The European Parliament adopted by 485 votes to 120, with 12 abstentions, a resolution on new challenges and concepts for the promotion of tourism in Europe.
Parliament recalled that tourism is a key potential growth area of the European economy, which generates over 10% of the EU’s GDP and accounts for at least 12% of jobs in the EU.
Europe is the world’s number one tourist destination with the number of international tourists arriving in the EU forecast to increase by 140 million each year until 2025. However, the tourism industry in Europe faces a number of new challenges, among them the digitisation of distribution channels, the development of the new sharing economy sector, increasing competition from emerging, less expensive third-market destinations, changing consumer behaviour, the transition to an experience economy, the demand for quality client service, the need to attract and retain skilled staff, demographic changes, and seasonality.
The Commission’s action framework: Parliament called on the Commission to report back to Parliament on the implementation of the actions set out in its 2010 communication on Tourism and the use of budget allocations under the Structural Funds and the relevant EU programmes, in particular, the Competitiveness and Innovation Framework Programme (CIP) and the Competitiveness of Enterprises and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (COSME) programme. It also called on the Commission to:
Funding: Parliament invited the Commission to ensure greater transparency in the use of Structural Funds which are still the largest source of external financing for activities intended to stimulate the tourism sector in certain Member States. It also recommended making the fullest possible use of the new funding opportunities under the European Funds for Strategic Investments (EFSI).
The Commission was strongly encouraged to examine the possibility of creating a section within the next multiannual financial framework that is dedicated exclusively to tourism, instead of being financed from the budgets of other policy areas.
Branding/joint promotion of Europe as a tourist destination: Parliament encouraged the Commission, in cooperation with the European Travel Commission (ETC), to continue and deepen the promotion of Europe as the world’s top tourist destination under the umbrella of a common European approach. It called in particular for the creation of a ‘Destination(s) Europe’ brand and the promotion of this brand as the most family-, child- and generation-friendly holiday region in the world.
Members also considered that the EU should start investing in order to be ready to tap the potential of third countries with a large population and emerging economies, particularly countries such as Brazil, Russia, India and China, where the number of outbound tourists is rising. They pointed out the need for initiatives aimed at promoting tourism and for greater flexibility in respect of tourist visa arrangements and border crossings.
Pan-European and transnational tourism products: efforts should be made to develop new transnational European tourism products.
Parliament also encouraged international cooperation in the creation of transnational thematic itineraries (at the level of a larger number of European countries) in order to amplify experiential elements that motivate visits to certain destinations (defined at the state level).
Member States were encouraged to promote new tourism routes by regenerating disused areas, streets, railways, deserted paths and outdated routes. Members also stressed the need to promote and highlight Europe’s rich cultural heritage, using the UNESCO World Heritage List as a unique selling proposition.
The resolution stressed the potential of cultural tourism for poverty alleviation and underlined the potential of sport tourism, which could in future become one of the most dynamic sectors in the developing European travel industry.
Quality: whilst acknowledging the difference in standards of service quality in the tourism sector, Parliament is of the opinion that quality standards are important as a means of levelling the playing field for operators and increasing transparency for the consumer, thereby helping to strengthen the confidence of all parties. Stakeholders are called upon to take further the discussion of how the EU can promote agreed quality standards for tourism services.
Sharing economy: the sharing economy, or collaborative consumption, is a new socio-economic model that has taken off thanks to the technological revolution, with the internet connecting people through online platforms on which transactions involving goods and services can be conducted securely and transparently.
Given that the current legislation is not suited to the sharing economy, local and national governments have started to analyse such online platforms and are trying to regulate their effects, often applying disproportionate measures which are somewhat disparate within the Union. Members recommended that consideration be given to establishing an appropriate regulatory framework within the overarching EU digital single market strategy.
Parliament also emphasised that platforms need to be fully accessible and that consumers using such sites must be correctly informed and not misled, and the privacy of their data protected. The importance of a viable and transparent system of reviews was stressed, and of ensuring that consumers are not penalised by service providers for leaving negative reviews.
The Commission was urged to assess the economic and social impact of the sharing economy and its implications for the tourism industry, consumers, technology companies and public authorities, and to report back to Parliament on the outcome of the initiatives it has undertaken so far.
The power of digitisation: the Commission was called on to define jointly with industry and tourism associations a smart roadmap of initiatives focusing on the wider scope of innovation (process, ICT, research) and on the required skills, in order to encourage travel and tourism companies to adopt digital tools and use them more efficiently.
In this area, the Commission was called upon to:
Member States were called upon to:
Sustainable, responsible and social tourism: Parliament called on the Commission to continue to promote sustainable, responsible and eco‑friendly tourism by developing new specific products and promoting existing ones. It suggested setting up a Europe-wide, fully accessible web platform that brings together existing information on certified products, new forms of tourism, destinations and routes, and on specific services such as transportation means and tourism guides, in one database with access through the Visiteurope.com portal.