NECSTouR Brings its Results on Fostering Sustainable Tourism in the Mediterranean Area
09/10/2019

NECSTouR Brings its Results on Fostering Sustainable Tourism in the Mediterranean Area

 

Mr Tomaso Comazzi, NECSTouR Communication and Membership Manager, presented the perspective of NECSTouR and the MITOMED+ Project with the occasion of the conference "Fostering Sustainable Tourism in the Mediterranean Region" jointly organised by Adriatic Ionian Euroregion and Arco Latino, on behalf of the Bleutourmed project, on October 9th 2019 at the Tuscany Region Delegation Office in Brussels.

Double perspective. NECSTouR brought at the same time the voice of 14 Mediterranean policy-makers (European Regions) committed to sustainability – economic, social and environmental - as a crucial driver of destination competitiveness; and of the partnership of MITOMED+ (Models of Integrated Tourism in the MEDiterranean Plus), focused on the promotion of Sustainable Tourism in the Mediterranean.

Policy mainstreaming. As Mr Comazzi stated on his intervention, both perspectives are part of the same vision: to mainstream barriers and enabling factors to Sustainable Tourism policies at the Regional level.

The results of this coordinated work presented by Mr Comazzi are the development of a set of tools - online platform for bench-marking through the use of a single system of indicators specific for C&M tourism management, a Green beach model and a Mediterranean Coastal and Maritime (C&M) Tourism Management Model - developed by MITOMED+ project and their availability for free to all those European destinations member of NECSTouR that are willing to adopt them for their policy purposes.

Recommendations. Moreover, with regards to the approval of the Multi-Financial Framework for the EU budget, Mr Comazzi presented the network's recommendations to drive a behavioural change for Mediterranean sustainable destinations through trans-regional cooperation.

Call for Action. That recommendations are in line with the Call for Action launched by NECSTouR last month to call the European Commission, the European Committee of the Regions and other Regional authorities and Tourism stakeholders for an European coordination and support action towards a more innovative and sustainable European “Visitor Economy” policy, based on the following requests:

1 A European Agenda for a Sustainable “Visitor Economy”;
2 Common Principles to build Europe a Better place to be;
3 A European Statistical Governance of the Visitor Economy;
4 Smart funding for Tourism;
5 A Pan-European dialogue to support destinations delivering the European agenda towards a sustainable Visitor economy