International day of tourism: summary of the situation in the Euro-Mediterranean
Europe and the Mediterranean are the largest destination in the world. In 2023, Europe welcomed 700 million foreign arrivals (around 54.5% of all international tourist arrivals according to UN Tourism), while Mediterranean recorded more than 300 million arrival.
Tourism, a nuanced perspective
Tourism is contributing around 10% to the EU’s GDP, enhancing job creation, infrastructure development, and cultural understanding across Europe.
However, it causes significant carbon emissions (around 10% of the global emission) and overcrowded or mismanaged destinations are generating negative consequences on the territory: pressure on natural ecosystems and water, risks to human rights (labor rights, land rights, right to housing…), …
Tourism emissions are also associated with alarming distributional inequalities. Under both destination- and resident-based accounting, the 20 highest-emitting countries contribute 3/4 of the global footprint (Drivers of global tourism carbon emissions | Nature Communications 2024).
Finally, growing geopolitical tensions, cost-of-living pressures and climate-related events bring new challenges.
Will “Renegerate tourism” generate systems of transformation?
The EU Commission for Sustainable Transport and Tourism is preparing an EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy, to be adopted in 2026. “There is an urgent need not only to sustain but also regenerate, to elevate to a new level of responsibility.” declared Ramune Genzbigelyte Venturi, Policy Officer for Tourism-European Commission.
Facing long terms consequences, regenerative tourism invites all stakeholders to protect & restore ecosystems, while celebrate cultural heritage. It will require strong efforts and partnerships between policy makers, destinations and businesses.
New indicators for wellbeing ecosystems, cultural vitality and quality of life are new tools to consider tourism through a renewed lens. With a tourism sector working closely (mobility, waste management, urban planning, …), tourism could choose long-term resilience and meaningful projects instead of quick profit and harmful decisions.
In order to do, it will require to face the larger picture of ecological destruction we are living in and to speed-up and scale-up pilots such as Cool Noons and First Mile projects into ambitious systems of transformation.
Cool Noons project, enhancing thermal comfort in hot cities during summers
Since the challenges of climate change are complex, responses must be exploratory, collective, and creative. Heat waves are not inevitable, nor is the way we respond to them and protect ourselves from them.
With the Cool Noons project, we are taking action, promoting visible results, implementing lightweight solutions, and providing quick responses—such as mapping cool spaces and tactical urbanism for rapid public space modifications.
For example, in Marseille, news fountains provide easy access to drinkable water, while 9 pergolas with seats and table give possibility to rest under the shade.
Cool Noons is a leverage for long-term action, emphasizing the need to act about urban heat, and be aware of the broader context of global climate change – origins and consequences.
First Mile project, empowering SMEs to take meaningful steps toward sustainability
By focusing on concrete, actionable tactics rooted in behavioural insights, the First Mile project sought to create multiple small, smart changes combined to produce system-level effects.
The program covered eight key thematic areas: waste reduction, water and energy conservation, sustainable mobility, promotion of local products, reduction of single-use plastics, food waste reduction, and visitor flow management.
A total of 80 SMEs were selected in France, Italy, Norway, and Slovenia. Each business received financial support ranging from €6,250 to €9,750, as well as access to capacity-building workshops and personalized coaching. Each SME selected two to three behavioural tactics from a shared catalogue and adapted them to their specific operational context.
For example, Aqua d’Aia Beaulieu-sur-mer collected 383 kg floating waste during their trip, while Alta Murgia created a pedestrian map of the area’s main attraction with a result of +66% of guests choosing public transportation.