Commission presents first comprehensive EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy

Commission presents first comprehensive EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy

On 4 November, the European Commission presented a new EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy, the first comprehensive EU strategy dedicated to tourism. The strategy aims to strengthen the sector's competitiveness, sustainability and resilience, while maintaining Europe's position as the world's leading tourism destination.

Tourism is a major contributor to the European economy, supporting more than 20 million jobs and accounting for around 10% of EU gross value added. However, the sector is facing growing challenges, including geopolitical uncertainty, labour shortages, climate change and changing traveller expectations. The strategy therefore sets out a long-term framework to help tourism businesses, destinations and public authorities respond to these challenges and build a more competitive, sustainable and resilient tourism ecosystem.

The four main pillars of the strategy are as follows:

Boosting the competitiveness of EU tourism

Tourism SMEs are central to Europe's tourism economy, particularly in rural, coastal, mountain and island regions, but often face challenges linked to limited access to capital, data and technology. To address this, the strategy promotes stronger partnerships between SMEs and larger tourism businesses, alongside measures to simplify the regulatory environment, including a new EU Simplification Initiative for Tourism and updated VAT rules. 

It also prioritises digitalisation through the Common European Tourism Data Space and the integration of tourism into the EU's AI agenda. Improving transport connectivity and infrastructure, especially for remote and island regions, is another key focus, while a new EU Tourism Academy will help address labour and skills shortages across the sector.

Strengthening sustainability and building resilience

The strategy places a strong focus on making tourism more sustainable, better managed and more resilient. It promotes greener business models, supported by new tools such as environmental footprint guidance for hotels, updated EU Ecolabel criteria and dedicated support for SMEs. It also gives regions and destination management organisations a greater role through the proposed EU Model for Tourism Management, a Council Recommendation on Balanced Tourism Management and an EU Toolbox for Balanced Tourism aimed at addressing overtourism, seasonality and destination management challenges. 

Accessibility, affordability and inclusion are also key priorities, alongside stronger preparedness for future shocks through a new EU Tourism Crisis Coordination Network and measures linked to the EU Climate Resilience Framework.

Enhancing international cooperation and outreach

The strategy sees tourism as an important tool for EU soft power and international cooperation. The Commission plans to strengthen partnerships with organisations such as UN Tourism and the OECD, launch new tourism dialogues with key partners and use tourism to support broader regional development and diplomatic objectives.

To boost Europe's attractiveness, the EU will strengthen the Destination Europe initiative, promote lesser-known destinations and encourage multi-destination tourism routes across regions. It will also continue efforts to facilitate travel through more efficient visa policies and border management systems.

Ensuring investment, governance and cooperation

Delivering the strategy will require continued investment, with tourism already benefiting from around €18 billion in EU funding between 2021 and 2027 to support infrastructure, digitalisation, skills, resilience and SME competitiveness. Looking ahead, the proposed 2028-2034 EU budget will continue to support the sector through programmes such as Horizon Europe, InvestEU, Erasmus+ and National and Regional Partnership Plans, with a strong focus on digitalisation, innovation, sustainability and skills.

To strengthen coordination, the Commission will establish a new EU Tourism Alliance, bringing together public authorities, industry and other stakeholders to support implementation of the strategy. It will also launch a European Capitals of Tourism Award and Tourism Europe Days to promote best practice, encourage collaboration and raise the profile of European destinations.

For ERRIN members, the strategy is an important recognition of the central role regions play in shaping sustainable tourism. It gives regions a stronger role in destination management, resilience planning and tourism governance through initiatives such as the EU Model for Tourism Management, the EU Toolbox for Balanced Tourism and the future EU Tourism Alliance.

At the same time, it creates new opportunities to access EU support for investments in digitalisation, innovation, skills, sustainability and climate resilience. The strategy also signals a shift towards a more place-based approach to tourism, where success is measured not only by visitor numbers, but also by benefits for local communities, territorial cohesion and long-term regional development.

Find more information on the strategy on the Commission's website.