MISTRAL, Blue RoSES, BlueMed and WestMed organise an online workshop to identify significant research and innovation trajectories to support a sustainable and resilient post-pandemic blue tourism sector in the Mediterranean region for developing future strategic actions.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the tourism sector is facing a big crisis that could lead to a transformative change. The restrictive measures taken in many countries to manage generally the tourism sector and in particular the seaside tourist season of summer of 2020, open new scenarios on how to use the beaches and coastal areas, e.g. social distancing between umbrellas and deck chairs, booking access to free beaches, etc. This situation could facilitate the spread of new technologies among the population as well as changing the habits of tourists.
The workshop aims to verify the impact of anti Covid-19 measures on tourists’ habits and new needs and opportunities for the development of related ICT technologies. By engaging diverse key stakeholders in the area, the outcomes of the workshop will contribute to inform the policy making process, including at European Commission level. Also, they will inspire the participants to further explore new ideas and tools and to develop synergies for the benefit of the Mediterranean countries and the sector, designing a pattern to connect in a systematic way the many relevant on-going and upcoming activities.
The workshop is organised in two main sessions. On the first session, after the introductory speech on perspectives and needs for sustainable tourism in the Mediterranean, experts from different tourism sectors will address the major problems and needs that the tourism industry faced during and after the pandemic outbreak as well as any positive experiences from novel technological solutions in terms of services and products to better handle the pandemic advert effects. The second session, in the form of a panel discussion by representatives of industry, policy makers, RD&I funding institutions and academics, will further explore the outcomes of the previous session providing possible answers, innovative ideas and new business models, including relevant resources and strategies for the better design of a society more resilient to pandemic outbreaks with special focus all along the tourism value chain.
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For registrations click here.
Agenda here.
