Among the 8 Tourism Priorities listed by Commissioner Bieńkowska, who is responsible for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs is the need for improvement of the governance structure, both within the EU institutions and within the industry. Another priority is the promotion of sustainable tourism.

Strengths

Tourism is a key sector of the European economy. It is an important driver of economic growth and job creation. It is the third largest socio-economic activity in the EU. Tourism accounts for 10% of the EU GDP if sectors linked to tourism are taken into account. The sector consists of ,about 1,8 million enterprises, employs 10% of the total EU labor force, and provides 12 million jobs.

1. To strengthen the EU tourism industry as a high quality service sector, a more customer-oriented approach as well as well trained and motivated staff is necessary.

2. To give the EU a better position as the number one tourism destination in the world, Europe needs better branding to reflect its core values and to adequately differentiate itself from other destinations in the world.

A pro-independence alliance has won a majority of seats in the Spanish region of Catalonia, plunging Spain into a constitutional crisis just two months ahead of national elections. The Junts Pel Si (Together For Yes) alliance won 62 seats in the 135-member regional parliament, and another pro-independence party, Candidatura d'Unitat Popular (CUP), won 10 seats. But the pro-independence parties between them failed to win an overall majority of the votes cast, ending up with just under 48%.

This SWOT analysis gives a short but concise overview of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of the European Hotels and Restaurants sector.

Strengths

Source: ECTAA (2012)

Estimates

For Members of the European Parliament the Tourism Europe Forum (TEF) will be a reliable source of information and a useful tool to underpin debate on policy issues affecting the European tourism industry.

The Forum’s goal is to promote dialogue and include all major players in it, thus offering a unique opportunity to engage with many stakeholders, while respecting time constraints.

Recognizing the diversity of the European tourism industry does not mean that it is impossible for a sector composed of diverse elements to reach common views on some issues. It is does not mean that it is impossible to identify common issues and to work on them.