Ecotourism in Mediterranean Destinations: From Monitoring and Planning to Promotion and Policy Support
DestiMED PLUS is the next step on a journey to promote integrated planning in coastal tourism, where regional policymakers apply holistic policies that link tourism with conservation by putting in practice a concrete ICZM approach for ecotourism products in Med Protected Areas (PAs). For ecotourism to thrive, governance and legislation frameworks must be strengthened across the whole Med area. The project builds on the success of MEET and DestiMED, with the objective of supporting Med regions to strengthen the enabling conditions for ecotourism in their PAs. This includes enhancing cross-sectoral local and regional policies, improving integrated planning strategies, and providing stakeholders with effective training and tools to manage, measure, and promote ecotourism. 

DestiMED PLUS will establish a Med Ecotourism Consortium (MEC) of conservation and tourism actors from regional administrations which will work to capitalize on tools and strengthen policy frameworks for ecotourism. The MEC will allow regions to exchange best practices and develop an integrated ecotourism model for the Med that will be adopted by their territories and scaled up. Existing monitoring tools will be harmonized and an online learning platform produced, allowing local and regional authorities to measure sustainability and improve participatory governance, while also ensuring ecotourism benefits conservation in PAs located on islands and in sparsely populated areas.