Sustainable Tourism Barcelona Meeting: Rethinking Tourism for Liveable Cities

Tourism in cities is at a turning point. The 18th Sustainable Tourism Partnership Meeting in Barcelona brought together voices from across Europe to confront a reality that is no longer avoidable: tourism, if left unmanaged, risks overwhelming the very places that make it possible. But solutions exist, and they start with rethinking governance, collaboration, and impact.

Across interactive workshops, breakout sessions, and a fully booked public debate, a recurring theme emerged: How do we move beyond fragmented actions and towards a more holistic approach to sustainable urban tourism?

At the heart of the discussions was the challenge of ensuring compatibility between actions—tourism doesn’t exist in isolation but is deeply intertwined with environmental management, economic resilience, and local identity. Cities and partners worked together to map these interdependencies, pushing beyond theoretical strategies and towards tangible, scalable solutions.

But having a strategy isn’t enough. Dissemination matters. A key takeaway from the meeting was the need to translate knowledge into impactful communication. Who are the audiences? What messages resonate? And most importantly, how do we ensure that strategies don’t remain within expert circles but reach the policymakers, businesses, and communities that shape urban tourism? Discussions centered on making dissemination more dynamic and action-driven, using tools like podcasts, webinars, and direct stakeholder engagement to move beyond static reports.

Stakeholder engagement was another critical focus. Tourism governance cannot be top-down—success depends on inclusivity. Who is missing from the conversation? This question guided the stakeholder engagement workshop, where participants identified gaps in representation, from local businesses to civil society, and explored ways to create broader, more meaningful participation.

The public debate, hosted at the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona (CCCB), encapsulated the urgency of the moment. With more than 100 attendees, it was a stark reminder that tourism is no longer just an economic sector—it is a defining force in how cities function. Discussions spanned the growing tensions of urban tourism, the risks of cities turning into museum-like spaces, and the fine line between economic dependency and overexploitation.

But one message stood out: tourists and residents are often the same people. The right to visit and the right to stay are not opposites but fundamental to the same discussion—how do we create cities that are not just attractive but also livable?

This meeting was not just about identifying challenges—it was about building pathways forward. The Sustainable Tourism Partnership of the Urban Agenda, with its Action Plan continues to push for solutions that don’t just regulate tourism but reshape its role in urban life.