Service companies in developed countries represent 70–80% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In Spain, within the service sector, tourism is the main contributor and is growing annually. This is obviously an opportunity for the country due to its benefits and economic effects but at the same time a well-structured, sustainable and competitive model for its continued development is needed in order to adopt best practices and reference innovative models from other sectors. A qualitative approach using Case Study, Grounded Theory and Delphi Method has been conducted to study the tourism sector in the city of Gandia, Valencia (Spain). Results show that a tourist destination with its different components and stakeholders involved in its value chain can be interpreted as an ecosystem and so reference ecosystem models could be adopted to boost the development of a region. Considering the results obtained, this study can contribute to the development of a tourist destination in a sustainable and innovative way.

A pan-European network of universities connected with a common goal and involving both students and professors can be a strong catalyst for the professional, economic and social development of the university environment that positively affects not only the university itself but also the other agents or actors in its ecosystem. It is also widely recognized that training and education in entrepreneurship constitutes a solid strategic tool for regional development in which both public and private institutions around the world have made large investments over the past years. The European Project EntRenew in which the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia - Spain (UPV) participates from 2019 is working in facilitating the exchange, flow and co-creation of new knowledge, enabling professors to teach transdisciplinary studies through innovative methods and stimulate synergies between universities and entrepreneurial support systems throughout Europe. Ideas-UPV, the entrepreneurial service at UPV has a large experience of 30 years promoting entrepreneurship among students and professors. It also participates in different European projects establishing networks and future collaboration opportunities. The design of entrepreneurship education programs aimed at higher education students is also a core area of the service, not only addressing business plans but also the development of entrepreneurial skills. This work analyses the current results of the EntRenew program and how this and other initiatives of Ideas-UPV have had an impact on the creation of student entrepreneurial ecosystems, fostering cooperation between the actors and establishing connections to the university environments.