Charter Award Ceremony 2016

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On the 7th December, the EUROPARC Federation will be celebrating success at the European Parliament with the 19 Sustainable Destinations that will be awarded with the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas.

The Charter Award Ceremony 2016 is kindly hosted by the Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Ramon Tremosa i Balcells, from the Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.

The ceremony will be an outstanding opportunity to look at the benefits that sustainable tourism strategies provide for people, environment and local economy within protected areas.
We will once more raise the voice of Protected Areas at the highest European institutional level, with the opportunity to share good practices and case studies from the ground.
Members of the European Parliament, representatives of the European Commission and Members of the Committee of the Regions will contribute to the debate, providing the EU perspective, with highlights on recent policy developments and upcoming priorities.

Download the complete Programmme of the Charter Award Ceremony 2016

New 11 Sustainable Destinations

From the 19 Charter areas that will be awarded, 11 have just started their path towards becoming a Sustainable Destination and 8 have renowed their commitment on working with the local stakeholders for a higher quality tourism experience, for people and nature alike.

For the first time, 2 Parks in Greece will be awarded, expanding the Charter Network to 19 countries! Also for the first time, two parks co-operating across borders with the Transboundary Parks Programme will also be awarded: the Julian Alps Transboundary Ecoregion.

Greece

Italy

Italy/Slovenia

Spain

Portugal

charter award ceremony 2016

Tzoumerka National Park, Greece, will be one of the 19 Sustainable Destinations awarded in 2016 © Tzoumerka NP, Alexandros Moliotis

8 Sustainable Destinations re-awarded

Sustainability is a long-term commitment therefore every 5 years Parks are asked to review the work implemented and re-assess their performance. For that, Parks engage in a re-evaluation process and plan the five years ahead by engaging with the local forum of stakeholders.  This year, 8 parks were successfully re-evaluated:

France

Spain

United Kingdom

charter award ceremony 2016

The Broads, recently recognised as Broads National Park, reassured their commitment with Sustainable Tourism and will be one of the 8 Parks re-awarded with the Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas © The Broads, Tom Mackie

Special Side event and Cocktail

After the Award Ceremony in the European Parliament, participants are kindly invited to attend a special side event and cocktail, organised by the Patronat de Turisme Costa Brava Girona (Catalonia, Spain). Participants will have the chance to discover the Costa Brava and Girona Pyrenees’s  nature parks and taste some of their delicacies, with a gourmet lunch.

The event will foresee the participation of the EUROPARC Federation, all Charter Parks awarded, all participants at the Award Ceremony, specialised press and NECSTouR – Network of European Regions for Competitive and Sustainable Tourism.

The side event will take place at the Delegation of the Government of Catalonia to the EU, Espai Catalunya Europa, Wetstraat 227 Rue de la Loi, 1040 Brussels.

charter-award-ceremony-2016-partners

Registrations open

The Charter Award Ceremony and the Side event are addressed to Protected Areas, local authorities, tourism experts and verifiers, partner businesses and tour operators, EU Institutions representatives, NGOs and other interested organisations. The event is free of charge but registration is mandatory. Please make your registration in this link before the 30th November.

Learn more about the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas with the brochure “Good for Parks, Good for People”.