MED Sustainable Tourism Community (BleuTourMed)

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

Since 2019, five new territorial cooperation projects (LABELSCAPE SuSTowns, WINTER MED, INCIRCLE and DESTIMED PLUS) 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.

Main Goals:

1.     Enhancing attractiveness and tourism offer: Alternatives to mass tourism (sun and beach) taking benefit of local/regional resources: underwater heritage, culinary heritage, ecotourism in protected areas, mountains, fishing tourism, cycling tourism…

2.     Addressing tourism pressures: Reducing the impact of tourism activities (water consumption, waste generation, management of tourists flows, carrying capacity) & circular economy

3.     Strengthening planning and management practices: Measuring the sustainability and development of indicators and tools for planning. Integrated planning and management of tourism flows.