A new partnership has been agreed between the Minoan Group and Forum for the Future to work on a significant integrated tourism and land management project, Cavo Sidero. This is an important partnership and a key element of our work on sustainable tourism. It aims to create an example of excellence in sustainable tourism.
At the launch of the Project (and the partnership) in Athens today, Forum’s Chief Executive, Peter Madden said: “We are really optimistic that this project will show the rest of the world what sustainable tourism can look and feel like – high quality, enhancing the environment, providing good jobs and a great holiday for the people who visit.”
Christopher Egleton, Chairman of the Minoan Group described Forum as: “bringing a sustainability resource of the highest calibre to the Project, enabling Minoan to maximise all aspects of sustainability principles within every element of the implementation of the Cavo Sidero Project.”
Cavo Sidero is a 6,000 acre site, rich in rare plants, archaeological remains, local culture and traditional ways of living, on the most north-easterly peninsula of Crete. The project will be an integrated sustainable land management and tourism development including six tourism villages of 7,000 beds and two golf courses. It has a wide ranging sustainable management strategy covering all 6,000 acres and significant outreach initiatives in the surrounding area. It is one of the largest inward investments planned in Southern Europe today, amounting to 1.2B Euros.
The project is the brainchild of the Abbot of Moni Toplou. It aims to provide the necessary resources for the regeneration, protection and enhancement of the local natural and cultural environment through creating a model of sustainable tourism and management and by providing a sound foundation for the local and economic well being of the community. It also seeks to promote the region and make it an international destination for informed environmentally aware, visitors, who will be engaged in the life of the region and of its residents.
Forum for the Future’s partnership will help the Minoan Group and their partners implement their existing sustainability management strategy to maximise positive social, environmental, cultural and economic benefits and ensure that it is at the cutting edge of sustainability in this sector. Stephanie Draper, Forum’s lead on sustainable tourism said: “I am really excited about this partnership. Creating this sort of example of sustainable living is a major opportunity - with the Minoan Group’s evident commitment, our help, and the support of lots of other groups, it will really show the world how this can be done.”
Throughout the project Forum will work closely with the Minoan Group to deliver the sustainability principles embedded in the project. Initially, the focus is on implementation of sustainable construction and procurement, the next stages of stakeholder involvement in the delivery of the project, exemplar carbon management, local sourcing and drawing on global best practice to ensure that Cavo Sidero continues to represent leadership at all levels. That just for starters, the Minoan Group will benefit from our expertise in sustainable tourism throughout, including personal input from Jonathon Porritt.
Forum for the Future’s overarching aim is to show that sustainable living is not only possible, but a better and more desirable way of doing things. We think that Cavo Sidero will be a great example of just what can be possible.
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About The Minoan Group
Established in 1991, Minoan Group Plc, formerly Loyalward Group Plc, is a resort management company specialising in the assembly, design and supervision of the construction of high quality resort destinations in the Eastern Mediterranean, which it subsequently manages.
The company’s current main focus is on the development of Cavo Sidero. The project draws upon the Company’s in-depth knowledge and understanding of the complexities of sustainable development and management within the Greek property market and with the resources, skills and contacts required to succeed in the region.
