In the past three years, the MEET project supported 25 Protected Areas (PAs) in the Mediterranean region in their sustainable tourism development and in the improvement of their ecotourism offers. Building on the knowledge, experiences and lessons learned from these PAs belonging to 10 countries of the Mediterranean (Italy, France, Spain, Jordan, Lebanon, ROWA, Malta, Cyprus, Greece and Tunisia), the MEET Network has released the “MEET Manual – A guide to discover the MEET approach”. The main objective of this manual is to provide local people, businesses, NGOs and especially protected area managers with a clear pathway to plan and improve ecotourism in their territory.

By reading this Manual you will acquire many useful tips about how to create and develop successful Mediterranean ecotourism related products and activities. Indeed, you will learn about what it takes to establish a local cluster of complementary partnerships. This will help you increase the number of visitors to your area, while conserving your protected area in a way that meets the MEET criteria and it will also make you eligible to become a partner of the MEET Network!

The Manual is the result of a process of collaboration that began in 2011 and finalized in 2015 within the framework of the Mediterranean Experience of Ecotourism — MEET Project.

About the MEET Project:

MEET Network’s mission is to improve the cooperation between Mediterranean Protected Areas in the sustainable tourism field, advocate for the sustainable management of Eco-tourism activities and help them in promoting Eco-tourism policies – including collaborations with private sector – as a tool for conservation and sustainable development.  IUCN-Med is a partner in the consortium in charge of the coordination of the Mediterranean Ecotourism Network.

This initiative was financed by the European Neighborhood Policy Instrument (ENPI-CBC Med) of the European Union and has been produced by IUCN-Med with the support of the MAVA foundation.

You can download the publication here: 

Mediterranean experience of eco-tourism : MEET manual

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