8 projects from 5 different funding programs, 5 regions and 7 project beneficiaries: these are the numbers of the meeting organised on January 27th by CISP, lead partner of RESTART MED!

“Coexistence strategies with the pandemic phenomenon for the protection of the sustainable tourism economy: how to capitalize on previous design experiences with RESTART MED!” – this the meeting’s title – was part of the strategy to identify the best practices of previous projects and their replicability and chances of wider application through RESTART MED!

The beneficiaries of the selected projects - Cast, Clusteract, CROSSDEV, Emblematic, Medpearls, Medusa - and the communities involved were invited to discuss their results but above all how much their projects can still offer to local communities and what else they could realize through the upcoming activities of RESTART MED!

Interesting ideas came from both from already concluded projects and from the ones in progress, and the chance to chat with projects from very heterogeneous programmes was really stimulating for all participants. Some of the selected projects are more business oriented, such as CAST (from COSME Programme) and CLUSTERACT (financed with fishery and maritime funds); some others are more policy oriented, such as MEDUSA and EMBLEMATIC.

Such a mix led us towards the selection of a number of different results to be offered to capitalization: trainings on fund raising, environmental certifications, incentives for tour operators for the marketing of sustainable tourism products. 

It was also important to go beyond the borders of the Mediterranean and reflect, thanks to Andrea Belloni of Lazio Innova (CAST project) and Raphaela Gutty (Clusteract), about the activities in Central and Northern Europe on sustainable tourism projects. Comparing them to the experience of Gal Eolie – represented for Emblematic by Giacoma Brancato – was really interesting. During the meeting, public bodies such as Puglia Region, represented by Maria Luisa Caringella, were able to discuss with private bodies such as the Tour Operator of the Most Beautiful Villages in Italy represented by Mirta Carbone. NGOs like CISP, represented by Deborah Rezzoagli and Gianluca Falcitelli, and Med Pearls Foundation represented by Debora Sanna, could discuss with private investors such as Paolo Anselmo from the Italian Business Angels association.

A big suitcase of motivations that in the coming weeks will become an operational program for the Italian RESTART MED! area.

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