European Charter for Sustainable Tourism – 12th Network Meeting

Every two years, the EUROPARC Sustainble Tourism Network comes together to share best practice, learn and connect with peers. This year, the network will meet in Bled, Slovenia.

Visitor monitoring in Protected Areas

• 16 – 18 May (Arrival on the 15th, departure on the 19th)
• Infocenter Triglavska Roža Bled, Ljubljanska cesta 27, 4260 Bled, Slovenia

Managing visitors in Protected Areas is becoming more and more complex. Visitor numbers seem to be growing unlimitedly all over Europe, as well as the number of new recreational forms, that irrupt season after season. This rise in visitor numbers and activities takes a toll not only on the natural environment, but also on the local communities and visitors’ own experience.

Protected Areas managers are confronted with the challenging decision of how to best protect the natural environment while not compromising the visitor experience. Thus, good visitor monitoring systems and tools, – both in terms of quality and quantity – are essential for making sound decisions on visitor management.

Moreover, we will have the opportunity to discover directly from the field how unique Slovenia’s National Park and oldest Biosphere Reserve in the country is managing the rapid and dramatic rise in visitor numbers. In the space of eight years, visitation in Triglav National Park has increased more than five-fold, which has created several environmental, nature conservation, and sociological issues.

Besides, there will be plenty of opportunities to network and share experiences, learn from each other, and get new ideas to take back to your areas, including an “open mic” session, in which you can bring a 5 minutes presentation of your project, ideas for projects, looking for partners, or just raising general sustainable tourism questions you want advice on from the audience.

Furthermore, we will have the unique opportunity to understand how transboundary cooperation is made possible regarding managing visitors and many other topics between the Triglav National Park (SLO) and Parco Naturale Prealpi Giulie (IT) in the Transboundary Ecoregion Julian Alps, a Transboundary Sustainable Destination.

Download the full programme here

Practical information

Bled is generally relatively easy to reach with different forms of public transport. More details can be found in the programme. We encourage you to book accommodation as soon as possible, as the 18th of May is a public holiday in some countries (Ascension Day). Some information on accommodation can be found here.

• Fee: 250 Euros. This covers the participation in the whole event, including meals and field trips.
• Registration closed on the 15th of April