The Local and Island Development Laboratory (ETNA) was created in 1992 for:

• to develop research around the issues of insularity and sustainable development of islands
• to support public decision-makers with data and analysis on the state of the islands.

The Observatory operates under the auspices of the World Tourism Organization and a member of the Global Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (http://insto.unwto.org/). In this capacity, he participates in the Committee on Measuring Sustainable Tourism of the WTO, which deals with the development of methodologies to improve the way tourism activity is measured (https://www.unwto.org/standards/measuring-sustainability-tourism).

At the same time, a public Facebook group (Observatory of Sustainable Tourism of the Aegean) was created for the exchange of information and opinions on the state of tourism on the islands and suggestions for dealing with problems.