Elena Kountoura partners with CLIA to host event for sustainable development of EU Cruise Destinations

Europe: Member of the European Parliament Elena Kountoura teamed up with the CLIA, the global representative body of the cruise industry, to organize a special event at the European Parliament—the event aimed to discuss ways to develop the cruise industry more sustainably. The reports suggest that the meeting aimed to create more opportunities for dialogue and discussion between European institutions, national governments, local authorities, societies, and cruise companies.

The representatives of the CLIA believe that the event will help them undertake more active policies and actions to promote the sustainable development of cruise destinations in the European Union—the meeting attendants aimed to foster more discussions and strengthen cooperation between the organizations.

The event hosted by the Members of the European Parliament, Elena Kountoura, in collaboration with the CLIA, was hosted under the theme of “Sustainable, Accessible, Inclusive Cruise Tourism- Supporting Local Communities and Destinations.” During the event, the cruise industry stakeholders discussed ways to develop their industry to prioritize the protection of the environment.

Στην ειδική εκδήλωση-ημερίδα που συνδιοργανώσαμε με την CLIA στο Ευρωκοινοβούλιο, με στόχο την συνεργασία για την βιώσιμη ανάπτυξη των προορισμών κρουαζιέρας στην Ευρωπαϊκή Ένωση. #sustainable #cruisehttps://t.co/2NtugFFYAO pic.twitter.com/yDu8C3pMxd

— Έλενα Κουντουρά (@ElenaKountoura) June 1, 2023

MEP Elena Kountoura urged the European Parliament for their intervention in the development of marine tourism in terms of sustainability. She asked the European Parliament to work towards adopting the necessary framework for achieving environmental goals and supporting island and coastal cruise destinations.

Elena took the initiative to share the update on the event on her social media account. She emphasized that they need a holistic approach to an integrated destination development model. She made these remarks following the European Green Deal, the EU policy for the blue economy and the European Agenda 2030 for sustainable tourism.

Apart from Elena Kountoura, who was one of the organizers of the special event at the European Parliament, the event was co-organized by the president of the ITRE Committee Cristian-Silviu Buşoi, the coordinator of the S&D Group in the TRAN Committee. Additionally, they were accompanied by Petar Vitanov and Josianne Cutajar, a member of both of TRAN and ITRE committees.

Kountoura attended the event in her capacity as the coordinator of LEFT in the TRAN Committee on Transport and Tourism.