The Blue Tourism Initiative announces the data from the its report, Mapping Blue Tourism: Vulnerability Assessment of Mediterranean Coastal and Marine Ecosystems is now available on MapX, the interactive platform hosted by Plan Bleu.

The report is a comprehensive study, commissioned and coordinated by the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation (IUCN-Med) and conducted by the European Topic Centre for Spatial Analysis and Synthesis – University of Malaga (ETC-UMA) that contributes to the spatial assessment of the vulnerability of various Mediterranean regions to tourism activities, specifically those linked to coastal and marine areas—blue tourism. The report highlights areas of high vulnerability where tourism pressures overlap with critical biodiversity zones and protected areas. 

Through the collaboration with Plan Bleu, 16 thematic maps developed by ETC-UMA have been integrated into Plan Bleu’s Observatory, providing valuable insights into key issues such as ecosystem vulnerability, ports and marine traffic, and tourism indicators. This interactive tool will help decision-makers, researchers, and stakeholders better understand and address the impacts of tourism on the Mediterranean’s coastal and marine ecosystems.

Explore the maps here: MapX

Useful guidelines: Once on the MapX platform, simply scroll down to the “Tourism” category and open the “Blue Tourism Initiative” sub-category to visualise the maps. MapX also allows users to overlay and compare different datasets, offering a unique and dynamic way to explore geographic information.

Access the full report here.

Blue Tourism Initiative is proud to have worked alongside ETC-UMA and Plan Bleu to make this valuable resource widely available. This effort strengthens our collaboration with the UNEP/MAP-Barcelona Convention, which we aim to continue through the Blue Tourism Flagship Initiative under the Mediterranean Strategy for Sustainable Development (MSSD).