Discussion Panel VSF “Between Two Pressures – Climate Risk and People Flows in Tourist Cities”

9th September | 6:25 pm

35°Economic Forum | Karpacz (Poland)

ABSTRACT

Tourist destinations are increasingly exposed to two simultaneous pressures: the effects of climate change and the growing concentration of visitors.

Floods, heatwaves, droughts, wildfires, extreme weather events, and rising sea levels affect cities and territories with distinct geographical and economic profiles. At the same time, high visitor flows exert growing pressure on mobility, public spaces, housing availability, waste management, urban services, and local communities.

Although different in nature, these phenomena present a common governance challenge: how can destinations understand evolving conditions, anticipate critical thresholds, and intervene before impacts become unmanageable?

Data, predictive systems, resilient infrastructure, and coordinated decision-making processes can help cities and territories transition from emergency response to prevention. This session will explore how climate adaptation, data-driven decisions, and visitor flow management can be integrated into the governance of tourist destinations, while also addressing the economic, institutional, and insurance implications associated with rising climate risks.

The discussion will draw inspiration from the emblematic case of Venice, where the MOSE system regulates tidal flows and the analysis of city user mobility helps monitor and manage pressure on the urban environment. The goal is not to present Venice as a model to replicate, but to use its experience as a springboard for a broader discussion on solutions adaptable to destinations facing varying combinations of climate and tourism pressures.

AGENDA

INTRODUCTION

Damiano De Marchi, Project Manager for Sustainable Tourism, Venice Sustainability Foundation (VSF)

The Venice case. The double flood of sea and tourism: data, tools and solutions for urban resilience

PANEL

Anna Pilarczyk, Mayor, Ogrodzieniec City Council
Ogrodzieniec and the tourism tide: promoting and governing a phenomenon, not enduring it

Katarzyna Turosienska, Member of the Board, Polish Chamber of Tourism

Tools for promoting and developing sustainable tourism compatible with valuing communities and residents

Monika Besenyei, Director, Climate Policy Institute Mathias Corvinus Collegium

Climate mitigation policies: the role of institutions and education

Alessandro Moricca, Chief Executive Officer, Consap

Managing climate crises: public responsibility, insurance and reconstruction

MODERATED DISCUSSION

This session will bring together the five speakers and address two questions:

• In your view, what is the priority action for strengthening the capacity to anticipate the negative impacts of tourism or climate change on territories and communities?
• Which tools, in your view, can facilitate stronger public-private collaboration in managing tourism and climate phenomena?

CONCLUSION REMARKS 

Moderator: Damiano De Marchi, Project Manager for Sustainable Tourism, Venice Sustainability Foundation (VSF).

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DOWNLOAD MATERIALS

As part of the Venice Climate Week 2026 – Planet Aqua, Planet Peace, of which Venice Sustainability Foundation is a partner, VSF promotes and organizes the workshop “Business under pressure: a crisis simulation workshop for SMEs”, scheduled for Friday, June 5, 2026, from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM, at Sala due Colonne – Tolentini – Università Iuav di Venezia. 

Venice Climate Week 2026, to be held in Venice from June 3 to 8, focuses on water as a decisive element for the future of cities, territories, and economic systems, from an adaptation, resilience, and international cooperation perspective.

Within this framework, the workshop will provide an opportunity for in-depth discussion and exchange on how small and medium-sized enterprises can strengthen their ability to respond to climate emergencies, infrastructure disruptions, and sudden crises through preparedness tools, business continuity planning, and risk assessment.

Through a simulation exercise inspired by water-related risks in the Venetian context, the meeting will explore the role that businesses, institutions, and local actors can play together in improving business continuity and contributing to the development of more resilient territorial systems.

The workshop is aimed at SMEs, merchants, entrepreneurs, hospitality facilities, museums, cultural operators, professionals, technical experts, and local stakeholders interested in the topics of resilience, business continuity, and adaptation to climate risks.

Speakers will include Yigyeong Oh, Disaster Risk Reduction and Resilience Implementation Expert at the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) – Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ROECA), and Ignasi Fontanals, SME Resilience & City Ecosystems Consultant at UNDRR and founder of Resilient Systems Hub.

The initiative is organized with the support of Università Iuav di Venezia and Alilaguna, in collaboration with institutional partners United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and Making Cities Resilient 2030 (MCR2030).

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Sala Due Colonne, Università Iuav di Venezia

On Saturday, June 20, Venice Sustainability Foundation will take part in the citywide initiative presented by The Human Safety Net as part of the 15th edition of “Art Night Venezia 2026”.

At the Procuratie Vecchie, the venue of The Home of The Human Safety Net will be open to the public from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM, hosting a site-wide journey dedicated to beauty as a relational, transformative, and collective experience. The evening will weave together reading, art, personal stories, and intercultural dialogue, inviting participants to explore human potential, creativity, and the power to imagine more inclusive and sustainable futures.

Embracing the vision of creating direct, participatory exchanges, the evening will feature the Living Library (Biblioteca Vivente): a space where the "books" are individuals ready to share stories and memories centered on inclusion. Visitors will be free to move among the participants, engaging with their stories and entering into informal conversations within small, spontaneous groups.

Among the living books, VSF will be represented by architect Marco Marino, curator of the exhibition “Intelligent Venice. The Oldest City of the Future,” created for the 2025 Venice Biennale of Architecture. His contribution will guide visitors through Venice as a laboratory of collective intelligence, illustrating how the lagoon city is the product of centuries of dialogue between humanity and nature. A narrative connecting past and future through medieval inventions, contemporary technologies, and adaptation strategies that enabled the city to thrive in a challenging environment and continue to offer valuable lessons on resilience and sustainability today.

Free admission, subject to availability.

The initiative, developed through the collaboration between The Human Safety Net and VSF, takes place within the framework of Art Night Venezia—an event conceived and coordinated by Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, in partnership with the City of Venice and the Regione del Veneto, forming part of the University's 2026 Public Engagement activities. For the occasion, 142 venues and hundreds of events will bring the entire city to life, from the historic center and the islands to the mainland. Museums, cultural institutions, theaters, bookstores, galleries, associations, and artist studios will open their doors free of charge, creating a distributed evening dedicated to art and culture.

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The Human Safety Net

Sustainability is now a competitive factor for all businesses, regardless of their size. The evolving European regulatory framework, growing supply-chain demands, and new criteria for access to credit are redefining the operating context for SMEs and professionals.

In this scenario, Venice Sustainability Foundation and UniCredit – with the patronage of the Chambers of Commerce of Padova, Verona, and Venezia Rovigo – are promoting a training program structured across three sessions in Padova, Verona, and Venice, designed to support Venetian companies through this transformation.

Three in-person meetings featuring contributions from academic experts from Ca' Foscari University of Venice and the University of Padova, UniCredit specialists, and direct corporate testimonies, designed to offer analytical tools, explore key issues, and highlight concrete opportunities.

The program addresses several central challenges of the transition: from the European ESG regulatory framework to the evolution of business models toward greater resilience and efficiency, through to the role of hydrogen as an enabling vector for the energy transition. Special attention will be dedicated to perspectives for local businesses: from responding to supply chain ESG requirements and accessing new sustainability financing instruments, to leveraging opportunities tied to strengthening Veneto's role in a new European energy model by building on its production supply chains, the Porto Marghera hub, and the potential of the clean hydrogen supply chain.

The initiative targets SME entrepreneurs and professionals interested in understanding the ongoing shift and turning sustainability from a constraint into an opportunity.

Under the patronage of Confindustria Veneto, Unioncamere del Veneto, and the Chambers of Commerce of Padova, Verona, and Venezia Rovigo.

Please note: All training sessions and program materials will be conducted and provided in Italian.

Program

• Module 1 | Identifying, measuring, and communicating the economic-financial effects of ESG factors
  
  • PADUA, Monday, April 27, 2026, from 2:30 PM to 5:00 PM
  • Padua Chamber of Commerce | Conference Hall (second floor), Piazza dell’Insurrezione, 1A – Padua
  • Trainer: Andrea Giacomelli, Professor of ESG Risk Management, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice | Download presentation (AVAILABLE IN ITALIAN ONLY)

Recording of the first session, Padua (AVAILABLE IN ITALIAN ONLY)

• Module 2 | ESG, resilience, and business model transformation: The role of banks in sustainability
  
  • VERONA, Tuesday, May 19, 2026, from 2:30 PM to 5:00 PM
  • Verona Chamber of Commerce | Artigianato and Agricoltura Halls, Corso Porta Nuova, 96 – Verona
  • Trainers: Gianluca Leonardi, ESG Italy – Transition Expert Region Nord Est, UniCredit; Daniele Sartori, Head of Group Business Controlling & ESG, Logistica Uno; Pietrogiovanni Cerchier, CEO & Founder, 9tech | Download presentation (AVAILABLE IN ITALIAN ONLY)

Recording of the second session, Verona (AVAILABLE IN ITALIAN ONLY)

• Module 3 | Hydrogen: Technology, markets, and opportunities
  
  • VENICE, Tuesday, June 9, 2026, from 2:30 PM to 5:00 PM
  • Venice Chamber of Commerce | Auditorium Marino Grimani, Via Forte Marghera, 151 – Venice Mestre
  • Trainers:
    • Alexander Luigi Kramp, M&A Director, UniCredit | Download presentation (AVAILABLE IN ITALIAN ONLY)
    • Fabrizio Dughiero, Full Professor of Electrical Engineering and Electromagnetic Processing of Materials, University of Padova | Download presentation (AVAILABLE IN ITALIAN ONLY)

Recording of the third session, Venice (AVAILABLE IN ITALIAN ONLY)

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Camera di Commercio di Venezia