On the 16th of November 2022, the ECO-CRUISING FU_TOUR took part at the 9th Mediterranean Tourism Forum, represented by the project coordinator Marika Mazzi Boém from X23 The Innovation Bakery. Marika participated in the debate of the 2nd session focusing on “The Islands, aircraft carriers of Mediterranean Tourism''. The Forum took place in the framework of the 16th edition of the Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders – MedaWeek Barcelona 2022, an annual conference dedicated to promoting the Mediterranean region worldwide.

The session aimed to tackle the current and future challenges for the Mediterranean region, and its islands in particular, which is becoming a bigger and bigger sustainable tourist destination and impose a shared responsibility based on the three pillars of sustainability: economic, environmental and social. The tourism of the future incorporates balanced and focused development objectives and requires a change of attitude in the entire value chain regarding destinations, tourism key players (tourism SMEs and tourism professionals), and tourists.

Among other speakers, the project coordinator participated in this discussion around the need to create environmentally friendly tourism products to introduce new consumption models, and how the ECO-CRUISING FU_TOUR project can contribute to this goal. 

The ECO-CRUISING FU_TOUR will design eco-smart cruise packages targeting Millennials and Gen Z to offer innovative routes and solutions paving the pathway towards Net-Zero for Cruise and Coastal Areas by introducing a brand-new experience for these target groups to cruising, combining smart (digital) and eco-sustainable offering.

The Mediterranean is the world's leading tourism area, with almost 400 million tourists: 32% of all international arrivals and 30% of global revenues. Together we can build a more sustainable and greener global Mediterranean destination!