Press remarks by Executive Vice-President Fitto and Commissioner Tzitzikostas on the EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy

Executive Vice-President Fitto

 

Good afternoon, everyone.

Today, the College has approved the EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy.

I would like to start by thanking my colleague, Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas, for his excellent work and for the close cooperation throughout the preparation of this Strategy.

I am particularly pleased that we can present this important initiative together today.

Apostolos will explain the Strategy and its concrete actions in greater detail.

For my part, I would like to underline three main points.

First, a change of approach: from recognising the importance of tourism to a concrete European strategy.

Europe is the world's leading tourism destination.

Tourism is one of our most competitive sectors, a major source of employment and a driver of growth.

But it also faces important challenges: labour shortages, increasing pressure on certain destinations, and economic and geopolitical instability.

These challenges affect businesses and local communities across Europe, from the Mediterranean to our Eastern border regions and Outermost regions.

For many years, we have recognised tourism as a driver of economic and territorial development.

But too often, we have left local communities to deal with these opportunities and challenges on their own.

Today, we are moving from recognising the importance of tourism to a concrete European strategy, with clear priorities and deliverables. 

Second, growth and prosperity must start from our territories.

Europe's strength lies in its diversity.

Our cities, rural areas, islands, coastal and mountain regions, cultural heritage and local traditions make Europe unique.

And these differences are also a major source of economic strength.

Our objective is to help territories transform this potential into sustainable growth, better jobs, stronger businesses and higher-quality services.

It also means ensuring that the benefits of tourism reach more territories and more communities.

This is where cohesion policy plays a fundamental role.

Cohesion policy already supports tourism through investments in infrastructure, local businesses, cultural heritage, innovation and skills.

Tourism contribute directly to economic, social and territorial cohesion.

And it can help make the Right to Stay a reality: giving people the opportunity to live, work and build their future in their own communities.

Our objective is not simply to attract more tourists to the same destinations.

It is to create more value and spread the benefits of tourism more widely.

This means supporting lesser-known destinations, encouraging tourism throughout the year and helping local communities manage tourism in a balanced way.

Finally, a coordinated  European approach that brings policies together while respecting the diversity of our territories.

Tourism cannot be developed through isolated initiatives.

The European Parliament, the Council, other EU institutions and tourism stakeholders have asked the Commission for a coordinated EU-level response to the varied challenges facing the sector.

A shared European direction, stronger coordination and greater flexibility to respond to different territorial needs.

And here I want to underline a fundamental principle.

We are providing  European tools, benchmarks and guidelines, which Member States, regions and local authorities can use on a voluntary basis, adapting them to their specific needs and priorities.

Let me conclude.

With this Strategy, we are taking an important step forward.

We are moving from a collection of initiatives to a coherent European approach.

We are strengthening the connection between tourism, competitiveness and cohesion.

Our ambition is not simply to bring more visitors to Europe.

It is to ensure that tourism creates more value, more jobs and more prosperity for the communities that make Europe unique.

Thank you.

 

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Commissioner Tzitzikostas

Ladies and gentlemen,

Thank you for joining us today.

Before presenting our Sustainable Tourism Strategy, I want to say a few words on the horrific rail accident that took place in Spain just a week ago today.

First and foremost, my thoughts are with the victims, their families and friends, and all those who were affected by this tragic accident.

For all transport modes, safety will always be my number-one priority.

Safety for us in the Commission non-negotiable.

It is too early to draw any conclusions on the causes of this accident. The independent investigation will indeed establish the facts.

Spain's investigation authority asked this morning, for the European Union Agency for Railways – ERA – to support this investigation.

And of course, ERA will provide all the technical assistance that is needed, while the investigation remains entirely under the authority and direction of the Spanish investigators.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

Now, moving back to the Strategy, Tourism as you know is much more than holidays.

It is a force for good: it brings people together, builds understanding between cultures, showcases what Europe does best.

And Europe has an extraordinary amount to offer: cultural heritage, historic sites, monuments, landscapes, world-class museums, cuisines, festivals and traditions.

Above all, it is the remarkable diversity of our countries and regions that makes Europe the world's leading travel destination.

Tourism is also a foundation of our economy. Across the EU, it accounts for nearly 10% of the EU GDP, supports more than 20 million jobs and sustains 5 million businesses, almost all SMEs or microenterprises. In countries such as my home country, Greece, its direct and indirect contribution to the GDP reaches 25%.

Its impact expands and extends all across transport, construction, retail and agriculture, creating economic activity and jobs in rural, peripheral and remote areas, including our many islands, coastal and mountainous regions.

But this vital sector, tourism, is facing today growing pressures: skills and labor shortages, geopolitical instability and external shocks, climate change, rising international competition, nd the challenge of ensuring that tourism develops in a more balanced way.

That is why I am very pleased today to present, the first ever EU Strategy for Sustainable Tourism, which was adopted by the College.

It is the most ambitious, comprehensive and holistic European Policy framework for tourism to date.

And our aim is to turn these challenges into opportunities, focusing EU action where it adds most value, and bringing Member States, regions, local authorities and stakeholders around a common vision and a common direction.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Strategy is built around 6 goals.

First, competitiveness: Supporting the European business ecosystem.

Second, the promotion of Destination Europe: keeping Europe the world's leading tourism destination.

Third, sustainable, balanced and accessible tourism: ensuring in other words that the benefits of tourism reaches every region and every season, not just a handful of hotspots only during the summer. This includes making travel affordable and inclusive for all.

Fourth, value over volume: measuring success in other words not simply by the number of visitors, but by the value that tourism creates for the local communities. 

Fifth, resilience and accessibility: preparing the sector in other words for future crises.

And sixth, the clean and digital transitions: helping tourism businesses become cleaner, more circular and more innovative.

The Strategy is organised around three basic pillars:

strengthening the competitiveness of EU tourism, particularly SMEs,

ensuring its long-term sustainability and resilience,

and surely promoting Europe as a destination, reinforcing our global leadership.

Two horizontal priorities support these three pillars:

attracting investment and strengthening inclusive governance and cooperation;

and improving mobility, connectivity and infrastructure.

Because transport and tourism are, as you understand, inseparable.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

The Strategy also sets out ten areas for action in these pillars.

Let me highlight the most important ones.

The first pillar is competitiveness. And competitiveness starts with people. Skills and labour shortages are among the greatest challenges facing tourism today. Many SMEs struggle on a daily basis to find skilled staff.

So, we will establish an EU Tourism Academy to provide essential training, help businesses and destinations develop the right skills, attract talent to tourism professions, and improve working conditions in the sector.

SMEs are the backbone of European tourism. We will help them through a more business-friendly environment with fewer unnecessary burdens, including an EU Simplification Initiative involving Member States and the sector itself.

We will also provide guidance and technical support and help businesses finance their clean and digital transitions.

But competitiveness also depends on innovation.

The Strategy will establish an EU Tourism Observatory and deploy the Common European Tourism Data Space. 

They will help businesses, destinations and policymakers use data, artificial intelligence and new technologies more effectively, and make better-informed decisions.

The second pillar is sustainability and resilience.

Many popular destinations struggle today to manage visitor flows, particularly in the summer. Just 13% of European regions account for 50% of all the nights spent in Europe.

So we must move beyond chasing visitor numbers and we must focus on lasting value, protecting citizens' and residents' quality of life and supporting local communities and businesses.

We will therefore develop an EU Model for Sustainable Tourism Management, propose a Council Recommendation on Balanced Tourism and we will present an EU Toolbox on Balanced Tourism,

in order to help our Member States and our destinations. In close cooperation, of course, with all the stakeholders, with the Member States, the regions, the local authorities.

These practical tools and the best practices that we will share will help destinations achieve a better balance and encourage action at every level.

Now, Geopolitical developments and climate change also directly affect tourism.

Europe must be better prepared, with closer coordination between public authorities and the sector.

And we saw this during the recent wars, but also in previous crises like the pandemic.

So we are establishing an EU Crisis Coordination Network to integrate tourism into our crisis preparedness and response.

The third pillar is enhancing Europe's place in the world.

Europe , as you know remains the world's leading tourism destination, but we cannot and we will not take that position for granted.

Through our Destination Europe approach, we are planning to strengthen our international standing and complement national and regional brands with a very coherent message:

Europe is a safe, secure, competitive and outstanding destination.

We will deepen tourism partnerships and dialogues with many parts of the world, including Japan and India, and very soon the Gulf countries.

By the end of the year, I will sign a new Cooperation Framework with UN Tourism to advance the sector's competitiveness, sustainability and resilience.

And at the same time, we must encourage visitors to discover more of Europe in more places and throughout the year.

I will propose a European Capitals of Tourism Award to recognize destinations that are promoting sustainable, balanced and innovative tourism, alongside actions to attract visitors to lesser-known places and improve the visitor experience.

Also, connectivity is very essential to competitive and sustainable tourism.

The Strategy promotes seamless multimodal travel across Europe, particularly for islands, remote and coastal areas. 

And actions that we will take include a renewed aviation strategy that I will present next year, more affordable cross-border car rentals, that we are working on right now, and also exploring EU-wide interoperability of local transport ticketing systems.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

None of these ambitions can be achieved without investing and without effective cooperation.

Under the current EU Multiannual Financial Framework, tourism benefits from 15 different funding programmes, including the Cohesion Policy, the Recovery and Resilience Facility, Horizon Europe and the Single Market Programme.

By the end of this programming period, the sector is expected to have received an estimated 18 billion euro in EU support.

Looking ahead now, the proposed National and Regional Partnership Plans under the next MFF will indeed guide strategic investments and reforms, including in tourism.

The European Commission will help Member States and regions design these measures and share best practices on project pipelines and financial instruments to maximise their impact, particularly for our SMEs.

Also, the European Competitiveness Fund and Horizon Europe are expected to promote sustainable tourism.

We will also establish a more effective EU Tourism Cooperation Framework, which can be centered on a high-level EU Tourism Alliance which will bring together Member States, regions, local authorities, the private sector and the European Commission.

This alliance will drive joint implementation, create synergies and bring greater coherence to existing cooperation structures, including our expert groups.

 

So, Ladies and gentlemen,

Let me conclude with a simple but very very clear message:

This Strategy is ultimately about making sure that everyone benefits from tourism.

Travelers, it means a better visitor experience and more opportunities to discover Europe.

For businesses, especially SMEs, it means access to skills, data and digital tools, support to innovate and grow, and fewer administrative burdens and barriers.

For destinations, it means better visitor-flow management, more year-round tourism and stronger crisis preparedness.

And For Europe, it means strengthening our global appeal and supporting growth, jobs and prosperity across the Union.

Our direction is clear: stronger competitiveness, balanced and sustainable destinations, greater resilience, investment in people and respect for local communities and their heritage.

Together, we can unlock the potential of Europe's destinations, keep travelers choosing Europe and ensure tourism continues to thrive in the coming years.

This is the future we are setting out with this first ever European Strategy for Tourism.

Thank you.