World Tourism Day 2025: Driving Sustainable Transformation through the MED Clusters and Thematic Projects

On World Tourism Day 2025, the call is clear: sustainable tourism is essential to safeguard resources for future generations while delivering tangible benefits to communities today. Coordinated action is needed to make tourism a driver of systemic transformation

This year’s World Tourism Day celebrates the theme “Tourism and Sustainable Transformation”. It highlights tourism as a driver of positive change. Tourism is more than an economic activity. It creates jobs, fosters education, and strengthens communities. But to deliver these benefits, tourism must become greener, smarter, and more resilient.

The Sustainable Tourism Mission of the Interreg Euro-MED Programme plays a direct role in this transformation. It fosters circular tourism, promotes innovative technologies, and safeguards natural and cultural heritage so that growth goes hand in hand with sustainability. Two governance projects work together to strengthen institutions and improve regional coordination. They help stakeholders align strategies with long-term sustainability goals.

At the centre of this effort are the Mediterranean Clusters, strategic networks launched by the Community4Tourism project. The clusters focus on four key areas: Innovation, Circular Economy, Climate Change, and Nature & Biodiversity. They support knowledge sharing, develop policies, and transfer best practices to local, regional, and European levels, reaching beyond the Sustainable Tourism Community.

The MED Clusters turn dialogue between Thematic Projects into concrete action.

So far, 22 Thematic Projects have joined the Sustainable Tourism Mission. They work together to strengthen sustainable tourism and are divided as follows: