Today is a big day for Europe and Tourism, but the World Travel and Tourism Council is not attending. Today is European Tourism Day.

Insiders told eTurboNews that WTTC is becoming more British than global recently, specifically when it comes to new staff hires at the UK-based association claiming to represent the private sector of the global Travel and Tourism industry.

Perhaps WTTC is becoming a casualty of Brexit. A year ago, Julia Simpson, the CEO of WTTC, addressed European tourism ministers to highlight the importance of tourism recovery for Europe, creating employment for 24 million in the EU.

UNWTO, known as the World Tourism Organization, represents the world’s public sector and is part of today’s European Tourism Day.

Since 2018, several challenges have confronted the EU tourism ecosystem, but now the tools are available to work towards achieving the twin transition and boosting resilience in the coming years.

After a long and intense co-creation process, the Transition Pathway for Tourism was published in February 2022.

It was used as a basis for the European Tourism Agenda 2030, adopted by the Council last December.

European Tourism Day 2023 will enable discussions on the transformation of EU tourism and take stock of implementing the Transition Pathway for Tourism with stakeholders representing the whole spectrum of the tourism ecosystem.

To that end, an orientation debate with Thierry Breton, Commissioner for Internal Market, will take place to discuss the resilience of the ecosystem, and three roundtables will focus on the following:

Digital Transition – towards the data space for EU tourism
Green Transition – sustainable tourism services and destinations
Skilling and Upskilling – of Tourism actors

Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Internal Market, and Karima Delli, Chairwoman of the Transport and Tourism Committee European Parliament, will conduct the Opening Discussion.

An Orientation debate will follow this:

How can a resilient, world-leading tourism ecosystem be created with innovative SMEs and thriving communities?

Torbjörn Haak, Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of Sweden to the European Union, will introduce the debate, and the following will participate: Susanne Kraus-Winkler, Secretary of 1tate for Tourism, Federal Ministry of Labor and Economy, Austria; Hubert Gambs, Deputy Director-General, DG GROW, European Commission; Luís Araújo, President of Turismo de Portugal and President of the European Travel Commission; Petra Stušek, Managing Director at Ljubljana Tourism and President of the Board at City Destinations Alliance; and Michiel Beers; Founder and CEO of Tomorrowland. Next on the program is a segment on the state of progress titled Transition Pathway for Tourism hosted by Valentina Superti, Director of Ecosystems II: Tourism & Proximity, DG GROW, European Commission.

There will be 3 Roundtable Discussions:

Digital transition: towards the data space for EU tourism

– Bjoern Juretzki – Head of Unit for Data Policy and Innovation, DG CNECT, European Commission

– Dolores Ordoñez & Jason Stienmetz, Project coordinators of the preparatory work for the common EU data space for tourism

– Oliver Csendes, Chief Digital & Innovation Officer, Austrian National Tourist Office

– Urška Starc Peceny, Chief Innovation Officer and Lead of Tourism 4.0 Department Arctur

– Mafalda Borea, Head of International Business Development & ESG Lead at E-GAP

Green Transition: sustainable tourism services and Destinations

– Emmanuelle Maire, Head of Unit for Circular Economy, Sustainable Production and Consumption, DG ENV, European Commission

– Alexandros Vassilikos, President, HOTREC

– Nina Forsell, Executive Manager, Finnish Lapland Tourist Board

– Eglė Bausytė Šmitienė, Marketing Specialist, Hotel Romantic, Lithuania

– Patrizia Patti, Founder and CEO, EcoMarine Malta

Skilling and upskilling of tourism actors

– Manuela Geleng, Director fo Jobs and Skills, DG EMPL., European Commission

– Klaus Ehrlich, Co-coordinator of the large-scale skills partnership in tourism

– Ana Paula Pais, Head of Education and Training, Turismo de Portugal

– Fabio Viola, Founder of the “TuoMueso” international art collective

– Stefan Ciubotgaru, Legal Officer, DG SANTE, European Commission (Junior Professional Program)

The Keynote Speech on the sustainability of tourism will take place mid-afternoon and will be delivered by Zoritsa Urosevic, Executive Director of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

Closing Remarks at the end of the day will be given by Kerstin Jorna, Director-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, DG GROW, European Commission, and Rosana MorilloRodriguez, Secretary of State for Tourism in Spain.

Exhibitions

The event includes an exhibition on the European Capital of Smart Tourism.

This initiative recognizes outstanding achievements by European cities as tourism destinations in 4 categories: sustainability, accessibility, digitalization, cultural heritage, and creativity.

This EU initiative aims to promote smart tourism in the EU, network and strengthen destinations, and facilitate the exchange of best practices.

The European Commission is implementing the European Capital of Smart Tourism, an initiative currently financed under the SME Pillar of the Single Market Programme (SMP). On the occasion of European Tourism Day, the search for the 2024 EU Capital of Smart Tourism and the 2024 EU Green Pioneer of Smart Tourism officially starts. Applications open on May 5 and close on July 5.