Santa Susanna has organized the first edition of the Sustainability Communication and Advice Conference, designed to become a meeting point to activate dialogue and collaboration between the actors that are part of the local economic ecosystem, especially tourism. The municipality is one of the benchmarks in Catalonia and Spain for its commitment to turning the tourist destination into a space of absolute respect for environmental values. For this reason, this conference has been proposed as a double opportunity, first to explain to the local economic world the sustainability model of Santa Susanna; and secondly, to raise even more awareness in society about the need and convenience of betting on it without misgiving.

At the closing of the Conference, the mayor, Joan Campolier, explained that this "is a model that has no turning back". And he made his own some words that the Councilor for Sustainability, Sílvia Vives, had said at the opening of the Conference to distance herself from climate change deniers and radicals of environmental measures: "The model of Santa Susanna is centered, it is possible because it is realistic, it is reasonable because it is based on common sense and knowledge, it is consistent with a trajectory of many years and it is ambitious because it proposes changes for the better".

Campolier praised the "focused" model of Santa Susanna because it seeks to "make compatible the main source of income for the town and its families, which is tourism, with our main attraction, nature, landscape, countryside and sea". And all this, he said, "because we do not want to destroy, nor do we want to destroy our territory, but we also do not want to condemn our people to an uncertain future. Under no circumstances – he insisted – do we want to turn Santa Susanna into a museum. Ours is a living people."

Part of the key to Santa Susanna's success, according to Campolier, is that it uses technology and innovation not as an end in itself, but as a means to protect the territory. "For us, technology is a tool to preserve and enhance our main asset, which is our oasis, but knowing that the main source of income for this oasis is tourism."

The Councilor for Sustainability, Sílvia Vives, had assured during the opening speech of the Conference that "everything we are working on is necessary to place us in a privileged starting position when the European Union tells us that this is the path that all of us, without pilot plans and without trials, we have to continue".

Successful participation

This First Conference on Communication and Advice on Sustainability is part of a set of initiatives promoted by the Santa Susanna City Council, and linked to the "Tourism Sustainability Plan" that is financed with European Next Generation funds, within the framework of the Recovery Plan, Transformation and Resilience.

The event also served to explain the context and strategy of Tourism Sustainability of Santa Susanna and included key activities such as the presentation of the Manual of Good Practices in Sustainability for Tourist Establishments and a participatory workshop with the innovative Lego Serious Play methodology, which stood out for its creative and collaborative dynamics.

In addition, the PROA platform was introduced to promote tourism management and the new European framework for consumer protection in the green transition was discussed.

The conference was attended by almost fifty people, including tourism representatives, businessmen from various fields and sustainability experts.