The Torroella-Estartit-Illes Medes Destination participates in a Regenerative Tourism conference in Barcelona

The Torroella-Estartit-Illes Medes Destination participated this Friday in the ‘ Regenerative Tourism: contributing to the wellbeing of the community ‘ conference held in Barcelona . This is a meeting that seeks to inspire, share and acquire knowledge about how destinations and companies are working towards a tourism model that contributes to the well-being of the community.

This meeting is co-organized by the Department of Business and Employment with NECSTouR (the network of European regions for sustainable and competitive tourism) and is attended by more than 400 people linked to the tourism sector.

Leading institutions in sustainability

Throughout the day, the meeting had international representatives from leading destinations in sustainability issues; from committed businesses that demonstrate that the sustainable tourism model focused on generating value is economically viable; from European organizations such as the European Union , the European Commission , the European Tourism Association (ETOA), the European Travel Commission (ETC), Europa Nostra and the Travel Foundation , among others. The program of the day included presentations and discussion panels, among which the presentation on the values ​​of regenerative tourism by Anna Pollock , considered one of the most prominent voices in the reformulation of tourism, stood out. Pollock explained that “tourism has a unique responsibility to help in the processes of change and to do so it must integrate with other sectors” and predicted that “significant change will occur when we understand that we are not an industry that operates on mechanical principles but that it is a living system.”

Tourism as a solution and not a problem

The Secretary General of Business and Competitiveness of the Generalitat, Albert Castellanos , has indicated that “we want to achieve a Regenerative Tourism that not only does not generate negative externalities that we must mitigate or neutralize, but is capable of improving the environment, leaving it better than it was found.” The Director General of Tourism of the Generalitat, Marta Domènech , has stated that “Catalan tourism aspires to be the solution and not the problem. It must be seen as a lever, an ally not only to generate wealth but also to provide citizens with progress, well-being and quality of life.”