“Smart Solutions – Pathways to Sustainable Tourism” was the name of the Sustainable EU Tourism panel and workshop, held on 26th and 27th of March. It brought together selected tourism destinations and policymakers to explore how data and technology can shape a more resilient and sustainable tourism sector across Europe.
Starting with a panel moderated by Urska Starc Peceny from Arctur, hosting Misa Labarile from DG Move, European Commission and Dolores Ordonez from AnySolution the gathering was focused on exchange of best practices.
Onwards, some destinations shared firsthand how their destinations are tackling sustainability through smart, data-driven strategies to inspire then all participating destinations to create twinning projects. From Dubrovnik’s visitor monitoring systems to Bruges’ use of real-time data to regulate tourism flows, and from Andalucía’s localized sustainability indicators to Ljubljana’s digital tools and activities for accessible tourism — each case study demonstrated that smart solutions are already creating meaningful change on the ground.
The central message was clear: data is essential, but destinations need better support to turn it into insight. Many DMOs struggle to access or utilize data effectively. The workshop on the second day was moderated by the experts from the D3hub project who were supporting destinations defining key aspects of the driving forces, shaping twinning initiatives inspired by discussion on best practices, designing of potential twinning ideas and initiation of twinning.
For attendees, the panel and workshop were an opportunity to learn, connect, and be inspired. They fostered a sense of shared purpose and highlighted that achieving sustainability is not only possible — it’s already underway.
