The T4T webinar ‘Better together: Improving tourism through a collaborative approach to effective governance’ provided the perfect opportunity to learn about different case studies across Europe that have been successful in producing inclusive tourism strategies that engage residents of their respective jurisdictions.

In this seminar it was great to have the opportunity to listen to Vincent Nijs from Visit Flanders discuss the Flourishing Flanders strategy which has helped to foster increased resident participation in Flanders’ tourism sector. Vincent not only explained the benefits this strategy in creating effective bottom-up approaches that make residents feels engaged in tourism policy but also how the benefits of NECSTouR membership have helped in gaining support in developing this strategy from partners across Europe. In particular, NECSTouR membership helped this strategy through facilitating the sharing of experiences, knowledge and data at the international level in line with NECSTouR 2030 Pathway in creating a competitive and sustainable tourism industry.

Additionally, this seminar provided participants to hear from the perspectives of the Vienna Tourist Board, Dublin City Council, Gdansk Tourism Organisation and the Attika Region giving us the opportunity to learn about their fascinating approaches of implementing inclusive strategies to tourism. We would also like to extend our gratitude to Tim Fairhurst from ETOA – European tourism association in moderating this event alongside Andreea Staicu the Head of the Tourism Sector at DG MOVE and Vanguelis Panayotis, CEO of MKG Consulting for their opening and closing remarks.

The key takeaways from this webinar included:

• Tourism management is important at national and regional level, but actions are often needed and most relevant at local level.
• Collaboration with stakeholders across a jurisdiction helps to create a balanced and resilient tourism strategy.
• Working together and a willingness to be open and share experiences are crucial ingredients in creating an inclusive, balanced and effective tourism policy for a region or city.

Thank you to everyone who participated in this seminar and those who shared their experiences in the development of inclusive and collaborative governance.