After three years of EMFAF-funded innovation, TWINNEDbySTARS officially concludes in September 2026. But while the project ends, its core achievements – Atlantic Star Adventures (ASA) and Atlantic On-board Internships (AOBI) – will continue operating independently from October 2026 onwards.

The numbers that matter:

This result would not have been possible without the commitment of our consortium partners, participating enterprises, training providers and regional stakeholders across the Outermost Regions. We also thank CINEA and the European Commission for their support through EMFAF, as well as everyone who took part in the project’s capacity-building activities and co-creation workshops.

Atlantic Star Adventures (ASA) and  Atlantic On-board Internships (AOBI) are now operating as transnational products, bringing together nautical tourism enterprises from the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and Martinique. Both have progressed from co-created ideas to live platforms, supported by dedicated branding, digital channels, cooperation agreements between participating providers and mechanisms for their ongoing maintenance and promotion.

ASA has already delivered its first Madeira–Gran Canaria crossing, and preparations are under way for a second edition.

Both products are currently attracting clients (bookings and interns) through their platforms, already generating revenue across all members.

For instance, Atlantic Star Adventures is launching its second Madeira–Canary Islands crossing this November. Following last year's success, this edition expands the experience with a new adventure: a one-week trip exploring Madeira, Porto Santo, and the Desertas Islands.

From October 2026, ASA will be managed by Nautic Ocean and AOBI by BIOSEAN, supporting participating providers and developing new opportunities.

TWINNEDbySTARS leaves behind more than a set of individual activities. It has tested a practical way of developing marine tourism initiatives across geographically distant island regions.

The approach brought together stakeholder mapping, local co-creation workshops, demand-led training, product development, market testing and cooperation agreements between enterprises. Rather than treating these steps as separate tasks, the project connected them into one process: local needs informed the training; training supported product development; and market feedback helped refine the final offer.

This provides a useful reference for other island and coastal territories seeking to develop tourism experiences that are environmentally responsible, rooted in local knowledge and designed with the businesses that will eventually deliver them.

The relationships developed with enterprises, regional authorities, universities, maritime schools, chambers of commerce and sectoral organisations provide a starting point for future cooperation beyond the project’s lifetime.

Based on the evidence gathered throughout the project, TWINNEDbySTARS identifies five policy priorities to support the future of sustainable marine tourism in the Outermost Regions:

Taken together, these priorities provide a practical basis for helping marine tourism enterprises move from promising ideas to viable, long-term activity across the Outermost Regions.

The TWINNEDbySTARS project has spotlighted its innovative eco-tourism platform at Portugal’s Nauticampo fair in Lisbon. Members of the European initiative showcased Atlantic Star Adventures to boating enthusiasts and industry stakeholders from 11–15 March 2026.

Martinique and the Canary Islands have strengthened their cooperation on the blue economy, marine ecotourism, and innovation during a pre-FIMAR 2026 meeting in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, held under the TWINNEDbySTARS project on 21 May 2026.

TWINNEDbySTARS ended its participation in FIMAR 2026 in Gran Canaria with renewed momentum for Atlantic cooperation, as the fair brought together businesses, researchers, institutions and the wider public around the blue economy, marine innovation, and ecotourism.

TWINNEDbySTARS celebrated its final Steering Committee meeting in Madeira on 15–16 July 2026. The two-day programme, held at the Commercial and Industrial Association of Funchal from the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Madeira (ACIF-CCIM), brought the project’s results, pilot products and future cooperation opportunities into focus.

Marine tourism companies Biosean Whale Watching & Marine Science and Naturalist Science & Tourism presented the results of the TWINNEDbySTARS project at the 15th Congress of the Spanish Cetacean Society from 24 to 26 September as representatives of Atlantic On-board Internships, highlighting how whale-watching can support both scientific knowledge and marine conservation.

TWINNEDbySTARS concludes in September 2026, but its public resources, project publications and product platforms remain available for anyone wishing to explore the work further.

Visit the project website to access news, publications and selected resources, or follow the links to Atlantic Star Adventures and Atlantic On-board Internships to discover the two products developed through the project.

For enterprises, education providers and other organisations interested in building on the project’s learning, the available resources may serve as a starting point for independently organised activities, subject to the relevant authorship, intellectual-property and reuse conditions.

Thank you to the enterprises, partners, trainers, public bodies and stakeholders who contributed their time, knowledge and experience throughout the project.