Project Summary

Project Summary

AIM:

Created on the continuation of the BlueTourMED project, The MED Sustainable Tourism Community is the second generation of an horizontal project aiming to find solutions for the protection and promotion of natural and cultural resources in the Mediterranean area through a coherent strategy of Community Building, Communication and Capitalisation.

What is the goal of the MED Sustainable Tourism Community?

"Despite its economic and social importance, tourism development is exerting undue pressures on natural and built environment. These pressures may threaten the quality of life of local populations, degrade the tourism assets and, by consequence, affect negatively future tourism developments. Exploiting the full potential of tourism requires an innovative approach and sustainable basis. Therefore, effective strategies and targeted integrated actions should be developed and implemented across the Mediterranean region."

Created in November 2016 within the framework of the Interreg MED Programme, the MED Sustainable Tourism Community has been renewed for a three-year period till June 2022 to make tourism a real driver for inclusive and sustainable growth. 

Since 2019, five new territorial cooperation projects have joined the Community that now gathers 22 projects co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), almost 300 organisations (public authorities, private companies, universities, NGOs and international organisations) active in 12 European-Mediterranean coastal areas. Besides, two Strategic Projects, approved in October 2019, focusing on governance of sustainable tourism will join forces with the Community. 

Role of NECSTouR:

The project partners are the Deputacion of Barcelona (DIBA), Arco Latino, the Mediterranean Universities Union (UNIMED), Plan Bleu, University of Thessaly (UTH), the Adriatic Ionian Euroregion (AIE), the Regional Development Agency of Green Karst (Slovenia) and NECSTouR.

NECSTouR permanent secretariat is one of the new partners in the community, leading the work package aiming for the capitalisation of the knowledge generated by the modular projects into tourism and cohesion policies at different level of decision (local, regional, national and European). The capitalisation will be made through cooperation events and regional working groups.

Role of NECSTouR:

STC Handbook on EU Funding

The Handbook informs public authorities and tourism stakeholders in the Mediterranean about funding opportunities for projects contributing to sustainable tourism using two of the most important EU funding instruments, the Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). They offer important funding opportunities for tourism at local and regional level. The guidance aims to inspire and advise readers to best prepare for absorbing these funds at regional and local levels.

Taxonomy Latest Updates


News and Best Practices

Get ready for the Interreg Euro-MED Academy Program on Funding Opportunities and Cooperation Mechanisms

The Interreg Euro-MED Academy Learning Programme on “Funding cooperation mechanisms and opportunities for a sustainable Mediterranean” Learning Programme aims to reflect on the future of European Territorial Cooperation and present several ways of improvement in the Mediterranean. Courses start on June 13, 2022.

WINTER MED Transnational Year-Round Tourism Strategy for Mediterranean Island Destinations

The Interreg MED WINTER MED project committed to the delivery of a Transnational Year-Round Tourism Strategy for Mediterranean Island Destinations 2021-2026, one of the most important keystones of the project.

NECSTouR showcases tourist destinations' mobility challenges and opportunites at Urban Transport workshop

During the Interreg MED Urban Transport community’s workshop in Brussels, Thomas Guillot, project officer in NECSTouR, presented our good practices from Rethymno, Hamburg and Barcelona on “Mobility challenges and opportunities for Tourist Destinations”.

MED Sustainable tourism Convention in Barcelona

The MED Sustainable tourism Convention is the occasion for the Mediterranean tourism stakeholders to debate on key topics related to Sustainable Tourism in the region. The event promotes the encounter of organisations, regions and experts of the tourism sector with different territorial cooperation projects of the MED Sustainable Tourism Community, bringing together their experiences and contributing to a more sustainable and inclusive growth in the Mediterranean region.

Register to the Interreg Euro-MED Academy course on Sustainable Tourism

On June 6, The Interreg Euro-Med Academy launches its free online learning program on "Sustainable Tourism and Mobility for the Mediterranean". Designed in the framework of the Interreg MED programme, by two international experts - Nagore Uresandi Espinosa PhD, CEO of IN2destinations, and Ioanna Pagoni, PhD in Civil & Transportation Engineer - the course will jointly address sustainable tourism and mobility issues.

Incircle Project Final Event "Tools, Finance, Opportunities and Bottlenecks Towards a Circular and Sustainable Tourism"

On June 7th, the InCircle project will hold its final event on "Tools, Finance, Opportunities and Bottlenecks Towards a Circular and Sustainable Tourism" in Barcelona at Hotel Alimara, from 9:30 until 18:00. NECSTouR has been invited to present good practices from the network.

Networking Event "LABELSCAPE: Integration of Sustainability Labels into Mediterranean Tourism Policies"

On 11th of May 10:00-14:00 CET at the Marivaux Hotel (Bd Adolphe Max 98) in Brussels, Interreg MED will host the Networking Event "LABELSCAPE: Integration of Sustainability Labels into Mediterranean Tourism Policies".

The event will consider the role of certification in developing sustainable tourism destinations and aims to help those that are interested in learning more about this topic.

 

Workshop: Sustainable Mobility Solutions for a Greener Mediterranean

The Interreg MED funded initiative Urban Transport Community (UTC) and would like to invite you to the workshop “Striving for a greener Mediterranean: Sustainable mobility solutions for a greener & better experience living and visiting the Mediterranean”, with the support of Mr.

NECSTouR advocates for coordination on data use during HERIT DATA Final Conference

The Interreg MED project HERIT DATA showcased projects results during their Final Conference held from Madrid on the 7th of April. HERIT DATA partners includes our members from Tuscany, Occitanie and Valencia region and our friends from CPMR or Avitem. NECSTouR was invited to share our opinions on HERIT DATA policy recommendations, to promote the Tourism of Tomorrow Lab.

Guidelines for the sustainability of cruising and recreational boating in the Mediterranean region

Our partner in the INTERREG MED Sustainable Tourism project, Plan Bleu, the centre of expertise for development and environment at the service of the countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea, just published its “Guidelines for the sustainability of cruising and recreational boating in the Mediterranean region”.

NECSTouR president presents our strategic actions on data monitoring during Panoramed event on costal and maritime tourism

NECSTouR President Dr. Manuel Alejandro Cardenete, deputy-minister from Andalucía Region, presented the Tourism of Tomorrow Lab and data-oriented projects in the Mediterranean area during PANORAMED high-level event on coastal and maritime tourism. It was the first public event unveiling our Handbook on How to use EU recovery funds and ERDF 2021-2027 for sustainable tourism in the Mediterranean region.

PANORAMED High-level event on Coastal and Maritime Tourism

The High-Level Event was an international and multi-stakeholder event planned and organised by the Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds of the Republic of Croatia (MRDEUF) as the leader of PANORAMED’s Work Package 5 on Coastal and Maritime Tourism, in cooperation with the Tuscany Region, a NECSTouR member, as co-leader. This event, “Better Governance for Smarter and More Resilient Tourism in the MED”, is one of PANORAMED’s WP5 major milestones and had the following main goals: