The transition towards circular tourism requires a systemic approach that connects European circular economy strategies with practical solutions implemented at destination level. This webinar, organized within the GTI Academy, will explore how islands can move from linear waste management models towards smarter, more circular tourism systems by combining policy perspectives, digital innovation, stakeholder engagement, monitoring approaches, and local action.

The session will open with a strategic overview of international and European approaches to the circular economy and waste prevention, highlighting the transition towards more resource-efficient systems. It will then focus on the EU Circular Economy agenda and its relevance to island destinations, exploring how moving beyond traditional waste management towards prevention, reuse, recovery, and integrated circular solutions can reduce dependence on off-island waste disposal, generate operational and economic benefits, and strengthen the sustainability, resilience, and competitiveness of island tourism. Enzo Favoino (Zero Waste Europe) will share practical examples of successful circular initiatives and highlight the specific challenges and opportunities faced by islands.

Building on the European perspective, the webinar will strengthen the evidence base for circular tourism by presenting two complementary island case studies from Greece and Northern EU islands. The Greek Islands case study will examine the environmental, economic, and governance challenges associated with tourism-related waste, including seasonal peaks in waste generation, limited treatment capacity, and pressures on marine and coastal ecosystems, while highlighting emerging circular solutions and opportunities. The Northern EU Islands case study will explore how comparable challenges are being addressed through sustainable waste management, stakeholder collaboration, innovation, and circular tourism practices. By bringing these experiences together, the webinar will provide comparative evidence based on challenges, responses, lessons learned, and enabling conditions, identifying approaches that could be adapted and replicated across European island destinations.

The transition towards circular tourism starts with measuring, understanding, and acting on island-specific challenges. Through the EcoMedIslands project and the Greening the Islands Sustainability Index, participants will explore how sustainability indicators, data collection, IoT, and AI can help identify waste patterns, inform evidence-based decisions, optimize services, prevent waste, and support island decarbonization. Building on this knowledge, the ReBoat project will demonstrate how stakeholder co-creation, decentralized recovery solutions, and circular economy principles can turn tourism-related waste challenges into opportunities for local value creation, reduced transport dependency, and more resilient and circular tourism models.

The transition towards circular tourism also requires continuous monitoring and knowledge exchange. The Dialogue4Tourism Sustainable Tourism Observatories (STOs) will demonstrate how destinations can collect and use sustainability data, monitor progress, compare experiences, and strengthen evidence-based tourism governance. By creating shared knowledge systems, observatories support cooperation between Mediterranean destinations and facilitate the transfer of successful approaches.

Finally, the webinar will conclude by reflecting on the role of circular tourism in strengthening island economies and enhancing their long-term sustainability and resilience. Building on the discussions and case studies presented, the closing session will summarize the key takeaways, highlight opportunities for collaboration and knowledge exchange, and identify pathways for advancing circular tourism across island destinations.

By connecting European policy perspectives with concrete island experiences, the webinar will demonstrate that circular tourism is achieved through a combination of strategic vision, reliable data, digital innovation, stakeholder participation, local circular actions, monitoring mechanisms, and supportive governance frameworks. Together, these elements provide a transferable pathway for island destinations seeking to strengthen their sustainability, resilience, and competitiveness.

The webinar aims to provide policymakers, local authorities, destination management organizations, tourism practitioners, researchers, and island stakeholders with practical examples and replicable approaches supporting the transition towards smarter, more circular, and resilient tourism destinations across the Mediterranean and beyond.

This webinar will represent a first step in a broader knowledge and policy dialogue on circular tourism and island resilience. Building on the discussions, experiences, and solutions presented, further exchanges and high-level events will be organized during COP31 in Antalya, in collaboration with the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM). These activities will provide an opportunity to further showcase island solutions, strengthen regional cooperation, and promote the integration of circular economy, climate adaptation, and sustainable tourism approaches within broader Mediterranean climate and development agendas.