International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development

Ministries of Tourism and Environmental Affairs sign agreement to foster eco-tourism

News - 2017.7.5

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The agreement is inspired by the Daimiel Eco-tourism Declaration stemming from the 1st National Eco-tourism in Spain Conference held in 2016 and is based on the opinion that the National Parks Network and Biosphere Reserves Network have enormous tourism and socio-economic development potential.
The partnership provided for in the agreement will define the action programmes to be focused on various topics each year:

  1. Fostering eco-tourism through joint actions, such as promotion, consultancy and creation of ecotourism experiences at the Parador Hotels near National Parks and Biosphere Reserves
  2. Tracking of the socio-economic repercussions from eco-tourism in National Parks and Biosphere Reserves
  3. Communication and awareness actions on eco-tourism and best practices in sustainable tourism
  4. Support for the organisation of conferences, events and training for companies on eco-tourism

Eco-tourism in figures

Eco-tourism consists of travelling to a natural area to discover it, learn about it, enjoy it and explore it while appreciating and making a practical contribution to its conservation without generating impacts on the environment and positively affecting the local population. For the Government of Spain, it is a decisive tool for differentiating and diversifying the Spanish tourism offer.

Spain has the highest number of Biosphere Reserves in the world (48) and the second-highest number of Geoparks. With over 2,000 listed species and some 15 million protected hectares, 27% of the total surface area, Spain has the most protected natural spaces in Europe and the third-highest in the world after the United States and Russia.

Furthermore, over 15 million people visited the National Parks in 2016, while two million eco-tourists and over 20,000 bird-watching tourists travel to Spain every year.

Support for the promotion of nature tourism and eco-tourism is especially important in 2017, the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.