Scope of the programme

• Countries impacted: Spain, Belgium, France, Germany, The Netherlands and Italy
• Thematic axis:
  - sustainability transition,
  - digital transformation,
  - innovation support,
  - cross-border collaboration.
• Funding programme lineage (EU, national, regional): National (EU-framed initiative implemented regionally (EU-coordinated concept delivered through regional/national tourism boards)

Description of the project

• Project objective(s): design and prototype an open-ear, bone-conduction headset (“CHEERS – Choose Your Ears”) tailored to the MICE context, enabling guided tours/workshops where users must hear their surroundings (traffic, colleagues). Also make a demo of working prototypes at IBTM Barcelona and advance TRL for a manufacturable product and explore market/industrialisation pathways.
• Duration: 12 months (started spring 2024, active work extended about a year)
• Main activities:
  - Technical benchmarking against existing open-ear devices.
  - Hardware design and rapid prototyping with suppliers in Israel, Hong Kong and China.
  - Branding/website and minimal marketing within tight category caps.
  - Piloting/demos at IBTM Barcelona, kick-off and closing events (Brussels, Ghent).
  - Compliance exploration (Bluetooth qualification, patent/licensing risk review)
• Outputs:
  - +5 working prototypes showcased at IBTM.
  - A functioning product concept ready for first 1,000–2,000-unit order (pending IP risk mitigation).
  - Brand/name (CHEERS) and a basic website/promo asset

Type of application

• Single applicant: Yes
• Consortium members: No
• Subcontractor: No

Success Factors

• Quality of proposal
  - Clear, tangible hardware outcome solving an operational pain point for guided activities where situational awareness is critical.
  - Direct industry fit (MICE) and live trade-fair demonstration plan.
  - Lean collaboration with a highly skilled wireless engineer, accelerating technical problem-solving.
• Strategic fit with call priorities
• It addressed innovation in business events, safety/usability in urban environments, and deployable prototypes for immediate industry uptake (exactly what the BeFuture call sought to surface for Europe’s events ecosystem).
• Team design & resources
  - Core SME team (10 staff) led development, with the CEO investing +300 personal hours.
  - External wireless expert contributed significant specialist R&D time.
  - Coach embedded by the programme for guidance.
  - Suppliers in Israel/Hong Kong/China for fast prototyping.
• Use of support ecosystems
  - Close, human support from Tourism Flanders/Brussels (direct email/phone contact, responsive clarification).
  - Trade-fair organisers provided a platform (though booth placement/exposure was suboptimal—see challenges).

Barriers & Challenges

• Time & resource constraints
  - Rigid budgeting Excel “straight-jacket” with narrow cost categories and caps (e.g., marketing max 15%).
  - Ineligibility of own staff time, despite R&D-heavy work (CEO alone invested +300 hours unfunded).
• Lack of support ecosystem: Sought risk/production insurance (e.g., via Flanders Investment & Trade or private insurers) for the first 1,000–2,000 units, but no suitable cover for the real commercial risks (IP challenges, DOA batches) was found.

Lessons learned

• Innovation & Market Deployment: Hardware projects require risk-sharing tools. No insurer or public scheme would cover real manufacturing risks (e.g., patent claims, defective batches) so IP planning must start early. EU suppliers respond slowly; parallel prototyping outside the EU may accelerate progress.
• Stakeholder Engagement & Ecosystem Support: Direct, human support from regional tourism boards is highly valuable (Tourism Flanders/Brussels provided responsive, personalised guidance that made implementation manageable) and coaching can be useful, but only when it adds real value.
• Administrative Process & Implementation: Keep procedures simple and proportionate to the small funding amount.

This best practice is highly relevant for tourism SMEs developing tangible, innovation-intensive products, especially those in hardware. It shows how even small teams can leverage EU cascade instruments to validate concepts through rapid prototyping and trade-fair demonstrations. The approach is useful for SMEs needing early-stage, low-budget funding to build and test real prototypes while navigating market, IP, and industrialisation challenges.