MEDITERRANEAN ACTION PLAN

Rapport de l’Atelier sur le tourisme et le développement durable en Méditerranée
Antaly (Turquie), 17, 18 & 19 septembre 1998
Executive Summary
Context – Approach - Preparation
Tourism in the Mediterranean is of capital importance because of its present and future
impact on society, the economy and the environment in the region. The Mediterranean
Commission on Sustainable Development (MCSD) has therefore made it one of its
priority topics, with the goal of preparing recommendations inviting the various actors
concerned, and especially riparian Countries and the European Commission,
Contracting Parties to the Barcelona Convention, to promote the ways and means which
will allow for an improved harmonisation of tourism with sustainable development in
the Mediterranean.
For this purpose, the MCSD has set up a work group made up from twelve countries
(Spain, France, Monaco, Malta, Slovenia, Croatia, Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, the Lebanon,
Libya), the European Union and five NGOs (EOAEN, MIO-ECSDE, ASCAME,
EcoMediterrania, WWF). The work group met during the 2nd and 3rd MCSD meetings
(Palma in Majorca, Spain, 6th-8th May 1997; Sophia-Antipolis, France, 28th-30th
October 1997).
Then, under the lead of the task managers, Ms A. Rambla Gil (Spain) and Mr.
G. Giourgas (EOAEN), and with the scientific support of Blue Plan, two restricted
meetings (Monaco, 15th-16th December 1997; Sophia-Antipolis, 2nd-4th April 1998)
allowed the topic to be better outlined and an approach to work to be selected.
Initially, the study topic had been limited to “eco-tourism”. It was then extended to
“sustainable tourism” and in the end to “tourism and sustainable development”.
The approach to working was based on:
• Drawing up a series of issues,
• Preparing questionnaires for gathering basic information and identifying the case
studies with experts appointed by their countries, the NGO members of the MCSD,
tour operators and travel companies, hotel federations,
• Organising a workshop based on the sharing of experience and during which certain
case studies were presented and discussed,
• Drawing up proposed recommendations and initiatives at the end of the workshop
sessions.
The workshop had as its main aims:
• Identifying the main issues and conditions which could allow the best possible
harmonisation of tourism and sustainable development in the Mediterranean,
• Proposing recommendation pathways to be explored and assisting the working
group in defining the next stage of its activity.
Preparatory work for the workshop included drafting the series of issues that was later
named “Overview - Provisional Summary”, drawing up the questionnaires aimed at four
identified categories of recipients, analysing and summarising the answers, categorising
case studies and selecting those that were presented and discussed at the workshop, and
lastly defining the detailed workshop timetable.
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