NECSTouR and SPEL-Turismo Lanzarote will jointly organise a two-day masterclass on 14-16 March in Lanzarote. The focus will be on the acceleration of the transition to a more sustainable tourism governance, in line with both the European Tourism Agenda 2030 and the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism targets. The masterclass will empower destination leaders by providing them with knowledge and practical tools to deliver action necessary for tackling three major common challenges: reducing seasonality, measuring tourism carbon footprint and fostering tourism’s climate action.  

Thanks to the knowledge of Sustainable Tourism experts such as Dr. Xavier Font and Dr. Anna Torres Delgado from the University of Surrey, NECSTouR DMOs will explore how to tackle seasonality through sustainable tourism experiences and how to manage sustainability data for making better evidence-informed policy and marketing decisions. NECSTouR’s Tourism of Tomorrow Lab department, represented by Ana Moniche and Daniel Iglesias, will focus on how to use sustainability data to inform policy decisions. Professor Paul Peeters from Breda University of Applied Sciences and Graeme Jackson from the Travel Foundation will present the ‘Envisioning Tourism in 2030’ report released by The Travel Foundation, Center of Expertise in Leisure, Tourism, and Hospitality , Breda University of Applied Sciences, the European Tourism Futures Institute, and the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions. Furthermore, with the support of the Travel Foundation, NECSTouR members will pursue the delivery of the NECSTouR Climate Action Plan by triggering inspiration and consequently replication. 

This event in Lanzarote is the first of a series of in-person sessions offered to the NECSTouR DMOs as part of the network’s 2030 programme, aligned to the European Year of Skills. NECSTouR focuses on reinforcing the capacity of tourism governance to take real action on climate action through collective knowledge development, pilot actions and broader interregional collaboration. The aim is to maximise impacts in territories and trigger the necessary transformation of destination models embracing sustainability.

The Masterclass is designed for Sustainability Managers, Data Managers, Policymakers of Destination Management Organisations and Tourism Authorities in Europe at the regional and local level. 

Lanzarote has been chosen for a wide range of reasons. 

• The Canary Islands have a long experience in tackling challenges related to insularity and seasonality.
• Lanzarote is a pioneer in developing sustainable tourism. The island was awarded by the Biosphere designation by the United Nations in the 1990s. 
• Lanzarote has been awarded the ‘Biosphere Responsible Tourism’ certificate and has led the Macaronesian project Ecotur_Azul, a common model for the sustainable use of the territory and the responsible use of its maritime and terrestrial resources. 
• This unique volcanic island has been an emblem of Sustainable Tourism in Europe since the approval of the Insular Plan for Spatial Planning in 1991, which represents a key instrument for the declassification of more than 200.000 tourist beds and set the basis for a model still standing today.

Together, we will offset the journey, build shared knowledge, create connections and focus on actions. Participants will be able to implement concrete ideas on their destinations towards a greener future for the tourism sector. It is crucial to network and act jointly through collective debate and responses. 

Additional information is available HERE.

NOTE TO EDITORS

NECSTouR is the Network of European Regions for Sustainable and Competitive Tourism. Based in Brussels, it develops Interregional Projects to improve Tourism Governance in Europe. Since 2007 it has undertaken a unique journey, representing today more than 70 organisations around Europe and connecting Regional Tourism Governance with European levels of government, EU financial instruments, Academic Organisations (Universities and Research Institutes) and Private Sector (Representatives of Tourism Enterprises, Associations, and Networks). For more information, visit www.necstour.eu/ and follow @NECSTouR.  

SPEL-Turismo Lanzarote  (Sociedad de Promoción Exterior de Lanzarote – SPEL) is the organisation responsible for the tourism promotion of Lanzarote. Created in 2006  as a mixed commercial entity, its corporate purposes are the promotion, development and enhancement of economic activities, especially tourism, which contributes to boosting the economic development of the island of Lanzarote. It also manages the study, research, documentation, information and dissemination of the image of Lanzarote. For more information, visit https://corporativa.turismolanzarote.com/ and follow @TurismoLZT. 

The University of Surrey is a leading university located in the Surrey town of Guildford, UK. Surrey has a world-class profile and a leading reputation in teaching and research. It offers students a diverse range of subject areas and represents a global community of ideas and people dedicated to life-changing education and research. It provides exceptional teaching and practical learning to inspire and empower students for personal and professional success. For more information, visit https://www.surrey.ac.uk/ and follow @UniOfSurrey. 

The Travel Foundation is a leading international sustainable tourism organisation dedicated to ensuring that tourism has a positive impact on destination communities. It works with governments, community groups and tourism businesses for fairer, climate-positive tourism. It aims to create a better future for tourism destinations, accelerating change towards a more balanced tourism model through advocacy, training, demonstrating good practice, and enabling collaboration between the many tourism stakeholders. For more information, visit https://www.thetravelfoundation.org.uk/ and follow @travelTF. 

Tourism of Tomorrow Lab is the new department of NECSTouR based in the Andalusia Lab. It supports regional destination managers in delivering effective decision-making based on systematic tourism sound measurement. It accompanies destinations along their journey in becoming data-driven organizations, offering an international collaborative ecosystem where DMOs professionals and data scientists solve daily tourism-measurement-related challenges hand-in-hand for then take specific actions in better measuring for policy making. For more information, visit https://necstour.eu/tourism-tomorrow-lab. 

Breda University of Applied Sciences is a medium-sized higher education institute located in The Netherlands. About 7,000 Dutch and international students from some 80 countries are studying at BUas. The university has over 55 years of experience in higher tourism education and its quality is endorsed by high scores in recognised international and national rankings. One of BUases research domains focuses on tourism. They study the challenges and opportunities of tourism, and its impacts on consumers, organizations and society. The 3 research centers in tourism are: Sustainable Tourism and Transport, Social Impacts of Tourism, and Digital Transformation of Tourism. For more information, visit https://www.buas.nl/en/research/domains/tourism

Check the Press Release HERE.  

MEDIA CONTACT

Irene Paolinelli

Network Marketing and Communication Manager

Irene.paolinelli@necstour.eu 

Ph: +32 (0) 47 14 12 314

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