Tourism in the EU: sustainability as a driver for long-term competitiveness

Background  

This own-initiative opinion will build on the Palma Declaration of 31 October 2023 “The path towards social sustainability of tourism in the EU” where, under the impulse of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU, Tourism ministers call for a competitive, modern, high quality and sustainable tourism.
The tourism sector is strategic for the EU, for large companies and for SMEs but suffers from critical staff shortages in many countries. Constructive and urgent solutions need to be found developed in order to achieve the goals of the Palma Declaration.

Key points

The EESC:

• emphasises that the transition to sustainable tourism should be accelerated and regenerative tourism strategies must be implemented to ensure that regions highly specialised in tourism can fully contribute to boosting the EU’s competitiveness through tourism. Regenerative tourism goes further than sustainable tourism: it uses practices designed to restore and strengthen natural, social and economic capital, with a positive and lasting impact on destinations and communities;
• recommends that the new EU legislative cycle should promote tourism policies that include active regeneration objectives and take into account how all the components of a tourist destination are interconnected: ecosystems, communities, the local economy and visitors;
• proposes developing clear guidelines and concrete measures to accelerate the transition to a tourism model centred around active regeneration and social value in the framework of the sustainable tourism strategy. This strategy should be accompanied by appropriate funding and research programmes, as well as social and training policies to ensure that it is implemented effectively;
• stresses that training and upskilling employees in sustainability and the circular economy is key to increasing job quality and attracting and retaining the talent needed to make the transition to regenerative tourism possible and viable. To achieve these objectives, efforts should be made to involve consumers more. The combination of economic incentives, accessible models and strategies to encourage year-round tourism is key to involving them more widely and more effectively.

For more information please contact the INT Section Secretariat