IUCN Med's work in two regional initiatives focused on developing and promoting ecotourism that supports the conservation of Mediterranean protected areas were featured in a Global Sustainable Tourism Council training for tourism professionals and an international course organised by Harvard University.

IUCN has played a leading role in these two sister projects, the Mediterranean Experience of Ecotourism (MEET), financed by the European Neighborhood Policy Instrument (ENPI-CBC Med), and DestiMED, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund as part of the Interreg Med Sustainable Tourism Programme.

On 24 October, IUCN presented a case study on DestiMED and the MEET Network in a course at Harvard University Extension on Ecotourism and Sustainable Development. This course provided extensive background on the history of ecotourism, its role in the development of local economies, its connection to the global tourism trade, its role in the conservation of natural resources, and its context in key case study regions including the Mediterranean.

On November 2, IUCN presented MEET and DestiMED again during the Global Sustainable Tourism Council's (GSTC) training course for global professionals. IUCN's work was featured as a best practice case with a focus on utilizing the GSTC Destination Criteria as a tourism development and management tool.

Later in November, MEET and DestiMED were shared as examples of best practice public-private partnerships in two conferences, with IUCN presenting at the Spanish National Parks Organization (OAPN) in Tenerife and sharing perspectives with other global tourism leaders at the UNWTO Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth in Montego Bay, Jamaica.

For more information: Carla Danelutti

Photo: © Mariano Cebolla