On the 15th May, Cristina Nunez - NECSTouR Managing Director - was one of the speakers animating the tourism-related discussion of the 9th Smart Regions Group Meeting of the CPMR North Sea Commission while presenting the NECSTouR vision and response to support tourism face to the Covid-19 and beyond.

That session was a good opportunity for Cristina Nunez to position the recently approved NECSTouR work programme aiming at building a European recovery plan for tourism through interregional cooperation and in partnership with the industry fostering the NECSTouR sustainability values and engaging cooperation with Northern Europe Regions.

Interregional Recovey Plan

As Cristina Nunez highlighted in her intervention “accelerating the greening and digital transition of the European tourism ecosystems is at the core of our recovery plan, where we aim at transforming our tourism ecosystems while building recovery. Indeed, NECSTouR Regions are persuaded that only such behavioral change can drive to the safety and resilience of the sector”.

Therefore, NECSTouR Regions rely on good practices exchange and regular dialogue with EU Institutions and industry players through the network so that the necessary knowledge is build and joint actions are developed maximising interregional cooperation Check NECSTouR specific directory.

EU Recommendations on Tourism and Transports

She explained that the NECSTouR General Assembly, meeting the day before, welcomed the recently published European Commission communication on Travel and Tourism as we believe it is a comprehensive package with the strategic vision we share to support the recovery of our sector with a strong message aligning quality and tourism as part of the recovery of this crisis generated by the COVID-19 outbreak. The Commission calls for a roadmap to build the European tourism for tomorrow and a European Tourism Agenda 2050 within the values of sustainability, innovation and resilience that NECSTouR has been promoting in tis strategy “The 5 “S” of the Sustainable Tourism of Tomorrow”.

“We will continue our work with our regions to make possible better access to finance for the tourism ecosystems recovery as part of smart specialisation and territorial strategies” stated Cristina Nunez.

Fostering cooperation and Dialogue

Good practices and experiences from two NECSTouR territories – VisitAberdeenshire (Scotland) and West Sweden (Västra Götaland) - were presented next to the NECSTouR intervention.

This is why Cristina encouraged the members of the Smart Regions Working Group and the whole North Sea Commission of the CPMR to foster cooperation and exchange of experiences with NECSTouR to build resilience and sustainability of the European tourism sector. She remained the good cooperation for years with the CPMR mostly in the field of sustainable coastal and maritime tourism projects  in the MED area, which was captured by the meeting chairwoman who concluded that more exchange pursue in this field with NECSTouR.