000 euros for a new promotional campaign on the Canadian market
The Alps2Adriatic partnership is once again among the selected initiatives in the European Travel Commission’s co-financing programme for promotional campaigns for 2026, thereby securing 100,000 euros for a joint appearance on the Canadian market. This once again confirms the visibility of the project that connects several European regions into a single tourism story, but also the importance of cross-border cooperation at a time when European tourism is increasingly turning towards sustainability, travel outside the peak season and markets with greater purchasing power. According to the officially published ETC report on the results of the programme for 2026, the campaign “Alps2Adriatic Trade Campaign – Canada” was included among the projects awarded support, ranking fourth among the six applications that met the tender conditions.
Four countries, one tourism narrative
The project brings together destinations from four countries, and this breadth is precisely one of its most important strengths. The campaign includes the Italian region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, the Slovenian destinations Julian Alps, Karst and Vipava Valley, Croatia’s Istria, namely Umag, and, for the first time in this format, Austria’s Carinthia. Such geographical and thematic connectivity offers the market what is increasingly sought after in distant outbound markets: the possibility of a multi-destination trip that combines the Alps, karst landscapes, the Adriatic coast, outdoor activities, eno-gastronomy, culture and the local way of life within a single itinerary. For Canadian travellers, especially those seeking more complex and content-rich journeys through Europe, such a model may be more attractive than the classic presentation of individual micro-destinations.
The renewed selection of the partnership comes after ETC published its report on the allocation of funds in March, and in mid-April also issued a special call for the implementation of the campaign itself on the Canadian market. In that call, ETC states that this is a B2B marketing and sales campaign aimed at tour operators and travel advisors in Canada, with the goal of strengthening the position of the Alpine-Adriatic region as a cross-border European destination and its stronger inclusion in the offer of the Canadian tourism sector. The contract value was set at 100,000 euros, while the activities are, as ETC states, also co-financed by European Union funds.
Focus on a B2B approach and the market of travellers with greater purchasing power
Compared with classic promotional campaigns aimed at end guests, this project places emphasis on the business segment of the tourism market. In practice, this means workshops, webinars, direct communication with tour operators and travel advisors, and the shaping of sales stories that partners on the Canadian market will be able to include in their own catalogues and packages. Such an approach is not accidental. In distant markets, especially when it comes to more complex travel through several countries and regions, intermediaries often play the key role in whether a destination will reach a potential guest at all.
The partners from Alps2Adriatic are targeting the segment of Canadian travellers with greater purchasing power, that is, guests who are ready to pay for experience, quality and more personalised content. This also fits into the broader direction of European tourism policies, which in recent years have increasingly placed emphasis on value per guest, and less on merely increasing the number of arrivals. In such a model, longer stays, travel outside the peak season, greater dispersion of spending, and the inclusion of local producers, guides, restaurateurs and other stakeholders who derive direct benefit from tourism are particularly valued.
Why Canada matters
The choice of Canada is not merely a formal expansion of promotional activities to yet another distant market. ETC’s latest Long-Haul Travel Barometer for 2026 shows that the interest of Canadian travellers in Europe remains significant, although it is under pressure from costs and changes in consumer behaviour. According to that research, 45 percent of surveyed Canadian travellers are still considering Europe, while at the same time price sensitivity and interest in domestic or closer trips are growing. At the same time, Canadian travellers rank safety among the most important criteria when choosing a European destination, and at the level of travel within Europe they also show a pronounced willingness to combine several countries and modes of transport. This is an important signal for projects such as Alps2Adriatic, which are not sold as a single point on the map, but as a connected area of diverse experiences.
The same ETC research also shows that Canadian travellers are inclined to plan certain parts of their trips more independently, but that a significant part of the market still uses full or partial package arrangements. That is precisely why a B2B campaign makes sense: it is not aimed only at inspiration, but also at the concrete shaping of the market offer. If tour operators and advisors receive a clear, sales-ready product, the likelihood increases that the Alpine-Adriatic region will be more visible in Canadian catalogues, recommendations and specialised travel programmes.
Sustainability, shoulder season and authentic experiences as the main selling points
The content of the campaign is clearly aligned with the priorities that have been increasingly highlighted in European tourism in recent years. ETC states in the description of its co-op programme that it supports initiatives that strengthen the perception of Europe as a sustainable, inclusive and safe destination and encourage more responsible travel. In that sense, Alps2Adriatic is not selling only landscapes and postcards, but also a certain travel model: a less burdened space, greater contact with the local community, authentic gastronomy, stays in nature, cultural content and travel outside the most crowded periods.
This is especially important for the regions included in the partnership. The Julian Alps are internationally recognised for mountain and active tourism and for a network of content that also includes the Juliana Trail, a long-distance circular trail around the Julian Alps area. The Vipava Valley and the Karst build their identity at the intersection of landscape, wine, gastronomy and slower, experiential tourism. Friuli Venezia Giulia has for years been developing a regional model that combines the coast, cities, culture and mountain zones, while Carinthia officially promotes its position on the southern side of the Alps and emphasises precisely the Alpine-Adriatic character of the area. Umag and the wider north-western Istria, meanwhile, offer a combination of the sea, sport, eno-gastronomy and proximity to several borders, making them a logical part of such a cross-border product.
A greater role for tourism businesses
One of the most important novelties of this year’s campaign is the more direct involvement of tourism businesses from all partner regions. According to the statement by the coordinators from Zavod za turizem Nova Gorica in Vipavska dolina, this dimension should enable a more concrete market entry of local providers towards the Canadian market and their connection with international partners. This is an important shift because the success of such initiatives is not measured only by the number of promotional activities or the reach of the campaign, but by whether the local sector will manage to develop sustainable business ties and turn interest into real bookings.
In practice, this means that the project should benefit not only tourist boards and promotional agencies, but also hotels, small family accommodation providers, wineries, outdoor operators, experience organisers, carriers and other business entities. For smaller destinations and smaller providers, entering international sales channels is often the most difficult step. That is why campaigns like this can have a greater effect than classic advertising: they do not create only visibility, but also market infrastructure through which the product can be sold.
Confirmation of continuity, but also a sign of more serious European competition
Although the renewed selection is in itself a positive signal, it is important to note that competition within the programme was concrete. ETC’s report shows that six applications were received for 2026, and Alps2Adriatic finished in fourth place overall among the projects that received funds. This means that the partnership was not selected automatically, but passed an evaluation of quality, strategic fit and the financial ratio of the requested support in relation to the total campaign budget. In such an environment, repeated success indicates that the project still has a clear European dimension and a recognisable developmental purpose.
ETC’s programme is otherwise conceived as a tool for encouraging transnational public-private partnerships that expand reach and increase the impact of promotion with shared resources. The total budget of the programme for 2026 is listed on ETC’s website as 350,000 euros. In that context, the support of 100,000 euros is not symbolic, but represents a significant share of the available funds and shows that ETC sees serious potential in this initiative for presenting Europe on a distant market.
What the campaign could mean for the Croatian part of the partnership
For the Croatian side, namely Umag and the wider Istrian area that is presented through this cooperation in a cross-border framework, the campaign comes at a time when there is increasingly open discussion about the need to relieve the summer peak and increase spending outside the strongest months. For years, Istria has been developing a tourism offer that does not rely only on sun and sea, but also on gastronomy, active holidays, events, sport and shorter thematic stays during a larger part of the year. In its official promotion, Umag also highlights the combination of the historic centre, sporting events, the coast and the hinterland, making it compatible with the campaign narrative focused on experience and diversity.
Additional value for the Croatian side lies in the fact that it is not appearing in isolation. In this framework, Umag is not sold only as an individual destination, but as part of a wider route that enables the tourist to combine the Adriatic, Slovenian Alpine and wine landscapes, the Italian north-east and the Austrian south in a single journey. In markets such as the Canadian one, such logic is often more effective than fragmented advertising, because it offers the guest a clearer reason for a longer trip and greater overall spending.
A European tourism image sold as a whole
Representatives of the coordinators and ETC emphasised in the published statements two messages that run through the entire project: the strength of partnership and the need for Europe to be presented in distant markets in an integrated, not fragmented, way. This is also the broader message of European tourism policy. Instead of neighbouring regions competing for the same guest at the same time, projects like this attempt to create a common story in which the differences between destinations become an advantage. Alps2Adriatic is almost a textbook example of such an approach, because it connects areas of different languages, states and identities, but with enough common features that they can be marketed as a whole.
According to the currently available information, the campaign will be implemented during 2026, while ETC’s special call for the implementation of activities on the Canadian market foresees a start in May 2026 and a duration of seven months. In other words, this is a project that will not remain at the level of a symbolic announcement about the awarded funds, but should spill over into concrete promotional and sales activities during a larger part of the year. If it succeeds in connecting the public and private sectors, taking advantage of demand for safe and more sustainable European travel, and offering the Canadian market a sufficiently clear and commercially usable product, Alps2Adriatic could confirm that cross-border cooperation in tourism is not just a politically desirable phrase, but a model that delivers measurable results.
Sources:- European Travel Commission – report on the allocation of funds in the ETC Co-op Programme 2026, with the list of selected projects and the ranking of the Alps2Adriatic Trade Campaign – Canada campaign (link)- European Travel Commission – official call for the implementation of the Travel Trade Campaign for the Alps-Adriatic Region in Canada, with the contract amount of 100,000 euros, deadlines and a description of B2B activities (link)- European Travel Commission – ETC Co-op Programme 2026 page, with a description of the objectives, total budget and support framework for promotional campaigns (link)- Turizem Nova Gorica in Vipavska dolina – statement on the renewed selection of the Alps2Adriatic partnership, the composition of the partnership, the focus of the campaign and the involvement of tourism businesses (link)- European Travel Commission – Long-Haul Travel Barometer 1/2026, data on Canadian travellers’ interest in Europe, destination selection criteria and travel planning patterns (link)- I Feel Slovenia / Julian Alps – official tourism sources on the Julian Alps and the Juliana Trail as an example of active and experiential tourism in the partner region (link)- Istra Tourist Board and Colours of Istria – official tourism sources on Umag and north-western Istria as part of the Croatian component of the partnership (link)- Visit Carinthia – official tourism source on Carinthia and its Alpine-Adriatic identity, relevant for the first inclusion of that region in the campaign (link)
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