The 2nd Sustainable Paros 
Forum

The aims of the Forum are to:
• sensitise tourism professionals and local
associations about the major issues that face Paros today and
• suggest concrete proposals as well as promote initiatives
that can pave the way to a more sustainable future.

The 2nd Sustainable Paros Forum which focused on “Innovation, Sustainable Development and Tourism” was successfully held in Archilochos hall, Paros, on 14 May 2016.
The event was the result of the collaboration between Perantinos Travel, the Municipality of Paros and Innovaros, Paros Innovation Group.

The event’s organisers hope to see sustainability become the island’s source of competitive advantage. The challenges that face Paros today can be summarised as follows: what path of development do we want our island to follow, what kind of tourism should our island attract and what kind of business activities should we encourage to take root on Paros.

The aims of the Forum are to:

• sensitise tourism professionals and local associations about the major issues that face Paros today and
• suggest concrete proposals as well as promote initiatives that can pave the way to a more sustainable future.

The 2nd forum focused on the following thematic areas:

1. Innovation in tourism, coordinator: H.Marinos
   Innovation in tourism provides many opportunities for the showcasing of our island, for example through creating three-dimensional representations of its sites of natural beauty and cultural interest. Contrary to what happens in the case of mass tourism the use of these tools enables visitors to create their own itineraries or enroll on theme or small-scale cruises. Alternative forms of tourism such as cycling tourism and walking excursions have a great potential for development on Paros.
2. Accreditation, quality management & sustainability, coordinator: P.Kaklamanos
   The accreditation of goods and services that are offered in a particular destination (as well as of the tourism destination itself) is a clear sign that the people who provide these goods & services are doing a good job. Many people who visit a tourist destination today want to experience it through the eyes of the locals and seek authentic experiences.
3. Young entrepreneurs and the local community, coordinator: I. Poulios
   The young entrepreneurs who participated in the Forum this year described their experiences: a) their ‘road to success’ b) the obstacles they faced as well as the support that they received from the local community.

These experiences contributed to the development of a shared methodology for the undertaking of local initiatives on Paros: by taking advantage of the particular characteristics of the destination and implementing modern management and marketing techniques.
Further information can be found on the Forum’s website:
www.sustainableparos.gr