Fourth stakeholders meeting in Chania (Crete, Greece)

The fourth regional stakeholders' meeting of the DETOCS project, within the framework of INTERREG EUROPE, was held virtually on Thursday, 12 December 2024. Various stakeholders from the Cretan tourism industry participated, including representatives from municipalities, hotel associations, chambers of commerce and industry, technical chambers, hotel owners, as well as academic and research institutions.

At the start of the meeting, Mr George Angelakis, representing MAICH, delivered an introductory presentation on the DETOCS project. He provided an overview of the participating organisations and regions, the project’s objectives, and its implementation in Crete and other territories involved. He highlighted the previous international meeting held in Malta, the completed study visits, and the upcoming project meeting scheduled to take place in Campobasso, Italy, during the first semester of 2025. Furthermore, he mentioned the publication of international newsletters every semester, alongside regional newsletters in Crete, which are distributed to stakeholders.

The next speaker was Dr Ioannis Vourdoubas, a scientific collaborator at MAICH for the DETOCS project. Dr Vourdoubas gave a presentation on identifying good practices during project implementation. He also announced the creation of a Joint Thematic Guidebook in 2025, which will describe approximately 25 successful low-carbon hotels. This guidebook is intended for policymakers to aid in developing policies to decarbonise the tourism industry and for hotel owners to transfer and implement successful low- or zero-carbon hotel applications in their enterprises.

Following these two presentations, participants asked questions and sought clarifications regarding the project’s implementation, their involvement, and the tourism industry’s impact on the island.

The following stakeholders participated in the meeting:

Mrs Maria Apostolaki on behalf of the Region of Crete

Mrs Katerina Litou from Platanias Municipality

Mr Andreas Perrakis from the Municipality of Kandanos-Selino and owner of the hotel Mediterranean Dream

Mr Emmanouil Stamatakis, President of the Hotel Association in Chania

Mr Nikolaos Xinidis from the Technical Chamber of Western Crete

Mr Spiros Kalisperakis from the Technical Chamber of Crete–Rethymno branch

Mr Panagiotis Sfakianakis from the Commercial and Industrial Chamber of Heraklion, Crete

Mr George Plokamakis from HEDNO

Prof Kostas Zopounidis from the Technical University of Crete

Mr Efstathios Gerampinis from the Technical University of Crete

Mr Antonios Kalogerakis from the Orthodox Academy of Crete

Mr Emmanouil Lavoutas from the Centre of Heat and Air-Conditioning

Mr Anastasios Gourgouras from Milia Village Hotel

Mr George Renieris from Renieris Hotel