LEADER 2012_Diving tourism

As the tourism industry heavily depends upon the coastal, marine related tourism constitutes an important source of income for many coastal areas. Although diving tourism was initially considered as an advantage of the tropics, it is now rapidly increasing in the Mediterranean coasts, which are supposed to be a leading tourist destination of the world and consequently one of the most seriously affected regions by tourism. According to this point of view, diving tourism directly depends on the increasing demand for ecological quality. Although recreational marine activities, such as snorkelling and SCUBA diving are considered to be environmental friendly forms of eco-tourism, several studies have pointed out that once intensive and uncontrolled they can have a negative cumulative impact on the marine ecosystem. The aim of the project is to promote diving tourism in combination with marine conservation mainly in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and sustainable coastal development. In order to achieve this goal the project will benefit from the following: 1) cooperation with partners where diving tourism is well established, 2) exchange of knowledge and best practice related to diving tourism and sustainable management actions , 3) collaboration with a variety of representatives from different countries

The Greek coastline covers approximately 16500 km, and is comprised of more than 9,800 islands and rock islets that are scattered around the Greek archipelagoes. As a result of the geographic position, alongside with the topography and bathymetry of the seascape, the complexity and length of the coastline, and a great variety of physico-chemical features, the Greek Seas host a rich marine biodiversity, both in terms of number of species and types of habitats. Moreover, the Greek Seas are characterized by a high level of water clarity, high geomorphologic complexity, mild Mediterranean climate and quite safe swimming conditions. In Greece there are two large National Marine Parks and more than one hundred ‘Sites of Community Importance’ (SCI) of the Greek NATURA 2000 Network (92/43/EEC), which comprise marine areas. Many of these environmentally important sites already support several tourist activities, including SCUBA diving and snorkelling, and are therefore annually visited by an increasing number of tourists. A different type of potential MPAs in Greece includes four artificial reefs, two in the N. Aegean (Gulf of Ierissos, and Fanari at Rodopi prefecture), one in S. Aegean (Kalymnos Island); and one in the Ionian Sea (Preveza prefecture). All these characteristics offer a good basis for the development of sub-aquatic tourism in the country.

The main objectives of the project are: • Study of the diving tourism status in the programme area and find out of a document of good practices • Creation of a general framework for the diving tourism, adapted to the special needs of each participating region • Creation of specific diving sites and diving routes for each participating region • To increase the awareness s of the local actors about the feasibility, the benefits and the methods for the development of the diving tourism • Train courses for local stakeholders (trainers, scuba divers, tour operators, public authorities, development agencies etc) • Dissemination widely the results of the projects • Exchange of knowledge, experiences and methods used in cooperating countries • Promotion of the participating regions with a common web site

Local Action Group, especially from the Mediteranean basin Please contact:Georgiou Ioannis, coordinator of leader local programme, georgiou@etanam.gr, +30 26820 89158

Italy, Portugal, Malta, Spain, Cyprus, France

Greek, English

Tourism

22/04/2012