The tourism industry is one of the fastest growing industries in IN, SR & NP & is therefore steadily rising in importance to national development & advancement of its people. Still, through the fast growth the industry is facing disparities in social, environmental & economic aspects which will lead to a loss of benefits now experiencing from this industry, having extreme consequences for the population.Therefore, the development of a robust ecosystem for sustainable tourism (ST) on HEI campuses & beyond academic borders to foster uni business cooperation & to enhance the awareness of the concept is key for sustainable growth. Despite this thrive of innovation, there is lack in understanding & applying ST as the concept itself as it is rather new to HEIs. HEIs need to update their physical infrastructure &upgrade&professionalize teaching capacities to be able to react to current educational trends & to develop future change makers.CESTour is designed to create awareness of the concept ST & to develop innovations through disruptive yet sustainable ideas focusing on changing the perception towards ST through a blended learning approach applied for capacity building on a local & regional level.Results & impact:• Strengthened teaching staff capacities & student skill sets through innovative teaching & learning methodologies by offering ST trainings• Modernized technical infrastructure of HEIs by creating, equipping & putting in operation the centers of excellence for ST• Enhanced HEI-business cooperation & students learning experience by developing ST Case studies, to prepare students for innovative thinking in “real life” contexts• Greater awareness & reach of high-quality training material & publications by providing access to Open Educational Resources to regional & international academic community• Extended intern. networks in ST education & innovation in national & intern. HE contexts by joint publications & organising the intern. conference