Àrea Metropolitana de Barcelona

After months of meetings, on-site visits, interviews with 29 municipalities in the Union of Municipalities of Batroun and the development of a road map, this project—led by the local managing committee—has created materials such as a guide around the towns of the Union and a tourist map.

The objective of the initiative was to increase coordination between the Union, its municipalities and the local Tourism Bureau to promote local economic development. Another objective was to encourage the involvement of the private sector and civil society.

The initiative is based on previous technical assistance provided by MedCities, which entailed the development of a participative diagnosis to identify 12 priority actions to develop the tourism of the region of Batroun. As a result, in late 2018, MedCities supported the creation of joint instruments to encourage tourism that would connect the sites in the different municipalities within the Union.

The Union of Municipalities of Batroun, located in northern Lebanon, encompasses 29 municipalities which stand out for their natural and cultural heritage, in addition to their sites of religious interest. The region of Batroun stretches from the sea to the mountains and is surrounded by mountain ranges, cedar forests and the Joz River, which affords beautiful landscapes along its banks. However, neither the residents nor the visitors tend to be aware of everything that the region could offer because of the lack or the obsolescence of promotional materials.

The technical assistance had the support of the Union of Municipalities of Batroun, the Barcelona Metropolitan Area and the Catalan Cooperation and Development Agency. This February, the MedCities team travelled to Lebanon to oversee the final publication of the materials and prepare for the launch of a follow-up project with several partners called Ter-Brand. The Ter-Brand projects will help the City Council of Jezzine, a member of MedCities which has just launched its regional tourism brand programme, in addition to Batroun and Zgharta-Ehden. The goal is to share Jezzine's experience and develop similar brands for the other two towns. Ter-Brand also entails the launch of eco-tourism pilot projects. It is an 18-month project co-financed by the Barcelona City Council which will support networking to encourage local economic growth.