Preparing cross-country research partnership: Strengthening the resilience of mountain destinations in the Alps and Caucasus

The APPEAR preparatory phase brought together the University of Innsbruck (UIBK) and Tbilisi State University (TSU) to build a sustainable academic partnership between the Alpine and Caucasus regions. The project focused on studying mountain destination resilience — examining how mountain communities in Georgia and Austria could develop resilient tourism practices in the face of growing environmental, economic, and social pressures, in line with Agenda 2030 (SDGs 8, 11, 12).

The partnership integrated sustainability sciences, development research, and social sciences into a joint research and higher education framework, directly addressing the limited capacity of Georgian research institutions to engage with applied, society-oriented research. Through the preparatory phase, the two universities jointly developed study modules, facilitated academic staff exchanges, and laid the groundwork for a full Academic Partnership proposal connecting research, policy, and practice across both mountain regions.