“Towards a new public-private partnership for a greener and more sustainable future” 

Among all economic activity sectors, tourism plays a key role in most of the Mediterranean economies.  

Economic data about Mediterranean tourism show the strategic importance of this sector: the Mediterranean region receives yearly 32% of international arrivals, representing one of the most important world destinations and accounting nearly the 11,4% of regional GDP. As an example, only Spain received in 2022, more than 85 million of tourists, which resulted in a creation of new 92.000 jobs and the tourism sector accounted for 12,8 of Spains’ GDP. 

It is precisely the huge economic importance of this sector for the Mediterranean economies and its environmental and social impact, which is leading the public and private sectors to discuss and take action to face main challenges in terms of sustainability.  

A new governance approach for a more sustainable tourism 

With the aim to foster private-public partnerships and enhance dialogue for a more sustainable tourist sector, this session will be the opportunity to present the “Sustainable Tourism Policy Labs”, one of the key tools to be developed by the “Dialogue4Tourism” project in the context of the Sustainable Tourism Mission of the Interreg Euro-Med program. These Labs are being conceived to effectively influence public policies at different levels for the adaptation of sustainable tourism embracing the fourfold approach of the Sustainable Tourism Mission that includes: circularity of tourism services, environmental neutrality, sustainable ecosystem services, and cultural and natural preservation of resources. 

From this starting point, and considering the institutional efforts deployed by the EU to promote sustainable tourism, the session will seek two main goals. First, to be a meeting place to discuss the main challenges, mechanisms and tools for the implementation of a greener and more sustainable tourism. Second, to offer a window of opportunity to the private Mediterranean tourism stakeholders to echo their problems and bring them to the level of governance to look for solutions.  

Topics for discussion will include the environmental impact of tourism, circularity, innovation and digitalization, strategies for the promotion of sustainable tourism, social cohesion and the relationship with communities, among others. 

By bringing together experts, private and public sector representatives, local and regional policymakers, main tourism stakeholders and representatives of the Thematic Projects of the Sustainable Tourism Mission of Interreg Euro-MED, the session will intend to promote a new collaborative framework between public and private actors at EU regional level.