LIFE TOUR4CLIMA

Tourism is a key economic sector in Europe, receiving 51% of all international tourist arrivals worldwide, and plays a major role in regional development and employment. However, it also contributes to approximately 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, mainly from transport, energy use and infrastructure. Despite being highly exposed to climate risks such as sea-level rise, droughts and extreme weather, tourism remains one of the least prepared sectors, hindered by governance challenges, lack of expertise, limited data and weak coordination across sectors.

LIFE TOUR4CLIMA seeks to address these gaps by making Catalonia a pilot region for testing and implementing a comprehensive, climate-resilient governance model for tourism. Led by the Catalan Tourist Board (ACT), the project builds on Catalonia’s 2023 Climate Action Plan for the Tourism Sector and aligns with the Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism. It promotes a collaborative, cross-sector approaches engaging stakeholders at regional, local and European levels.

The project strengthens governance by enhancing both horizontal (across government levels) and vertical (across private and public sectors) collaboration. Key partners will coordinate the implementation of concrete mitigation and adaptation actions. These include expanding low-emission public transport routes to tourist destinations, supporting municipalities to develop and implement adaptation plans, and working with the accommodation sector to assess climate readiness by providing tools to reduce carbon and water footprints and identifying climate vulnerabilities.

In parallel, the project will establish a permanent EU climate hub for the tourism sector, led by NECSTouR, to foster knowledge exchange, peer learning, and policy innovation across European regions. This hub will ensure that the experience and lessons from Catalonia inform broader EU-level strategies for climate adaptation and decarbonisation in tourism.

• Programme: LIFE – Climate Change sub-programme
• Duration: 01/09/2025- 31/08/2028
• Total budget: €1,931,613
• Coordinator: Catalan Tourist Board (ACT)
• Pilot region: Catalonia

• Catalan Tourist Board (ACT) – Project Coordinator
• Barcelona Provincial Council (DIBA)
• Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC)
• eco-union
• NECSTouR – Network of European Regions for Sustainable and Competitive Tourism
• Associated partners: Directorate General for Tourism (Catalonia), Catalan Office for Climate Change, CONFECAT, Catalan Campsites Federation, Camping La Ballena Alegre, Directorate General for Tourism of Andalusia.