Industry Stakeholders Call for Integrated European Tourism Policy

Tourism and travel bodies presented European Parliament President Antonio Tajani with the Tourism Legacy Paper on Wednesday, urging EU authorities to move ahead with an integrated European tourism policy backed by strategic EU funding. The aim is for the creation of tourism policies that will take into account the multiple impacts of the sector as well as the wide spectrum of stakeholders involved or affected.

The Tourism Legacy Paper, prepared by the European Tourism Manifesto for Growth and Jobs in cooperation with the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), underlines the importance of the sector and its contribution to EU growth, while endorsing Parliament’s proposal to allocate a total of 300 million euros in EU funding for sustainable tourism for the 2021-2027 period.

It additionally calls for the creation of a unified European tourism policy that “capitalizes on the potential of this sector as a key driver for economic growth and job creation and acts as a catalyst in building European citizenship”.

Recognizing tourism stakeholders’ efforts to place tourism high on the EU agenda, Tajani expressed his support of the Tourism Manifesto and said: “As always, I give my full support to the tourism industry. The European Parliament is united in its understanding that tourism is a key sector for economic and social development in Europe and needs a genuine political recognition at the EU level.”

According to WTTC data, the industry generates (directly and indirectly) 10.3 percent of total EU GDP and supports 27.3 million people, with visitor exports generating 400 billion euros.

The executive director of the European Travel Commission, Eduardo Santander, co-signed the legacy paper on behalf of the European Tourism Manifesto for Growth and Jobs, together with WTTC president and CEO, Gloria Guevara Manzo.

The European Tourism Manifesto for Growth and Jobs has been adopted by 45 European public and private tourism stakeholders.