NECSTouR has been invited to present its experience on Coastal and Maritime (C&M) Tourism on the occasion of a specific roundtable, on the occasion of the External Commission Meeting of the European Committee of the Regions Commission of Natural Resources (NAT) organised in Pylos on the 24th of May.

Mrs Susana Ibáñez Rosa, General Secretary for Tourism, for the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Andalusian regional government made an intervention on behalf of NECSTouR with a special focus towards its ongoing initiatives for the definition of a sustainable management model for C&M Tourism Destinations and for the enhancement of social sustainability.

Sustainable Management Model. Through the MITOMED+ Project, NECSTouR and some of its Mediterranean Member Regions are developing a methodological tool to help the M&C tourism destinations to improve their strategies and policy planning a towards a responsible and sustainable M&C tourism.

Social Sustainability of Tourism. NECSTouR is developing a powerful initiative to cope with that issue and a a wake-up call to the cultural heritage and tourism sectors to break patterns and join forces to find real solutions that can contribute to the Social and Cultural Tourism Sustainability in Europe based on 5 principles listed in the Declaration “Better Places to Live, Better Places to Visit”.

Other Panelists who contributed to the roundtable were Ms Elena Kountoura , Minister of Tourism, Greece and Mr Linos Voskarides, Policy officer responsible for Coastal and Maritime Tourism in Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, European Commission.