H Hotel/Hotel

The continuing geographical impact of tourism on the coastlines of the Mediterranean, due in great part to the large-scale construction of accommodation facilities, not only generates debate from a number of perspectives but has become a wholly self-evident phenomenon. Nonetheless, the facile conclusion that mass tourism inevitably causes environmental degradation may easily be refuted with regard to the Mediterranean. This coastal region has all too frequently been the object of preconceived opinions, leading it to be viewed – not only by the majority of tourists, but also by tourist industry professionals and experts in the tourism sciences – as a homogeneous area without shades of variation; nonetheless, it is possible to identify numerous instances in which tourist development and conservation of the environment have been virtuously reconciled. This paper provides a brief overview of tourism in the Mediterranean before focusing on two specific aspects, specifically accommodation facilities certified as ‘sustainable’ and ‘ecotourism’ practices; it is concluded that such strategies are essential to the creation of a new model of tourism development with the power to enrich the geographical imagination of the Mediterranean of those visiting it as a holiday destination.