Around 100 participants from across the Mediterranean gathered in Tirana on 1–2 October 2025 for the Annual Meeting of the Sustainable Tourism Community, organised by Community4Tourism and hosted by the University of Tirana’s Faculty of Economy. The event brought together representatives from governance, thematic, and strategic projects, representatives from the Joint Secretariat, from other Thematic Missions and Associated partners to strengthen collaboration, share results, and prepare for the III MED Sustainable Tourism Convention in Barcelona (June 2026).
In the last year, 10 new Thematic and 2 Strategic Projects joined the Community, marking an important step toward expanding cooperation and innovation under the Interreg Euro-MED Sustainable Tourism Mission.
Grouped in 4 thematic clusters – Innovation & Technology Capacities, Circular Economy, Climate Change, and Nature & Biodiversity – the 22 projects took centre stage, highlighting how Mediterranean destinations are turning sustainability goals into practical action.
Smart technologies and digital tools enhance sustainable tourism by fostering collaboration, preserving heritage, and strengthening regional partnerships through co-creation and inclusive design. Circular economy in tourism is moving from concept to practice with accessible tools that reduce waste, manage plastics, and support SMEs through training, peer networks, and business support groups. Tourism is also emerging as a force for climate resilience, promoting value-based tourism, participatory planning, and nature-based solutions that encourage awareness, behaviour change, and long-term governance. At the same time, tourism and conservation are increasingly intertwined, with biodiversity mapping, agricultural heritage, and participatory design linking preservation and local economic development. Across all clusters, co-creation, participatory approach and capacity building ensure sustainability translates into daily practice.
The day ended with a focus on Integrated Coastal Zone Management.
Andrian Vaso, Environmental Expert in Marine Biology and Integrated Coastal Zone Management, presented the ICZM Practices Handbook produced by Intermediterranean Commission of the Conference of Peripheral Maritime Regions (IMC-CPMR) with the support of Plan Bleu and the University of Tirana and written by external consultants from Eco-Union, by introducing key concepts, case studies and practical applications featured in the Handbook. Then, Aspasia-Antonia Koutsopoulou from University of Thessaly presented one best practice developed in the framework of the CO-Evolve project, a project of the previous Interreg Euro-MED programming period and part of the Sustainable Tourism Community. The Practice No. 5, the Co-Evolve Sustainable Tourism Toolkit, offers indicators and methods to apply ICZM Protocol principles with a focus on monitoring and surveillance.
On the second day, participants worked in four breakout groups to connect project outputs with key challenges, explore transferability, and prepare Thematic Papers to guide the next steps. The meeting closed with updates on the Interreg Euro-MED Academy, presented by UNIMED and El Legado Andalusí, which will serve as a collaborative learning hub for sustainable tourism across the region.
Projects involved in the 4 MED Clusters:
Innovation and Technology Capacities
LIBECCIO| SustainabiLIty of tourism By EnhanCing Cooperation and dIgital transformatiOn
MedDiet Go| Med Diet identities – from territorial networking to cluster organization
SMITour| SMart Industrial Tourism in the Mediterranean
TOURISMO| TOURism Innovative and Sustainable Management of flOws
Circular Economy
GreenSET| Green and circular transformation of services in Med tourism
Loop Zone| Promoting a Circular Economy with Low Plastic Zones on Mediterranean Islands
MAST| MAking Sustainable Tourism possible
RECIRCLE MED| Supporting the implementation of blue and circular tourism in the Mediterranean
Climate Change
MED4REGEN| MEDiterranean 4 REGENerative Tourism and Culture
Nature and Biodiversity
DarkSkyTour| Development of Sustainable Astro tourism in Euro-MED Regions
ECO-SEAROUTES| Eco-nautical sea routes
MED-GIAHS| Mediterranean GIAHS sites network to promote sustainable agricultural tourism
