The PortCREW project was presented at the 3rd Sun&Blue Congress on Blue Tourism and Economy, held in Almería on 20 November 2025, the leading annual event in Southern Europe on this topic, bringing together professionals from the public and private sectors as well as from the scientific and academic communities.
During the session “Management and Decentralisation of Tourism Flows in Maritime and Blue Destinations”, the main objectives of the project were outlined, and its contribution to the development of smarter and more sustainable tourism models in the MED area was presented.
The panel offered an important opportunity to exchange ideas on sustainable tourism development, during which several issues affecting port cities were discussed, such as the high demand for energy and water, the vulnerability of local economies during the low season, and the destabilisation of local communities caused by the effects of overtourism. The topic of port–city integration was also addressed, including the negative effects that high tourist influxes may have on traffic and public transport.
Denis Grasso, Project Manager at Fondazione ITL, presented the solutions developed by PortCREW to promote more sustainable tourism in cruise ports across the Mediterranean basin, including the creation of an innovative platform to manage tourist information and promote rural destinations and lesser-known natural areas.
