Over three days the NECSTouR Presidency and Executive Team actively participated in the CIVITAS Forum Sustainable and Smart Mobility for All in Thessaloniki, which included contributing to the panel discussion “Managing visitor flows and liveability in European cities” in the presence of European Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas.

The discussions that took place during this panel gave the opportunity for Françoise Guaspare Senior Advisor for Île-de-France Region who hold NECSTouR Presidency to state:

“Tourism mobility planning must be integrated from the beginning of the customer journey, and for this, tourism and transport authorities must break the silos and collaborate systematically in integrating tourism in SUMPs and mobility in Tourism strategy if we care for a sustainable and seamless mobility of visitors in Europe”

NECSTouR also moderated the discussion “2026 EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy: Mobility and Tourism at Crossroads” with an audience that included representatives of DG MOVE, city transport Managing Authorities and mobility stakeholders.

NECSTouR took the opportunity to reaffirm the need for better collaboration between tourism and transport authorities in mainstreaming visitor flows for the benefit of the communities and visitors experience. The CIVITAS Forum provided a space for NECSTouR to call for a visitor mobility chapter in the EU tourism strategy and to have tourism mobility priorities embedded in DG MOVE’s future plans. NECSTouR stands ready to join the conversation and support DG MOVE and CIVITAS in furthering the following issues:

1. Mainstreaming how the EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy can help sub-national entities integrate tourism and urban mobility planning to support sustainable visitor growth while improving accessibility, liveability and quality of life for residents.
2. How cities, regions, DMOs and transport operators can work together to deliver seamless multimodal connections between international gateways, TEN-T networks, and local transport systems while managing visitor flows sustainably.
3. Defining what governance frameworks, partnerships and investment priorities are needed to implement sustainable tourism mobility solutions across Europe.