Our commitment to sustainability
El Ejido is firmly committed to sustainability. We understand tourism sustainability as a transversal tool that ensures standards of quality and wellbeing for both tourists and residents. In our destination we are committed to safeguarding our heritage, both natural and cultural. We support economic and social sustainability, especially in terms of local development, as a result of the commitment and firm will of El Ejido Town Council.
Furthermore, El Ejido has achieved great international prestige for its capacity for technological innovation in crop systems. An adverse physical environment has been adapted into an opportunity for sustainable development that allows the respectful use of natural resources. We are working to change the negative impacts of the “sea of plastic” through campaigns and the creation of the brand “El Ejido Gourmet Quality”, highlighting the quality and importance of the vegetables produced in the greenhouses of El Ejido.
The Integrated Sustainable Urban Development Strategy (EDUSI in Spanish) involves measures and actions of an integral and transversal nature in various fields such as environmental, urban, economic and social, among others. The main objectives of this strategy are the reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (GHG), the participation of renewable sources in final energy consumption by 20% and the improvement of energy efficiency by 20%.
We have also had a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan since 2013 that prioritises the use of sustainable means of transport and the management of public spaces, as well as numerous municipal ordinances on sustainable management relating to street cleaning, waste and water management, traffic, urban building, civic coexistence and so on. Since 2011 we have had our own Agenda 21.
On the other hand, multiple actions have been implemented to ensure the protection, study and dissemination of the historical heritage of the destination and to turn it into a first class tourist resource, without forgetting its enhancement for visitor access, research and dissemination. In addition, the EDUSI programme involves an ambitious proposal for intervention in the research, conservation and tourist and cultural enhancement of the archaeological site of Ciavieja (declared an Asset of Cultural Interest of the Andalusian Historical Heritage), which houses part of the Roman city of Murgi.
In terms of social sustainability, we have come a long way to achieve the integration of the immigrant population (33% of residents) in the municipality.
In 2014 we created the Municipal Tourism Council, the main forum for participation between the City Council, businessmen and citizens in the development of tourism in the municipality. The Council generates sectoral working groups that consolidate collaborative economy actions with the aim of stimulating the appropriate synergies for the benefit of all stakeholders and the improvement of the tourist experience. So far, seven Municipal Councils and numerous Working Commissions have been held with the complementary tourist offer and foreign community residents.
Other sustainable management initiatives:
-Beach Management Body.
-Management of Blue Flags, Q for quality and Ecoplayas.
-Joining the SICTED quality certification programme.
-Action plan for accessibility.
-Celebration each year of World Tourism Day, always respecting the slogan proposed by the World Tourism Organisation.
-Attendance at various WTO congresses.
-Participation in the expert forum for the design of the General Plan for Sustainable Tourism of the Andalusian Regional Government (2021-2025).
-Membership and active participation in the Smart Tourism Destination project, promoted by SEGITTUR.ITTUR.
-Membership of the network of DTIs.
