AECID - Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo

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The Mediterranean area comprises the most important tourist destination in the world. The countries around the Mediterranean basin receive about a third of all international tourist arrivals, while the coastal areas alone receive a fifth of this total. In the last thirty years, the number of tourists received has multiplied threefold, from 58 million to 188 million, concentrated mostly in coastal areas.

The attraction of the Mediterranean, in comparison to other tourist destinations in the world, is mainly due to the real-world flavour of its countries and landscapes, to the quality and diversity of the facilities offered, to its accessibility and to its proximity to the main departure points of tourism from Northern Europe.

Tourism plays a vital role for the economies and societies of the Mediterranean region, not just concerning the GDP (around 5%, although in some countries this value is doubled) but also because of the proportion of the population employed directly or indirectly in this sector.

However, this high number of visitors, together with the high seasonal variation of the tourist activity in the Mediterranean, generates a negative impact on the environment and natural resources, influencing greatly on the use of the land and the consumption of water and energy, as well as on the increase in pollution and the generation of water. All of these factors contribute towards the deterioration of the particular natural and cultural wealth of the region.

Despite the increased number of tourists, in absolute terms, the Mediterranean has lost market share at a worldwide level. To maintain its privileged situation as a tourist destination, initiatives to encourage the development of a responsible tourist industry in the region must be promoted, aimed at protecting resources and respecting the environment, whilst simultaneously maintaining or increasing the quality of the tourism facilities provided.

In this respect, promoting a diversified tourism industry based on valuing the natural surroundings as a resource that must be protected, and on strengthening the cultural element, in all its varieties, is of vital importance if a competitive advantage is to be attained in relation to other tourist destinations in the world.

The actions to be developed in the framework of the Azahar Programme must focus on the following areas:

• Encouraging a tourism industry that consumes fewer natural resources.
• Promoting and developing broad-based tourist products, placed on areas of cultural, wildlife or landscape interest.
• Preventing or reducing the overconcentration of tourists and facilities for the tourism industry.
• Reinforcing local management capabilities in the tourism industry with a particular emphasis on sustainability.