Mediterranean experience of ecotourism - Challenges and opportunities

This article presents the initiative of the Mediterranean Experience on Ecotourism (MEET), a project funded by the European Union (EU) involving eight countries in a common effort to develop a shared approach for the development of sustainable tourism in Mediterranean protected areas. This paper presents the general framework and previous cases of sustainable tourism in the Mediterranean, and explores how this initiative is facing up to the challenge of providing tourism offers that benefit local communities and are aligned with conservation objectives in the region. The project aims to define a common framework of governance for tourism planning valid in different Mediterranean realities