Med Pearls presents "From Alpine Pearls to Mediterranean Pearls: a replicable mediterranean tourism case"

The Destination Management Organization* (DMO from now on) Mediterranean Pearls APS, partner of the project Med Pearls ENI CBCMED 2014-2020 is a DMO for the coordinated management of all the elements that make up a Destination (attractions, access, marketing, human resources, image ). It adopts a strategic approach to link together very different entities for a better management of a destination to be created from the point of view of slow tourism. DMO Mediterranean Pearls was created from Debora Sanna's idea and supported by landscape architects, geographers, communicators, experts in tourism strategies, back in 2014 to support the creation of alliances to improve the economy, quality and range of services for sustainable tourism.

DMO Mediterranean Pearls has always been inspired by the philosophy of sustainable tourism promoted by Alpine Pearls, the well-known international cross-border cooperation based in Austria. Alpine Pearls has been a true quality brand of soft mobility vacations in the Alps for over 10 years and is now a privileged partner of Mediterranean Pearls, providing support and know-how. The Alpine Pearls network includes 19 resorts from 5 Alpine countries (Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Slovenia). These are internationally renowned resorts, frequented both in summer and winter, true little jewels in the heart of the Alps that make up an extraordinary network offering innovative proposals for a car-free vacation, with an absolute guarantee of mobility, starting with the arrival by train and bus. Once on site, mobility in the Pearls of the Alps is guaranteed by shuttles for hikers, ski buses, cab services, electric cars, bikes and e-bikes. Guest and mobility cards ensure free use of public transport and complete the service for a slow and sustainable vacation, always in total harmony with nature.

DMO Mediterranean Pearls APS has started in 2017 a memorandum of understanding with Alpine Pearls to create a project as ambitious as necessary: a long necklace of Pearls from the Alps to the European Mediterranean and South Shore, to select and thus promote only those tourist destinations that intend to work in the direction of the development of eco-friendly tourism. One of the next projects with Alpine Pearls will be to create packages that include a week on the Mediterranean and one in the Alps, a package purely naturalistic and soft mobility. The unifying trait that unites the philosophy of the Alpine Pearls with that of the Med.

Thanks to the Med Pearls ENI CBC MED project, the DMO Mediterranean Pearls will be able to promote each location that is included in the Med Pearls Network. It will promote tourism products that encourage health and fitness, wellness options and slow activities: hiking, walking and biking, light trekking, Nordic walking, horseback riding. But that's not all. With the Italian DMCs that have won the calls for tenders for the creation of tourism products in the pilot areas of Sabina Reatina and Etna Vulcano/Alcantara Valley, vacations of discovery will be organized with activities of photo-tourism, birdwatching, orienteering, environmental education, archaeological tourism, catering with organic products. Stays in places able to ensure relaxation and rest and, at the same time, the opportunity to practice hiking and walking, mountain biking, horseback riding, river navigation and sailing, to find the direct contact with nature. When proposing slow travel stays, the DMO Mediterranean Pearls acts in a way that is ecologically sustainable in the long term, economically viable, ethically and socially equitable, with the goal of minimizing environmental damage (in the short and long term) and maximizing economic benefit and guest satisfaction.

The sustainable development of the Med Pearls allows a guided process that involves comprehensive resource management to ensure profitability, while allowing for the preservation of the natural and cultural capital of the selected destinations.

* A Destination Management Organization (DMO) represent the voice of the touristic destination to potential tourists. The DMOs works with travel trade partners to provide potential travelers with information about the destination before they decide where to go on vacation.