The importance of tourism stems from its sheer scale: international tourism alone moves 1.5 billion people annually, generating over 2 trillion dollars and contributing to the employment of one in ten workers globally.
Other factors also contribute to its importance, alongside these large numbers and growth. The cross-cutting nature of the economic, environmental, and socio-cultural impacts in places visited by tourists leads to infrastructure development, enhancement, cultural production and exchange, the multifunctionality of businesses, and the creation of new market outlets for local products.
In this perspective, Biennale della Sostenibilità 2025 “Urbs et Civitas” will host the international conference “Smart and Sustainable Tourism. Impacts, Approaches, Solutions”, an initiative organised by VSF in collaboration with the North Adriatic Sea Port Authority – Ports of Venice and Chioggia as part of the ADRIJOROUTES Project funded by the European Interreg Italy-Croatia programme. The meeting will provide an opportunity to hear about the current state of tourism and its future prospects, as well as a discussion on innovative approaches and solutions for smart and sustainable tourism, with a focus on global urban areas. With this in mind, the urbs expands and contracts according to the presence of the civitas, which is composed not only of residents but also of workers, students, and visitors themselves.
Cities are privileged centres of innovation, connectivity, skills, and density, as well as destinations for tourist flows concentrated in time and space. They therefore act as laboratories for tourism innovation, integrating sustainability, inclusion, technology, and participation. Cities such as Venice, the heart of VSF’s activities, act as catalysts for processes that facilitate technical, economic, and social development towards smart and sustainable tourist destinations.
The conference will consist of three sessions:
- Session I: Impacts. Looking at the world through the lens of tourism.
- Session II: Approaches. Cities as laboratories for smart, innovative, and sustainable tourism.
- Session III: Solutions. VSF members for smart and sustainable tourism.
