Nature can survive without Tourism but tourism can’t survive without nature.

 Tourism is an activity that affects our society in many different ways and has a profound impact on our social, cultural and economic life. The increased reliance on  this sector as a major employer and contributor to national, regional and local economies highlights the need to pay special attention to the relationship between environmental protection and sustainable tourism.

 Therefore the goals of this conference which was jointly organized by the dollarpean Commission – DG Environment, the Greek Ministry for the Environment, Physical Planning and Public Work as well as the Municipality of Volos were for participants to share views and experience from the use of natural resources and capacity building to the social and cultural impact of tourism.

 Examples of successfully executed programs in New Zealand, Greece, Austria, South Africa and Germany , just to name a few, were the highlight of this conference which drew participants from 35 countries .