Rethinking evaluation in European Union-funded tourism projects: towards a practical protocol for maximising impact
通过分析31位项目相关者的访谈，发现欧盟旅游项目评估存在诊断不足、数据碎片化等问题，提出一个八步协议来改进评估，提升项目影响力。
This study examines how evaluation practices can maximise the impact of European Union (EU)-funded tourism projects by integrating Theory of Change and Principal–Agent theory within a comprehensive project cycle framework. Drawing on thematic analysis of 28 semi-structured interviews with 31 donors, programme managers, evaluators, implementers, and consultants, the research identifies persistent weaknesses across the evaluation process. Projects often begin without sufficient diagnostic groundwork or local participation, and are constrained by limited institutional capacity, fragmented data, and a focus on short-term outputs rather than long-term outcomes. These shortcomings are reinforced by compliance-driven monitoring and incentive structures that prioritise fund absorption over impact. The paper proposes an eight-step protocol to strengthen evaluation and enhance learning across the four phases of the project cycle: ex-ante, mid-term, final, and ex-post. It calls for a shift toward participatory, adaptive, and knowledge-oriented evaluation embedded within institutional practice. As the EU prepares its Sustainable Tourism Strategy and Multiannual Financial Framework 2028–2034, this framework offers timely guidance for improving accountability, governance, and the transformative potential of EU investments in tourism.