Enhancing Mediterranean governance through sustainable tourism
Coordinated by Cláudia Ribeiro de Almeida, a researcher at the Centre for Research in Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being (CinTurs) at the University of Algarve, the Beyond European Sustainable Tourism Med Path – BESTMED project aims to support the process of strengthening and developing multilateral Mediterranean coordination frameworks that are able to provide joint responses to common challenges. It is funded by the Interreg MED Programme (2016-2020) – Priority axis 4: Reinforcing governance in the Mediterranean, with a budget of around three million euros.
The BESTMED project aims to harness the experience gained through other projects carried out within the Interreg Med Programme that have addressed the area of sustainable tourism. The aim is to present an integrated, sustainable plan for tourism that seeks to mitigate seasonality in the Mediterranean area by connecting coastal and inland regions.
This project aims to enhance Mediterranean governance in relation to sustainable tourism. As the researcher explains, “The major challenges we face are finding ways to mitigate seasonality and the processes related to the lack of cooperation between tourism actors in the MED area. This would include the active participation of resident communities in terms of policy development, promoting the creation of sustainable European destinations.”
BESTMED is a joint project between ten partners from eight countries – Spain, Italy, Greece, Slovenia, Croatia, France, Montenegro and Portugal – that aims to design Mediterranean governance, establishing an ideal structure through which to create better communication channels between all actors involved.
As a means through which to achieve the project’s various objectives, Cláudia Almeida summarises, “The University of Algarve’s team, which is made up of eight professors with different specialist areas, was responsible for implementing a set of activities related to developing cultural routes that allow tourists to visit and stay inland, thus enhancing the natural and cultural heritage already present in the areas targeted”.
The BESTMED project is aligned with Sustainable Development Goal number 12, “Responsible Consumption and Production”, which aims to develop and implement tools that monitor the impact of sustainable development in order to guarantee the creation of jobs and the promotion of culture and local products.
Cláudia Ribeiro de Almeida has a Bachelor’s Degreein Tourism, a Diploma of Specialised Higher Education in Marketing, a Master’s in Total Quality Management in Services, a PhD in Tourism, a Postdoc in Tourism and is a researcher for the Centre for Research in Tourism, Sustainability and Well-being (CinTurs)
