Barcelona, 18–19 June 2026 – The Centre of Contemporary Culture of Barcelona (CCCB) will host the 3rd edition of the MED Sustainable Tourism Convention, a leading international event bringing together around 250 participants from 18 countries to discuss and advance the transition of tourism towards more sustainable, resilient and inclusive models. Spanish Minister of Industry and Tourism Jordi Hereu; the president of the Barcelona Provincial Council, Lluïsa Moret, UN Tourism, the Joint Secretariat of the Interreg Euro-MED Programme and relevant stakeholders have confirmed their presence.
The event is organised in the framework of the Mediterranean Sustainable Tourism Community, funded by the Interreg Euro‑MED Programme and led by Barcelona Provincial Council, reinforcing Barcelona’s position as a space for reflection and leadership in sustainable tourism public policies.
Under the theme ‘Tourism transition in the Mediterranean’, the Convention features a two‑day programme combining plenary sessions, round tables and parallel sessions focused on climate change, water management, biodiversity, circular economy, destination digitalisation and the role of tourism within the Mediterranean blue economy.
The programme brings together leading experts in sustainability, climate change, tourism planning and the blue economy from universities, research centres, European networks, development agencies, tourism destinations and the 22 projects of the Sustainable Tourism Community of the Euro‑MED Programme.
The Convention will feature the keynote speech ‘Tourism transition in the Mediterranean’ delivered by Claudio Milano, researcher at the University of Barcelona and one of the most recognised academic voices in the critical analysis of tourism models in southern Europe, who will address the structural limits of the dominant tourism model in the Mediterranean and advocate for a transition towards approaches based on territorial governance, social justice and climate resilience.
The Convention will count on a strong institutional participation, including representatives from the European Commission, the Government of Spain, the Government of Catalonia and Barcelona Provincial Council.
There will also be representatives from other international organisations such as the Union for the Mediterranean, IUCN, Plan Bleu, UNIMED, NECSTouR, Adriatic Ionian Euroregion, Europarc, Westmed and CPMR
Other speakers include Virginia Fernández‑Trapa (UN Tourism), José Antonio Donaire (Barcelona City Council) Alessandra Priante (Italian National Tourism Board) Tim Fairhust (European Tourism Association).
The Convention gathers participants from 18 countries, mainly from Spain, Italy, Croatia, France and Greece, representing regional and local governments, universities, research centers, international organisations, chambers of commerce and entities specialised in tourism development.
With this third edition, the MED Sustainable Tourism Convention consolidates its role as a strategic platform for Mediterranean cooperation, aligned with European sustainability policies and committed to transforming tourism into a driver of responsible, inclusive and resilient development.
On June 17th, it will take place as a side event of the Convention the session “Advancing Sustainable Blue Tourism in the Mediterranean: Towards the MED Blue Tourism Flagship Initiative”, organised in the framework of the MED Sustainable Tourism Convention 2026 and #EUGreenWeek by IUCN Med, IDDRI, eco-union, Plan Bleu, UNEP/MAP and Barcelona Provincial Council.
The event is part of the Blue Tourism Initiative (BTI) and will serve to present the results of several pilot actions that have been carried out in Morocco, Tunisia and Lebanon.
All the information about the MED Sustainable Tourism Convention and its side event is available here
