BESTMED – Business Eco-Sustainable Tourism in the Mediterranean area

The overall goal of the BESTMED Business Eco-Sustainable Tourism in the Mediterranean area initiative was to support environmental sustainability of tourism by promoting the dissemination of eco-sustainable products, technologies and services in the tourist hotel sector of the concerned countries (Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Morocco, and Tunisia), and thus increasing trade and industrial partnerships and volume of investments between Euro-Med enterprises working in the areas of:

• Production and installation of equipment for sustainable management of natural resources (water and energy saving, use of renewable energy sources, water purification);
• Supply of accommodation structures and hotels;
• Environmental services (technical assistance, training and monitoring of eco-sustainable services operators).

The initiative was financed in the framework of the Invest in Med programme aimed at developing sustainable trade relationships, investments and enterprise partnerships between the two rims of the Mediterranean. Funded at 75% by the European Union over the 2008-2011 period, it has been implemented by the MedAlliance consortium, which associates economic development organisations (ANIMA, leader of the programme), CCIs (ASCAME, EUROCHAMBRES), and business federations (BUSINESSMED).