Rural Pact among key European initiatives for rural tourism at Italian sustainability expo
Tourism is a driver of rural economic diversification, environmental sustainability, and social resilience. The Rural Pact is a key instrument to support the development of sustainable rural tourism by amplifying rural voices, enabling networking and collaboration, and encouraging voluntary actions for the rural vision.
Image by Pro Brixia
This was a key message of Rural Pact Support Office policy analyst Patricia Martínez Sáez at the dedicated sustainable tourism session at the FUTURA Expo 2025. The session (9 March – Brixia Forum, Brescia, Italy) highlighted key European initiatives – the Rural Pact, Tourism Transition Pathway, and Pact for Skills – to foster rural economic growth through tourism.
The Rural Pact Community Platform enables stakeholders to engage in thematic discussions, share best practices, and commit to concrete actions that enhance sustainable rural tourism. The Rural Pact also provides knowledge-sharing and networking activities, such as an upcoming Good Practice Webinar on Sustainable Rural Tourism on 7 May 2025.
The session further showcased the EU Tourism Transition Pathway which is intended as a one-stop-shop for stakeholders in the tourism sector. A large-scale partnership for tourism – the Pact for Skills – is working to address labour shortages and skill gaps through re-skilling, up-skilling, and lifelong learning initiatives.
The session, moderated by the European Federation of Rural Tourism (Ruraltour), reaffirmed the importance of structured collaboration between policymakers, businesses, academia, and local communities in ensuring that tourism contributes to long-term rural sustainability.