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The NECSTouR 2030 Pathway

The NECSTouR 2030 Pathway is our strategic roadmap, guiding NECSTouR and its members toward a more sustainable and resilient tourism industry by 2030. This initiative empowers us to actively engage destinations across Europe, fostering collaboration and driving meaningful progress.

We invite all European destinations to join our dynamic community, enriching the diversity of our network and working together to ensure our destinations and the European tourism industry thrive.

Our Mission, Vision and Impact
Our vision

We believe tourism has the power to help destinations and communities flourish.

Our mission

NECSTouR will lead and collaborate to strengthen the positive value of tourism in European regions – for the benefit of businesses, communities, visitors and the environment.

Our impact

We will have contributed to creating: Better Places to Live, Better Places to Visit.

NECSTouR Objectives

 

  • By 2030, NECSTouR has increased the awareness and capacity of their members to develop regenerative approaches for destination Management, Marketing and Governance.

 

  • By 2030, NECSTouR has supported all members to actively work on climate action demonstrating impact by reporting on
    • The continuing reduction in tourism-related emissions at a destination level (decarbonisation).
    • The positive effects of implementing adaptive measures to safeguard the destination from climate risks (adaptation).

 

  • By 2030, NECSTouR’s member destinations are systematically measuring tourism’s impact on the economic, environmental and sociocultral level by using an agreed common set of indicators for decision making.

 

  • By 2030, NECSTouR has increased the knowledge and capacities of regions in the implementation of the European Tourism Agenda and Strategies.

 

  • By 2030, NECSTouR has expanded the community, bringing together a diverse network of European destinations that span a broader geographical area and a richer spectrum of expertise.
Key Focus Areas
KNOWLEDGE AND DATA

This area is led by NECSTouR’s Tourism of Tomorrow Lab. The aim is to support regions in measuring tourism impact for decision-making.

Objectives:

  • Connection to the new European Tourism Data Competence Centre.
  • Destinations’ coaching in data management.
  • Cooperation projects around data-driven management.
  • Development of common methodologies for performance management.
Tourism of Tomorrow Lab
GOVERNANCE AND STRATEGIES

This area is led by NECSTouR’s Governance Hub. The aim is to support regions in Destination Management, Marketing and Governance.

Objectives:

  • Engaging and empowering DMOs in delivering strategies leading to positive value.
  • Advocating for tourism transition.
  • Alignment of strategies and product development in Europe.
  • Facilitating knowledge exchange.
  • Support the co-creation of new governance models.
  • Policy and regulation – advice for development.
Governance Hub
CLIMATE ACTION

This area is led by NECSTouR’s Climate Hub. The aim is to support regions in deploying climate actions towards decarbonisation and adaptation.

Objectives:

  • Capacity building to strengthen regions in the transition towards decarbonisation and climate adaptation.
  • Access to advice and expertise to support climate action.
  • Climate Hub with tools, content, courses and best practices.
  • Cooperation in European projects on climate action.
Climate Hub
Where did we come from?

Over the years, NECSTouR’s strategy has continuously evolved to meet the shifting challenges of the tourism industry.

Between 2018 and 2021, in response to the ongoing challenges –sustainable growth, addressing climate change, embracing digitalisation and access to new technologies, boosting business, market and skills intelligence, balancing people’s place of business, and increasing access by analysing the usability of information– NECSTouR identified five key priorities: smart destinations, social-cultural balance, skills and talent, safety and resilience, and statistics and measurability.

In 2018, NECSTouR also introduced the Barcelona Declaration, showcasing the need to support regions addressing the challenges to balancing people, places and business. Its principles and objectives became the foundation for the network’s work across these five priorities.

As the COVID-19 pandemic and escalating climate crisis exposed the fragility of the tourism ecosystem, the urgency for sustainable tourism grew, prompting regions to shift their governance models, making them more agile, sustainable and resistant to global challenges.

To support this transition, several key policy frameworks were introduced by the European Commission and other organisations, including the EU Tourism Transition Pathway, the Glasgow Declaration, and the report “Envisioning Tourism in 2030” released by the Travel Foundation, ELTH, Breda University of Applied Sciences, the European Tourism Futures Institute, and the Netherlands Board of Tourism and Conventions.

Recognising these shifts, NECSTouR members committed to developing a new strategy to guide the network toward 2030.

How did we get here?

The NECSTouR strategy co-creation process began in 2021 during the Annual General Meeting in Tirol, where the network agreed and prepared to sign the UN Glasgow Declaration on Climate Action in Tourism.

At the 2022 NECSTouR Annual General Meeting in Ringkøbing-Skjern, members undertook a deep internal reflection and voted to revamp the network’s strategy to better address emerging challenges. They validated NECSTouR’s pledge to the European Commission’s Tourism Transition Pathway and approved the development of the NECSTouR Climate Action Plan, both of which would shape the future strategy.

In March 2023, NECSTouR, in collaboration with SPEL-Turismo Lanzarote, co-hosted the masterclass “Empowering Destination Leaders to Deliver Sustainability” in Lanzarote in partnership with the University of Surrey, Breda University of Applied Sciences and the Travel Foundation, where Professor Paul Peeters (Breda University of Applied Sciences) presented the “Envisioning Tourism in 2030” report. His insights sparked discussions on strengthening DMO governance and inspired other NECSTouR regions to develop and rethink their national strategies by engaging key experts from both the public and private sectors, including renowned figures like Professor Xavier Font (University of Surrey).

In the Paris Annual General Meeting in 2023, the NECSTouR members worked around the most relevant topics and targets for regions and DMOs within the TTP connecting the territorial with the European agendas.  The outcomes of these discussions led to members building their pledges and agreeing on common targets for the network reaffirming NECSTouR’s commitment to the European Commission’s Tourism Transition Pathway, ensuring its central role in the evolving strategy.

This marked the beginning of a truly inclusive co-creation process:

Phase 1: Assessing Our Starting Point

This phase was shaped by members’ insights gathered through interviews, surveys, and focus groups. Their perspectives provided a clear picture of the network’s current position and aspirations for the future.

Phase 2: Exploring Future Possibilities

With expert analysis of members’ needs and priorities, we conducted scenario-planning workshops to explore potential pathways and ensure alignment with the network’s collective vision.

Phase 3: Defining Our Path

Building on these insights, NECSTouR established a new mission, vision, and strategic ambition, ensuring they reflected members’ expectations and the evolving tourism landscape.

Phase 4: Mapping the Journey

With a clear direction in place, we designed a realistic and actionable roadmap to achieve our goals. During the 2024 Annual General Meeting in Luleå, Sweden, members collaboratively set key milestones to drive progress in the coming years.

Phase 5: Turning Plans into Action

Following the final workshop during a Board of Directors meeting in October 2024, the outcomes were analysed, and NECSTouR’s new strategy was officially launched, marking the start of a bold, collective transformation.