In order to raise awareness about the recent launch of the European Travel Advocacy Coalition (ETAC), over 150 e-mails were sent to MEPs having joined the European Parliament Tourism Intergroup as well as to MEPs members of the EP Transport and Tourism Committee and last but not least to European Commission civil servants involved in Tourism. We also proceeded to having a translation of the English ETAC presentation into French, Spanish and Italian.

We are most grateful for the courteous replies of the following persons:

The purpose of the European Parliamentary Tourism Forum under the acronym TEF would be to facilitate the exchange of information between the European Parliament and stakeholders interested in tourism. The TEF would be a non-profit and independent organisation supported by a wide range of MEPs from different political groups through a Steering Committee.

Main Purposes

Written by: Paul Temporal  based at Said Business School, University of Oxford, prior to which he lived in Asia for over twenty years. He has written several best-selling books on branding including his latest on “Branding for the Public Sector”.

Digital innovation is key for competitiveness of tourism industry but the European tourism. SMEs are lagging behind in using the potential offered by modern technologies. The Commission has implemented several initiatives to support adaptation of tourism businesses to the ICT developments and boost digitalisation of tourism in general.

Competitiveness in the provision of tourism services is complex and requires the harmonization of a diverse set of inter-dependent industries and the public sector. Understanding the nature of constraints confronting the tourism industry itself, therefore, requires a rigorous assessment of the role of each value chain component in the overall tourism experience, the linkages to other agents, and the performance of the service providers, industries and institutions.

1. Streamlining the regulatory framework for tourism at European, national, regional and local level

A public consultation on the regulatory and administrative framework affecting tourism was carried out in 2014. The consultation and subsequent stakeholder meetings showed that there is a need to look into and possibly streamline the regulatory and administrative framework relevant for those aspects that have been identified by the tourism industry, in particular on consumer proetction and taxation.

Proposed actions under this point:

The overall goal is to marshal the industry behind essential policy objectives for tourism, transport, aviation and investment in Europe

 ETAC’s Policy Goals for Tourism

ECM is a not for profit membership association dedicated to strengthening and improving European City Marketing. It provides value to its CVB’s and CTO and affiliate members by using strategic competitiveness to :

European Travel and Tourism Advisory Group (ETAG) is a membership association offering a communication platform for European travel and tourism organisations and tourism related stakeholders. It is focused on the development of effective networking and cooperation opportunities based on common interests of the tourism sector.

Key Working Principles

European Travel Commission (ETC)