PRIORITIES FOR EU TOURISM POLICY

Priorities for EU Tourism Policy

1. Streamlining the regulatory and administrative framework impacting tourism at European but also at national, regional and local level;
2. Promoting the digitalisation of the tourism SMEs;
3. Upgrading the skills and competencies in the tourism sector;
4. Promoting sustainable and responsible tourism and finalising the European Charter for Sustainable and Responsible Tourism;
5. Fostering low and medium season EU and non-EU tourist flows in the EU;
6. Improving intermodality and transport connectivity;
7. Joint public/private promotion of European/transnational tourism products mainly in third countries' markets;
8. Improving governance of tourism within the EU Institutions, within the Member States and within the EU Tourism Value chain.

Active participation of all the relevant stakeholders and effective implementation of any project is best ensured by gaining the willing commitment of those affected by it. This requires that stakeholders should be able to express their own needs and perceptions and be involved in major decisions. With tourism projects, this means that the various private sector interests need to be involved as well as the various authorities.

Public bodies responsible for the promotion of destinations, and also for the promotion of tourism at a regional and national level, need to find effective ways of working with the enterprises that provide tourism services, but individual businesses also have to be more conscious of the fact that there can be both positive and negative spill-over effects from their own activities and that the success of their business frequently depends on the effectiveness of their interaction with other businesses and with the authorities responsible for the strategic inputs into a destination's success that range from infrastructure and transport to overall positioning and branding. In some instances, new public-pivate relationships are developing, including situations where the private sector is taking the lead in developing strategy and coordination. This approach can be particularly relevant where restrictions on public budgets are limiting the scope for initiatives by public authorities.

An important target for the development and sharing of good practices should rest with

• National or regional tourism authorities,
• Destination Management Organisations,
• Regional and local development authorities,
• Industry associations or local business organisations,
• Ad-hoc groups of enterprises,
• Others with an interest in the tourism sector, such as those involved in tourism training and skills development.

There is a clear responsibility on the part of the European Commission and the national authorities in particular, but also on the part of the tourism business associations to use the opportunities they have to make the relevant target groups aware of good practices that have been identified. European tourism business associations have an important mediating role given their close work with national associations and direct contact with major interests in the industry and individual enterprises too.