The Adriatic Ionian Euroregion successfully holds the XVII General Assembly and the webinar on Tourism

16 December 2020 – The XVII Annual Gereral Assembly of the Adriatic Ionian Euroregion was successfully held today. Due to the Covid-19 crisis, for the first time since the foundation of the Association in 2006, the event took place online.

President Nikola Dobroslavic, Vice Presidents Aldrin Dalipi and Marco Marsilio as well as the Secretary General Francesco Cocco led the Assembly towards a fruitful, well attended and friendly meeting. Presidents and representatives of Member Regions and Cities participated in the celebration of the many successful activities carried out in 2019 and in 2020. The occasion was useful to share experiences and information as well as to set the agenda for an ambitious future of the Association.

It will be important for both the Association, which represents Adriatic Ionian Regional and Local stakeholders at European, transnational and international level, and each single Member to seize the opportunities that are offered by the new European regional policy and in the context of the territorial cooperation and the EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region (EUSAIR).

The General Assembly renewed its commitment to further stimulating and facilitating the integrated development of the Western Balkan territories and their accession in the EU. The key actions that the Adriatic Ionian Euroregion will put forward include a stronger promotion of sustainable tourism, connectivity and infrastructures, green growth. Also, taking stock of the experiences and results achieved between 2018-2020, the Association will continue creating networking opportunities among Adriatic Ionian young people and youth organisations and will put a greater effort in communicating its actions.

Following the Assembly, the thematic webinar “Tourism in the Adriatic Ionian Euroregion and COVID-19 crisis: measures and opportunities towards sustainability” took place adressed to the member of the association and to other stakeholders of the cooperation area. The side-event was opened by AIE’s President Dobroslavic, who stressed the main challenges and possible and most relevant measures that should be taken at EU, national and regional levels in order to mitigate the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on the tourism sector.

The workshop, organised with the support of the Interreg MED Sustainable Tourism Community, saw the participation of many thematic experts, who illustrated key good practices of alternative tourism models developed by Interreg MED projects and provided the Members of the Adriatic Ionian Euroregion with a platform of lively discussion and reflection on the topic of sustainability in tourism.

Photos of the Assembly