EUROMED Invest project aims to develop lasting business investment and relations within the Euro-Med area to contribute to the inclusive economic development of tourism in the region

– Green tourism is one of the several priority niches identified by the EUROMED Invest project as a strategic area of investment in the Euro Mediterranean Region

– Mediterranean countries propose the creation of a common touristic brand

– In the framework of the MEDITOUR forum, the creation of a “Mediterranean Tourism Agency” was debated.

In the framework of the Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders, the 6th edition of the Mediterranean Tourism Forum (Meditour) took place in Barcelona on the 28th of November last. The forum – organized by the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount-Lebanon, ASCAME, and the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation of Barcelona – was focused this year on Lebanon, especially on Beirut, as a main cultural, intellectual and tourist centre, and a potential future ecotourism centre in the eastern Mediterranean.

The forum was organized in the framework of the EUROMED Invest project, as a “Sector Alliance Committee” for Tourism, bringing together the most representative organisations of the Euro-Mediterranean Region working on the tourism sector. This is one of the key European co-financed projects aims to stimulate private investment and economic relations in the Euro-Mediterranean area, primarily relating to five key sectors: Tourism, Transport & Logistics, Agro-food, Water & Alternative Energies and Cultural & Creative Industries. Indeed, reinvigorating the

The tourism sector in the Eastern Mediterranean is one of the project’s principal goals.

The forum has represented the most important international platform for networking in the Mediterranean region and provided an exchange of expertise and views about the latest trends in Tourism.

One of the key debates of the forum focused on the importance of establishing a Mediterranean brand to support the complementarities of the tourism sector of both Mediterranean shores. Another much-debated topic was the importance of the creation of a Mediterranean Tourism Agency. The session which tackled this issue counted on the participation of, among others, Emmanuel Noutary, Coordinator of EuroMed Invest project and General Delegate of ANIMA Investment Network, and count also on the participation of Jerónimo Pérez Casero, President of Málaga Chamber of Commerce and President of ASCAME’s Tourism Commission.

The event was inaugurated by the Lebanese Minister of Tourism, Mr Michel Pharaon; the President of ASCAME and of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture of Beirut and Mount-Lebanon, Mr Mohamed Choucair; the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Navigation of Barcelona, Mr Miquel Valls, the President of BusinessMed, Mr Jacques Sarraf and the President of the Mediterranean Franchise Federation, Mr Charles Arbid. This first session was moderated by the Managing Director of the Barcelona Tourism Board, Mr Jordi William Carnes.

The President of ASCAME, Mr Mohamed Choucair, highlighted that tourism in the Mediterranean region should increase by 80% by 2025. The president also mentioned the good prospects for the future of tourism, due to the growing interest of the region from new markets such as Asia, and especially China and India. Mohamed Choucair highly believes that in order to increase the number of tourists, the Mediterranean Region must be promoted as a whole and not as a group of countries. He adds that the collaboration among all the countries of the region is essential to create a common touristic offer and to prevent the unbalanced competition that might exist in the sector.

The Minister of Tourism of Lebanon highlighted that the number of tourists in Lebanon has increased despite the riots that took place between June and September.

Mr Rao on behalf of UNESCO highlighted the rich cultural and natural heritage of the Mediterranean Region, with 236 World Heritage sites and 56 Elements on the Intangible Heritage List. Mr Rao emphasized the efforts that UNESCO is making to safeguard and promote this heritage through its sustainable tourism programme.

The special session on Lebanon entitled “The Challenge of Tourism in the Country of Cedars” was moderated by the General Director of the Ministry of Tourism in Lebanon, Mrs Nada Sardouk. The forum counted on the participation of the President of the Lebanese Federation for Tourism Industries, Mr Pierre Achkar: The President of Beiteddine Festival, Mrs Nora Joumblatt; the President of the Municipality of Jbeil-Byblos, Mr Ziad Hawat; the President of the Association of Travel and Tourist Agents in Lebanon, Mr Jean Abboud, the Representative of Ecotourism, Mr Rafic Bazerji, the management member of the Businessmen Association in Tripoli and North, Mr Wassim el Naghi and the Office Manager of Solidere, Mrs Micheline Abi Samra.

During the session, the actions to be implemented in order to recover from the crisis of the tourist sector, which has directly affected the countries of the North and the South of the Mediterranean, as a consequence of the instability in the region, were discussed. In these countries, the tourism sector accounted for around 8.5 million jobs in direct and indirect employment (15% of total employment).

Furthermore, the aim of the sessions about the country of Cedars was to consolidate the initiatives to be undertaken by the sector, in order to maximize the efficient use of the current infrastructure and tourism regional development investment program, which will reach one trillion dollars. The main objectives of this plan, supported by the European Investment Bank (EIB), are to increase the airports capacity, to increase air fleets to 150% and to improve the tourist accommodation.

Ms Esther Martinez – acting as Chairperson of the EUROMED Invest Sector Alliance Committee for Tourism – was responsible for moderating the session on “The Future of Travel and Tourism in the Mediterranean Region – A Vision to 2025”. This highly stimulating session counted on the participation of Rodolfo Giampieri, President form the Forum of the Adriatic and Ionian Chambers of Commerce and President of Ancona Chamber of Commerce; Antonio López de Ávila, President of SEGITOUR, a State-owned Company for the Management of Innovation and Tourism Technologies in Spain and Michel Frenzel, Chairman of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

During this session, it was strongly highlighted the issue regarding the regional and local security as well as the political, economic, social and technological key factors for the tourism development.

It was also highly remarked that travel & tourism are a global key driver of socio-economic progress in the Mediterranean Region through the creation of jobs, enterprises and infrastructure development.

The special session about “The Green Tourism” allowed the participants to discuss the different strategies available and good practices regarding the green and sustainable development of tourism, as well as the role that the municipalities and the private sector should play in order to promote the change of the tourism offer in the region.

Green Tourism is one of the key priority niches identified by the EUROMED Invest project as a strategic area of investment in the Euro Mediterranean Region, with a view to promoting the sustainable growth of the sector on the northern, southern and eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

The session counted on the participation of Charles Arden-Clarke, Acting Head of 10YFP Secretariat in UNEP; Mohammad Asfour, Chair of World GBC MENA Network and Board Member of the World Green Building Council; Mary Mulvey, CEO of Ecotourism Ireland; José Guillermo Díaz, CEO of Artiem Hotels and Núria Sendrós Rius, from the Protected Natural Spaces Department, of the Generalitat de Catalunya, and representing the MEET Project.

Finally, the participants of the session regarding the Mediterranean Tourism Agency determined some of the requirements and the features that the future Mediterranean Tourism Agency would need to have. The Agency should be able to offer the entire industry, key and precise sector information, to forecast the sector trends.

The 8th edition of the Mediterranean Week of Economic Leaders gathered, during three days, more than 1300 international and regional business leaders and policymakers from the private sector, as well as policy authorities and international organizations which will discuss and analyze the Euro-Mediterranean policies, as well as the economic situation of the Mediterranean Region, highlighting the opportunities of the green economy and the sustainability, as main driving forces for the economic and social growth of the Mediterranean Region.