5th Conference of the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism Network in Spain and Portugal

From September 28^th to October 2^nd 2011 the V Conference of the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism (CETS) Network in Spain and Portugal took place in the Natural Park Sierra Mágina, Jaén (ES). The event was organised by EUROPARC-Spain, the Association for Rural Development Mágina and the Ministry of Environment of the Junta de Andalucía.

This Conference is an initiative of the Spanish and Portuguese parks that have been awarded with the CETs. It was created in order to facilitate communication between those involved in the Charter programme and to promote activities and networking.

More than 100 participants from different sectors involved with the Charter came to the conference. The presence of tourism enterprises and Spanish tourism authorities, both from a national (Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade) and regional (Andalusia, Canary Islands and Castilla-La Mancha) level was fantastic and highlighted the high profile of the Charter amongst tourism specialists in Spain and Portugal.

The opening of the conference was attended by Esperanza Perea, Director General for Sustainable Development of the Ministry of Environment of the Junta de Andalucía; Hermelindo Castro, President of EUROPARC-Spain; José Rubio Santoyo, President Mágina ADR; and Diego Montesinos, Mayor of Torres (Jaén). In addition, Paulo Castro addressed the attendees to express the support and recognition at this event and the work done on the Charter from the Federation on behalf of the Director, Carol Ritchie.

The workshops of the conference were also a great success as were the plenary sessions and the conclusions. The conclusions of the conference and the presentations made during the various workshops will be available shortly on the website EUROPARC-Spain.

For more information please write to Javier Gómez-Limón García