On 12 March 2025, the Spanish National Event of the WestMED Initiative took place in Madrid at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.
The event, from 9:00-14:00 CET, gathered around 56 participants from various sectors of tourism activities, from consultants, to hospitality, tour operators, service and products providers, marketing, maritime tourism businesses, recreational sectors, regional tourism authorities, and fisheries sector amongst others.
In terms of representativeness, the event was attended by stakeholders from all coastal Autonomous Communities from Spain, excluding Ceuta, Melilla and Cantabria. Most participants came from the Madrid region, but the event also gathered participants from Andalucia, Valencia, Balearic Islads, Murcia, Canary Islands, Galicia, Cataluña, Basque Country and Asturias.
The event had the objective of presenting and discussing about current and future opportunities for Blue Tourism within Spain. To steer this conversation, main initiatives and ministries were invited as speakers to present the work they are doing regarding sustainable tourism within Spain. Two projects (one funded by the EU and a national one) were also invited to showcase how they are also advancing towards these blue tourism efforts.