Under auspice of the Presidency of the European Union Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region of the Republic of North Macedonia, a regular meeting of the EUSAIR Pillar 4 Thematic Steering Group on Sustainable Tourism was held in Skopje on 16 and 17 April 2026. The thematic pillar Sustainable Tourism is coordinated by the Republic of Albania and the Republic of Croatia
The meeting was opened by the Pillar Coordinator from the Ministry of Tourism and Sport of the Republic of Croatia, Iva Čaleta Pleša, and introduced the new coordinator from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sports of the Republic of Albania, Elkana Himci. The team of coordinators of the EUSAIR Pillar 4 Sustainable Tourism also included Matina Hyka, deputy coordinator from Albania, and Lorena Borovnjak, member of the EUSAIR Facility Point project team of the Ministry of Tourism and Sports of the Republic of Croatia.
The meeting was held in a hybrid format and was attended by members of all ten countries of the Strategy. The members continued the discussion on the strategic projects, got acquainted with the initiatives of the Youth Council, the most important conclusions of the EUSAIR Governing Board meeting held in Ohrid, North Macedonia in March 2026 and received information about the work on the new multi-year financial framework of the European Commission.
The implementation of the EU Strategy for the Adriatic-Ionian region is made possible by three governance projects, and each project presented the main activities: EUSAIR Facility Point with administrative and operational support, supports horizontal activities. The SP4EUSAIR project presented a methodology for creating strategic projects, while STeP project presented a new platform for cooperation and networking.
The interactive session of the meeting was related to the horizontal topic of EU enlargement. The EU Strategy for the Adriatic and Ionian Region consists of 10 countries: 4 EU Member States: Croatia, Greece, Italy and Slovenia, 5 candidate countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia and one third country: San Marino. This composition provides a good basis for cooperation and peer learning. The Strategy engaged external experts to explore possibilities for cooperation between the EU Member State and the candidate countries. Using the world café method, two groups of members discussed the topic of balanced tourism and intangible heritage with the aim of identifying opportunities for the transfer of experiences and practices. The basis of the two selected topics is the well-being of the community. The topics were selected in accordance with the Action Plan and tourism trends.
The presentation Trends in Tourism was an introduction to the discussion on the selection of new strategic projects and publication to be produced in the next period. Members were informed about the proposal for cooperation with the SMART ERA project with the aim of developing a strategic project on the topic of rural tourism. The topic of rural development represents the potential for another strategic project that brings together several thematic pillars. Following the strategic project on the topic of Mediterranean diet and sustainable tourism, in which thematic Pillars 1 – Blue Economy, 4 – Sustainable Tourism and 5 – Improved social cohesion participate, the strategic project (Smart) Rural Development calls for cooperation with thematic pillars 2 – Energy and Transport and 3 – Environmental Quality. Members expressed interest are in further cooperation.
The main event of the EUSAIR Presidency of the Republic of North Macedonia is the Forum, which will be held from 18 to 21 May 2026 in Skopje. Pillar 4 Sustainable Tourism will present the work on the implementation of the Action Plan since its adoption in May 2025 seen from the perspective of the coordinator and members, Youth Council and a tourism stakeholder. Members are invited to actively participate in the Forum, as workshops and discussions will be organized in which the topic of sustainable tourism will be present.
The following day, members visited the Skopje City Museum and the Memorial House of Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta as part of an organized tour of Skopje and got acquainted with the rich history of the city, interesting moments of the city’s today’s life with a view to a common European future.
