The Ecotur Project

The latest trends in the tourist sector have led to ecotourism and active tourism becoming niches in the market which have grown considerably over the last few years.

However, established tourist-based municipalities who are participating in this project, coincide in the belief that despite the huge potential afforded by the natural and ethnographic resources all around the local countryside, the development of ecotourism carries a number of problems that hinder its growth and consolidation.

These include a lack of conservation and restoration of the island’s natural and historic heritage, a lack of signposting and background information on the routes in natural and cultural terms, the meagre choices of products and services available, and the lack of promotion of those that currently exist. These points are all quite evident, and require a clear strategy as well as a joint effort so as to implement a sustainable tourist development model though ecotourism and active tourism activities.

This project consists of getting a team of municipalities together in order to promote the conservation, management and highlighting of local natural and ethnographic heritage, through the creation of products and services related to ecotourism and active tourism in all the cooperating regions.

The municipalities shall use a holistic focus which will embrace all physical, economical, social and environmental facets in terms of developing the tourist range, from a clearly defined sustainability and conservation perspective within the natural heritage. The municipalities making up the ECO-TUR network will work together to develop a strategy to bolster ecotourism in their regions, through a specific methodology focused on optimizing the cooperation and good practices of each group member. This strategy will aim to provide the backbone for the territory as a whole by generating routes and associated activities, from the urban tourist areas to more rural and natural surroundings.

The ECO-TUR project is set in axis 4, and investment priority 6C, within the European Regional Development Funds (FEDER) framework.

Axis 4: Conserve and protect the environment and promote the efficient use of resources.

Investment priority: 6.C: Conservation, protection, promotion and development of the natural and cultural environment