The tenth edition of the Permanent Seminar of the Ecotourism Club in Spain has recovered the face-to-face attendance at the CENEAM, with a very good reception after two years in which it was held online. From 6 to 8 June, the 30 participants, all of them representatives of member organisations of this product club, worked to fine-tune the useful tools to further promote the Ecotourism product in Spain. The most important sessions were followed online by the rest of the managers of the network of destinations that are part of this club, and by the actors involved in the management of protected natural areas: tourism and environmental administrations, local business associations, nature conservation organisations, rural development groups, etc. In total, there were more than 60 participants from 14 autonomous communities.
The Seminario Permanente del Club Ecoturismo en España is an annual activity of the programme of activities of the Centro Nacional de Educación Ambiental (CENEAM) in Valsaín (Segovia). It is co-organised by the Secretary of State for Tourism, the Ecotourism in Spain Association and the Autonomous Organism of National Parks, and is a space for networking with the managers of the destinations adhering to the “Ecotourism in Spain” product. This product is one of the most sustainable ones supported by the Secretary of State for Tourism, because it is developed in protected areas, has the necessary attributes to contribute in a practical way to the conservation of biodiversity and to stop rural depopulation.
The Ecotourism Association in Spain, the managing body of this club, has presented the progress of the Club’s Strategic Plan drawn up in 2021, with the aim of improving its implementation in 2022 and adjusting the common working tools. The managers of this network of 23 Ecotourism destinations in Spain have learned how to improve the visibility of the product and its benefits. They have shared successful initiatives and good practices implemented by participating destinations such as La Gomera, Sierra Espuña, Sierra Nevada, Valle del Ambroz, or the UNESCO geoparks of Sobrarbe-Pyrenees, Las Loras, Subbéticas and Molina de Aragón-Alto Tajo.
Looking to the future, another of the topics discussed during the Seminar was the Club’s international promotion plan with Turespaña to position our country as an ecotourism destination, making known to operators and the international press the network of ecotourism destinations and experiences that they can enjoy. You have the opportunity to cooperate with Turespaña to showcase and communicate the great variety of ecotourism destinations and their best experiences. The identification of good practices in the network of destinations and companies that make up this Club will be an opportunity to show how the protected areas of Spain work in favour of sustainability, through inspiring ecotourism experiences.
