The Safety of Destinations (SAFE-D) Initiative, led by UN Tourism, is a global effort to strengthen crisis preparedness, response, and recovery in destinations worldwide. The SAFE-D Europe Initiative, launched in early 2025 at the initiative of Czechia, is a direct response to this growing pattern of vulnerability. The initiative highlights the increasing frequency of crises affecting tourism, from floods, fires, and pandemics to cyberattacks, geopolitical instability, and infrastructure failure, and calls for enhanced preparedness, response, and recovery capacities among European destinations. With climate hazards intensifying and geopolitical tensions persisting, there is an urgent need to strengthen tourism crisis governance to ensure the sector’s sustainability and resilience.
The SAFE-D Europe Initiative pursues the following objectives to build safer and more resilient tourism destinations:
- Identify and support entrepreneurs, startups, MSMEs, and public-sector actors who are developing innovative solutions to enhance the safety, security, and resilience of tourism destinations across Europe.
- Crowdsource practical, scalable solutions that can help destinations strengthen their crisis preparedness, response, and recovery capabilities across all types of emergencies (climate, health, security, cyber, etc.).
- Scale and replicate successful innovations by ensuring they can be adapted to multiple European destinations (especially those that are seasonal, remote, or highly tourism-dependent).
- Encourage collaboration among public and private actors and share best practices, in line with the SAFE-D framework.
Applications are open until 31 October 2025 through this form. Applicants are invited to submit their proposals under three core categories:
- Category 1: Resilience to Natural, Climate, and Health-Related Hazards in Tourism Destinations
- Category 2: Safety, Security, and Cyber Threats for Tourists and Destinations
- Category 3: Crisis Communication and Post-Incident Response