EUROPEAN COMMISSION TOURISM COMPETENCE

In line with the reinforced EU tourism competence provided for in the Lisbon Treaty, since 2010, the Commission has stepped up its efforts to contribute to strengthen the competitiveness of the tourism sector with a number of levers, among which promotion activities. In its 2010 Communication on tourism, the Commission acknowledges the consolidation of the image and profile of Europe as a set of sustainable and high-quality destinations as one of its priority action areas. The Commission focuses on initiatives with a transnational dimension and solid European added value, thereby complementing the actions of national, regional or local dimension undertaken in the field of promotion and marketing in the Member States. This includes, amongst others, a close cooperation with the European Travel Commission (ETC), which gathers together the National Tourism Organisations of 33 European countries.

The primary objective of Commission's initiatives in the field of tourism promotion is to increase Europe's visibility in new emerging and established long-haul markets. This overarching goal can only be achieved through an improved level of cooperation between industry and governments, to address jointly the main barriers to growth. It is crucial that tourism organisations at all levels continue to strengthen their collaboration under the umbrella of a common European approach. To this end, it would be important to initiate a joint initiative involving tourism key public and private players in targeted promotion efforts, capitalising on Europe's shared values as well as on its exceptional diversity and great variety of tourism experiences offered. Such a joint initiative should facilitate the establishment of transnational marketing partnerships and add value to all current promotion efforts. It would need to be developed with an inclusive approach, so as to create advantages for both established and less known destinations without creating confusion or further competition.

Last but not least, efforts should be joined towards a European promotion campaign, involving all European National Tourism Organisations, their umbrella association – the European Travel Commission (ETC), as well as relevant private stakeholders from the whole tourism value chain.