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ItalianoUpdated 23.09.2021
How can sustainable tourism be shaped in the future? Tourism destinations and research institutions from all over Europe discussed this topic yesterday at the Congress Centrum Alpbach and online at an international congress in the framework of the annual NECSTouR General Assembly, which takes place in Alpbach from 21 to 24 September.
Alpbach, 24 September 2021 - Sustainability and dialogue are two central themes of the province's new tourism strategy "The Tyrolean Way - Perspectives for Responsible Tourism Development". It is also these two themes that make up NECSTouR: A network of tourism destinations that aims to jointly promote the issue of sustainability in tourism and thus establish a competitive and sustainable tourism model in Europe. The annual general assembly of the network took place in Tyrol for the first time this year. "The fact that we were able to host the NECSTouR Annual General Meeting here this year gives us great pleasure and at the same time shows what an important role the topic of sustainability plays in Tyrolean tourism," clarifies Florian Phleps, Managing Director of the Tirol Tourist Board.
Tyrolean path to sustainability made tangible
In addition to the opportunity to present the Tyrol as a holiday destination at European level, the Tirol Tourist Board also used the event to present the Tyrolean Way, its goals and successful sustainability projects. For example, hiking with public transport (Wöffis) or the Tyrolean nature parks were presented. "With our further developed tourism strategy "The Tyrolean Way" we want to promote responsible tourism development in a balance of economic, ecological and social sustainability. Our strategy is designed as an ongoing process and the close exchange with destinations from all over Europe offered by the NECSTouR network supports us in ensuring further development in the future," says Phleps.
Lebensraum Tirol Holding, the umbrella organisation of Tirol Werbung, Agrarmarketing Tirol and Standortagentur Tirol complemented the spectrum with further sustainability projects - such as Clean Alpine Regions or the vegetable residue recycling strategy. For Josef Margreiter, Managing Director of Lebensraum Tirol Holding, the event found an ideal venue here: "Tyrol is a destination rich in tradition with a clear commitment to sustainable tourism. This makes our region ideally suited as a framework for an exchange of experiences between European regions that want to stand for forward-looking destination development. Tyrol is pursuing the goal of taking on a pioneering role in this area and becoming a model region. The exchange in the NECSTouR network serves as an important location determination on this path and a valuable source of suggestions from a highly experienced international audience of experts."
Varied programme
The network currently consists of 36 European tourism destinations and 30 members from universities and research institutes. Many of them came to Alpbach to attend the General Assembly in person. They were offered a varied programme. After the official start on Tuesday with a welcome dinner at the Böglerhof in Alpbach, the General Assembly with new elections followed the next day. In the course of this, the previous Vice-President Manuel Alejandro Cardenete Flores from the Andalusia region was elected as the new President of the NECSTouR network.
On Thursday, 23 September, the highlight of the three-day congress took place: The theme conference, which is dedicated to a different theme every year and this year's motto was "Building a better recovery towards the tourism of tomorrow". Representatives of the European Commission, UNTWO (World Tourism Organisation) and other international initiatives and destinations provided expert input and lectures. Among the keynote speakers were Valentina Superti from the European Commission and Virginia Fernandez Trapa from UNWTO. The public who could not be present on site had the opportunity to participate in the hybrid congress online. Interested people from all over the world took advantage of this opportunity for exchange and networking - there were participants from the USA, Ghana and India, among others.
NECSTouR was a "Green Meeting
But sustainability was not only the central theme of the keynote speeches, it ran through the entire event. It started with the venue: Alpbach is considered one of the first congress and conference destinations in Austria to have consistently addressed the issue of "sustainability". Certificates such as the "Austrian Eco-Label" for Green Meetings and the international "Green Globe Certification" attest to these efforts. The NECSTouR General Assembly was also certified as a Green Event, which means that numerous measures were taken to keep the ecological footprint of the event as low as possible. For example, print programmes were not used, public travel was advertised in advance and attention was paid to sustainability and regionality in the choice of accommodation and catering.
Guests on site will also have the opportunity to see for themselves what is already being done in the Tyrol in terms of sustainability. During a visit to two of the four Clean Alpine Regions (CLAR), Kufsteinerland and St. Johann, the local tourism associations will demonstrate how it is possible to implement sustainable measures at regional level.
Strong local support
The Tirol Tourist Board was supported by the Alpbachtal Tourism Association in implementing the event. The latter provided the supporting programme and showed the guests that it is possible to spend an ecologically and socially sustainable stay in Alpbach. "With the NECSTouR we already have the second European conference in our region this year. This shows us that we are attracting great international interest with the location of Alpbach, the sustainable idea of the Congress Centre and its technical possibilities, such as the impeccable live stream," says Markus Kofler, the managing director of Alpbachtal Tourismus.
Next year, by the way, the NECSTouR General Assembly will take place in Denmark. The Danish Western Coast Partnership region will host the event.
About NECSTouR
NECSTouR (Network of European Regions for Competitive and Sustainable Tourism) is a network of tourism destinations in the European Union that aims to jointly promote sustainability in tourism. Since 2007, NECSTouR has provided the necessary link between the regional government level and the European level. Currently, the network consists of 36 European tourism destinations and 30 associate members (such as universities, research institutes, etc.). More on www.necstour.eu.