Rome lights up with the future and sustainability. In the timeless setting of the
Kicking off the day was a video message from Madrid by Miguel Sanz, Director General of Turespaña, who emphasized how “Spain Talks has become in just two years a European reference point for cooperation and the formation of a more humane and regenerative tourism.” Next, Gonzalo Ceballos Watling, Director of the Spanish Tourist Board and Counselor of the Embassy of Spain in Italy, outlined the Spain 2030 strategy, which places people and territory at the center, promoting a sustainable development model based on the balance between economic growth and environmental protection.
The first panel, dedicated to “Territory, Gastronomy and Sustainability: Challenges and Opportunities for Responsible Tourism,” featured Héctor Fernández Manchado, CEO of Turismo Lanzarote, who recalled how it was precisely on the island that the First World Charter of Sustainable Tourism was signed in 1995, the basis of a global movement that in 2025, 30 years later, will return to renew itself with a new World Charter. “Lanzarote is an open-air laboratory,” he explained, “where sustainability is a cultural fact even before tourism.
At her side, Mariasole Bianco, marine biologist and TV face of the program Kilimangiaro, told about the importance of scientific outreach to protect the sea and its nature reserves, citing the virtuous example of the Restinga Reserve in El Hierro. On the side of active and conscious tourism, Gianluca Mancini, General Manager of WWF Travel, reiterated that “the traveler of the future will also have to be an environmental educator, capable of leaving a positive impact in the places he visits.”
The dialogue expanded to global issues with Piedad Martín, deputy director of the FAO Office for Climate Change and Biodiversity, who presented the Important World Agricultural Heritage Systems (SIPAMs), veritable gems of agro-ecosystems inhabited by communities living in symbiosis with nature. Spain, third in the world after Japan and China, boasts six recognized SIPAM sites, including the agricultural systems of the Jable and volcanic sandstones of Lanzarote and theHorta de València, perfect examples of how agricultural tradition can dialogue with sustainable tourism.
The second panel, “From Sustainable Tourism to Regenerative Tourism,” moderated by Simona Falasca, director of GreenMe, brought to the stage the experiences of three territories that represent European reference models. Francesco Tapinassi, director of Toscana Promozione Turistica, told how the region is focusing on projects that combine authenticity, craftsmanship and slow travel. From Spain,
Making the evening even more special was the Tourism Sustainability Awards ceremony, an exciting moment that honored the best examples of communication, experience and ethical commitment. Maurilio Parmesani (Touring Club Italiano) won the Media Award for the best coverage of Spain as a sustainable destination, recognizing the crucial role of journalism in spreading awareness. The
“Spain Talks is more than an event,” concluded Gonzalo Ceballos Watling, “it is a shared vision: that of a tourism that puts people at the center, capable of regenerating territories and building value for future generations.”
Between networking, storytelling and awareness, the Roman event confirmed how Spain is elegantly and concretely leading the transition to a tourism that does not just “do no harm,” but aims to improve. A tourism that does not consume, but gives back. That transforms every trip into an act of care, for the planet and for those who inhabit it.
