TRAVEL & TOURISM INDUSTRY CALLS ON EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND COMMISSION TO MOVE TOWARDS AN INTEGRATED EUROPEAN TOURISM POLICY

The Manifesto Tourism Legacy Paper has been signed and presented today to Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament

The members of European Tourism Manifesto for Growth and Jobs (and NECSTouR among them) and the World Travel & Tourism Council have today declared the urgent need for a genuine recognition of the importance of tourism.
In the European Parliament this morning, the two representative bodies presented the Tourism Legacy Paper to the President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani appealing to the new European Parliament and European Commission to move towards an integrated European tourism policy with strategic funding at EU level.

President Tajani - in response to receiving the paper - stated: “As always, I give my full support to the tourism industry. The European Parliament is united it 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”.  

The legacy paper stresses that a holistic European approach is needed to formulate effective tourism policies taking into account the multiple impacts of the sector as well as the wide spectrum of stakeholders involved or affected by tourism.Executive Director of the European Travel Commission, Eduardo Santander co-signed the paper on behalf of the European Tourism Manifesto for Growth and Jobs, alongside his counterpart Gloria Guevara Manzo, President and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

The signatories of the paper endorsed the proposal of the European Parliament to introduce a specific allocation of 300 million Euro for sustainable tourism as part of the Single Market budget under the Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for the years 2021 to 2027.

Recent statistics from the World Travel & Tourism Council highlight the significant contribution of the sector. The industry generates (directly and indirectly) 10.3% of total EU-28 GDP and supports 27.3 million people, with visitor exports generating €400 billion. This is even more important when it is considered that it is a labour-intensive sector built primarily by SMEs with high female and youth employment ratios. In times when unemployment rates have increased, evidence indicates that the travel and tourism sector remains one of the leading job creators both in Europe and worldwide.

The European Tourism Manifesto for Growth and Jobs is a declaration adopted by NECSTouR and 44 other European public and private tourism stakeholders and stakeholders with an interest in tourism. The Manifesto outlines the signatories' views on how tourism contributes to growth and jobs and how the European Union should shape its future tourism policy. The signing of this legacy paper today is another step taken by the signatories of the Manifesto to encourage the EU institutions to advance a genuine European tourism policy and prioritize strategic investments in tourism.

The Full Paper can be accessed here

(© European Union 2019. Photo by EP / DAINA LE LARDIC)