Santa Cruz de Tenerife 24 Mar. (Europa Press) –
The Cabildo, through Tourism of Tenerife, is organising the ‘Congress Tourism 360: towards a regenerative tourism’ to be held at the Iberostar Heritage Grand Mencey Hotel in Santa Cruz on April 3.
The official opening will be conducted by the Vice President and Tourism Councillor of the Cabildo, Lope Afonso, and the event will feature national and international specialists who will discuss innovative strategies aimed at promoting tourism grounded in environmental and social regeneration principles.
Attendance at the Congress is complimentary and open to professionals within the tourism industry, researchers, academics, entrepreneurs, and students with an interest in regenerative tourism.
Registrations can be made via the official event website, www.congresoturismo360.com, where attendees can also watch live via streaming, courtesy of the council.
Lope Afonso, the Vice President and Minister of Tourism, emphasises that this Congress will serve as a “space for reflection and action,” reaffirming the council’s commitment to tourism that not only diminishes its impact but also actively contributes to the environmental and social regeneration of our destinations.
He adds that “tourism is undoubtedly a vital economic engine,” and within institutions and the sector itself lies the potential to “transform tourism activities into a tool for positive change, capable of restoring ecosystems, empowering local communities, and achieving a balance between development and conservation.”
In his view, “a tourism that cares, restores, and contributes is the only pathway to true sustainable development.”
The CEO of Tourism of Tenerife, Dimple Melwani, points out that this Congress is part of the strategic plan devised for tourism in Tenerife, where the main focus of the entity’s actions is sustainability in its broadest sense: social, economic, and environmental.
This Congress will enable the sharing of various innovative strategies among guest experts and the sector, positioning tourism as a tool for positive change in response to current environmental, social, and technological challenges, underpinned by the principle of collaborative governance, which is essential to achieving this, whilst emphasising regenerative tourism, Melwani concludes.
PROGRAMME
The programme for the Congress will feature keynote presentations, discussion panels, and sector-specific workshops addressing topics such as technological innovation, tourism governance, and land stewardship.
Among the distinguished speakers participating will be Doug Lansky, journalist and tourism expert; Vicky Smith, founder of Earth Changers; Carolina Mendonça from the Azores Dmo; and José Díaz Montañés, CEO of Artiem Hotels and president of Thinktur.
Thus, the Congress will serve as a platform to discover the experiences of companies and strategies for implementing sustainable practices, promoting a tourism model that benefits both the environment and local communities.
The event will also provide an opportunity to deepen understanding of sustainability protocols for cetacean watching and nature activities, promoted by Tourism of Tenerife, which strengthen Tenerife’s commitment to the conservation of its natural and marine heritage, establishing it as a leader in sustainable tourism worldwide.
This initiative, funded by the European Union through the Next Generation funds as part of the Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan, is incorporated into the Tenerife Reset project within the approved programme of tourism sustainability plans overseen by the Sectorial Tourism Commission, managed by the Ministry of Tourism and Employment of the Canary Islands Government, encompassing various initiatives that support the development of competitive tourism in Tenerife, focusing on new segments and the training of the sector.
