Study on Identification and analysis of sustainable innovative practices in Adventure Tourism – WWF Retour vers les opportunités

Abstract:

Details about MEDUSA project (On a few lines): 

hereby proposed initiative (” Development and promotion of Mediteranenan Sustainable Adventure Tourism MEDUSA project) is led by a mix of public/private/non-non-governmental organizations across the region with proven track record in the tourism & business development field. MEDUSA will tackle these joint challenges via targeted & inter-related capacity building & cross-border interventions to develop & promote Adventure Tourism (AT) in the region.

The main results of the project are cross-border routes & itineraries, in the form of new and/or improved AT products, revealing lesser-known destinations & attracting tourists throughout the year. A long-term (LT) strategy is envisaged for the promotion & management of these destinations in a sustainable way with the participation of a wide array of stakeholders. The main beneficiaries are SMEs (Tourism Service Providers, Tour Operators (TOs), Travel Agencies, etc.), public authorities & the communities.

MEDUSA project is co-financed by the European Union under the European Neighbourhood Instrument cross-border cooperation program “Mediterranean Sea Basin” 2014-2020 (ENI CBC MED). It started on 1st September 2019 and has a duration of 36 months (until 31st August 2022). It counts on an overall budget of 3,317,314 EUR, which are co-financed at a 90% rate by the ENI CBC Med program. MEDUSA project is implemented in 5 Mediteranean countries including Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Spain and Tunisia.

Details about the benchmarking study: 

The international benchmark is organised around 4 main themes (this list is non-exhaustive, and other relevant themes could be included):

•  Effective sustainability planning
•  Maximising social & economic benefits for the local community
• Enhancing cultural heritage & reducing negative impacts to the environment,
•   Following recognised international standards for sustainability.

Description of the assignment

The Consultants’ service is expected to provide a comprehensive identification, analysis and comparison between sustainable innovative practices identified.   

The approach followed is based firstly on the development / description of the benchmarking methodology to be used in this study. The methodology developed should give a comprehensive and exhaustive analyse about the sustainable innovative practices over the world.

The consultant should give detailed information / data collected from different sources / literature as well as other sources.

Based on the benchmarking outcomes, a list of recommendations / conclusions should be provided.

In specific, the purpose is as follows:

1. To elaborate a literature review on existing studies and analysis of sustainable innovative tourism products, services and practices in the sector, identifying key variables of sustainability and good practice in the industry and providing detailed information about the four main themes mentioned above (and other themes deemed relevant);
2. To identify and analyse sustainable innovative tourism products, services and practices offered by tour operators, travel agencies and other tourism providers, including destinations, in the MED region and elsewhere, and especially within the AT segment, including detailed information about the management and operation of the services/products, stakeholders involved, resources, as well as lessons learned, amongst other variables.

Expected Result : 

RESULT Nº1: Literature review and benchmarking model validated.

RESULT Nº2: Analysis and comparison (benchmark) of sustainable innovative practices in tourism (at least 40 practices, of which minimum 50% are specific for the adventure segment), taking in consideration the four themes mentioned.

Result N°3: A list of recommendations for the development of products and services based on international sustainable recognised standards in the industry.