Manuel Alejandro Cardenete, Deputy Minister at the Regional Ministry of Tourism in Andalucia, and Renew Europe CoR Coordinator for Natural Resources and Tourism was elected President of NECSTouR during the annual general meeting on 22 September. NECSTouR is the voice of European regions committed to economic, social and environmental sustainability through tourism – an increasingly important driver of destination competitiveness.

As President, Cardenete will strategically guide the work of the network over the next three years – a network comprising of 39 official tourism organisations across Europe. Cardenete works on the future of tourism, promoting sustainable tourism for instance as rapporteur for the European Committee of the Regions since one of the priorities of Renew Europe is to strive to restore Europe’s leading position in tourism while at the same time making EU tourism more sustainable

Incoming President Cardenete said:

As Tourism restarts, the European Regions have a clear vision on our common mission to accelerate digitalisation and sustainability in our destinations making them good places to live, work and visit. I stand ready to cooperate with the European Institutions to build the Agenda of the European Tourism of Tomorrow. It is at the regional and local level that the transition is being shaped and where one finds the inspiring good practices and energy necessary to build the partnerships that drive better recovery. We are committed to play our role both as the voice of Regions in Europe and as drivers of change back in our destinations.