Urbact Tourism Friendly Cities

TOURISM-FRIENDLY CITIES is an Action Planning Network aimed at exploring how tourism can be made sustainable in medium-sized cities, reducing the negative impact on neighbourhoods and areas interested by different types of tourism and its related aspects through integrated and inclusive strategies keeping a balance between the needs of the local community, in terms of quality of life and of services available, and the promotion of sustainable urban development at environmental, social and economic level.

We are delighted to have been chosen in 2019 to take part in the Tourism Friendly Cities Project. We are one of 9 other cities chosen by Urbact to take part in the programme. Urbact is a European Funded group that helps cities to develop pragmatic solutions that are new and sustainable and that integrate economic, social and environmental urban topics.

Dun Laoghaire joins the following cities to learn and develop strategies for sustainable tourism under the Tourism Friendly Cities project.

• Genoa Italy (Lead Partner)
• Braga Portugal
• Cáceres Spain
• Druskininkai Lithuania
• Dubrovnik Croatia
• Krakow Poland
• Rovaniemi Finland
• Venice Italy

The Tourism Friendly Cities project undertakes a number of transnational meetings each year to network, share learnings and develop strategies. Due to the Covid Pandemic there has been two physical meetings taken place in Genoa in Sept 2019 and Braga, Portugal in Feb 2020. Another 3 transnational meetings have taken place online in 2020.

The meetings note’s available from the transnational meetings are attached.

As part of the programme each city puts together a ULG (Urban Local Group) to ensure local stakeholders are involved and integrated into the programme.

The Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Coastal Region has been chosen as our focus for the project. As such we have chosen the following groups to form the ULG

• Glastule Goes Green
• Irish National Sailing School
• Blackrock Business Network
• The Dublin Bay Biosphere
• Dalkey Book Festival
• Dun Laoghaire Tidy Towns Group
• Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Architects
• Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Economic Development
• Dun Laoghaire Rathdown Heritage

A roadmap has been created to set out how the ULG will proceed with their work for the project. See attached. The document also gives a lot more detail on the project and its plans.