According to the World Economic Forum, coastal and marine tourism accounts for over 50% of global tourism revenue, yet this sector is highly vulnerable to environmental degradation such as seaweed blooms, plastic pollution, and coral reef decline.

BLUERISM is one of four projects under the EO for a Sustainable Blue Economy initiative, aimed at using Earth Observation to support the resilience and sustainability of the tourism sector in coastal and marine environments. 

The project develops tools, datasets, and indicators to help decision-makers manage tourism in ways that are environmentally and socially responsible. 

BLUERISM includes four innovative use cases: raising public awareness and education about sustainability through the integration of EO data with Virtual Reality experiences; deploying EO data and predictive models to issue smartphone alerts about incoming sargassum blooms threatening beaches; using satellite data, on-site cameras, and citizen science to monitor macroplastic pollution; and supporting sustainable site selection for diving tourism based on EO-derived ecosystem health indicators. 

These applications aim to protect coastal environments, promote eco-conscious tourism, and inform policy through data-driven insights.