Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest 2nd Online Participatory Workshop

The Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest will host its second online participatory workshop with local stakeholders next Thursday, 3rd December.

The first online participatory workshop of the Natural History Museum of the Lesvos Petrified Forest on sustainable tourism was very constructive. Representatives of the local authorities and the tourism sector had the opportunity to discuss the difficulties and challenges that Lesvos Island is currently facing, exchange point of views, suggest solutions and make decisions on the initiaves to put in practice.

The second participatory workshop will refocus on sustainable tourism, since it is the sector that was impacted the most due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the overall economic crisis. At the same time it is considered the main solution to reboot local economy and therefore it is vital that all the effort is invested on the development of a dynamic, community-based model of sustainable tourism.

The main subject of discussion will be the development and promotion of alternative forms of tourism in Lesvos, inviting local tourism organizations, travel agencies, tourist guides and local businesses that organize alternative tourism activities (from hiking, mountain bike excursions, and birdwatching trips to marine cruises and guided tours of the Lesvos’s geosites).

The main goal of all the participatory workshops is to raise awareness among the local communities to the protection and promotion of the natural and cultural wealth of Lesvos and highlight its significant contribution to the recovery of the island from the successive crises it has been dealing with over the last years. They also aim to call for joint actions and promote networking and collaborations.