Conference
Mediterranean Sustainable Tourism Convention 2026with Diputació de Barcelona
Promoted by the Diputació de Barcelona with Interreg Euro-MED's sustainable tourism community, the convention brought the debate on the transition of tourism in the Mediterranean to the CCCB, with Speech so each attendee could follow the sessions in their own language.
The convention
The Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB) hosted the Mediterranean Sustainable Tourism Convention 2026, which brought together public officials, experts, researchers and tourism professionals from Mediterranean countries and the rest of Europe. It was the convention’s third edition, organised by the Diputació de Barcelona with the Community4Tourism partnership, as part of the Mediterranean Sustainable Tourism Community of the European Interreg Euro-MED programme.
Its theme, “Tourism transition in the Mediterranean”, summed up the starting point: climate change, pressure on resources, social tensions and shifts in demand are forcing destinations to think about tourism beyond growth. And the Mediterranean holds a natural, cultural and social diversity capable of sustaining a just transition.
The programme ran on 18 and 19 June. The first day opened with a welcome from the CCCB, the Diputació and the Interreg Euro-MED programme, and with the European Commission presenting the new EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy. The second began with an institutional session featuring Ana Herrera, Head of Tourism at the Diputació de Barcelona; Cristina Lage, Director General of Tourism at the Generalitat de Catalunya; and the Minister for Industry and Tourism, Jordi Hereu, who presented Spain’s tourism strategy for 2030.
The themes
Between the first day’s debates and the second day’s parallel sessions, the convention covered themes such as:
- The future of tourism and the role of Mediterranean cooperation
- The Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism, and how to move from theory to action
- Regeneration, biodiversity and heritage
- Water scarcity and the circular economy
- Data-driven destination management and tourism as a driver of the blue economy
Universities, research centres, European networks, development agencies, tourist destinations and the projects of Interreg Euro-MED’s sustainable tourism mission took part alongside the public administrations.
What we set up
At the CCCB we set up Speech so that such an international convention could be followed in each participant’s language. With a QR code, the sessions opened on each attendee’s own phone, with no accounts or downloads, and each person chose to hear the AI interpretation or to read the contributions live.
