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Portuguese EU Presidency puts tourism on the road to sustainability and European recovery

European Union

01.07.2021

​​​​​​​​​As the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union comes to an end, Portugal reaffirms the value of EU tourism and its importance as a driving force for recovery and economic growth in the Union.  

The recovery and creation of jobs in the tourism sector, the definition of a common path towards a more sustainable tourism, a greater coordination of measures on the free movement of people and the efficient use of mega data as a statistical source to support the formulation of public policies and economic activity set the tone for the events and initiatives that took place over the last 6 months between Lisbon, Brussels and the other capitals. 

Alongside the European Union's Digital COVID Certificate, Portugal, through the work carried out by Turismo de Portugal, which took over the Presidency of the Council's Tourism WG, also obtained approval for the Council Conclusions on tourism in Europe in the next decade: sustainable, resilient, digital, global and social.  

Besides pointing to ways to strengthen the inclusion of tourism in future EU policies and legislation, and also addressing the liquidity needs of the tourism ecosystem, with efficient use of the Multiannual Financial Framework and the Next Generation Europe instrument to support companies, entrepreneurs and job creation; the Council conclusions take a step forward towards building a European Agenda for Tourism 2030-2050, with a view to supporting the ecological and digital transitions of the tourism ecosystem and enhancing its competitiveness. Member States agreed that the European Commission should present a first draft of the Agenda by the end of 2021.  

In terms of events, tourism has taken into account the spirit of the priorities in the EUPP programme and all of them have a pragmatic and solution-seeking approach to the sector.  

In terms of social issues, the International Forum: Education, Employment and Training in Tourism​, on 21 January, placed at the centre of the debate the importance of the qualification of human resources, access to the labour market and which essential skills will define the future of tourism. On the horizon of the digital transition, the Meeting of Directors-General for​ Tourism and the Experts' Meeting, under the theme "Big Data enabling Tourism competitiveness", allowed to boost the already existing innovation dynamics in the sector and to launch clues for the review of the data methodology used, namely through the creation of new Big Data tools. On 14 May, the High-Level Forum for Sustainable Tourism was a moment of reflection that brought together stakeholders, members of Government, European and international institutions, small and medium-sized enterprises, civil society and other entities, in order to define common strategic objectives and goals that contribute to the design of the key document that will accompany the process of recovery and positioning of tourism in the European Union in the coming years: the European Agenda for Tourism 2030-2050

Additionally, it should be noted that in the review of the EU Industrial Strategy presented by the European Commission in May, tourism was identified as one of the 14 industrial ecosystems that will have a specific approach, the tourism ecosystem being the first to be worked on and designed in partnership with Member States and stakeholders.

  • News
  • 2021
  • European Union
  • Portugal
  • Council of the European Union
  • Tourism
  • Ministry of Economy and Digital Transition
  • Secretary of State for Tourism
  • COVID-19
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