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2018 HOTREC ANNUAL REPORT
Dear readers,
Last year, I outlined a set of challenges for the tourism sector and what the
European Commission is doing to support the industry. It is now time to update
you on the developments in our actions for the European tourism sector.
This year we are celebrating the EU-China Tourism Year and the European Year of
Cultural Heritage. We have put together a rich programme to showcase Europe’s
unique natural and cultural assets and diverse and creative tourism offers.
These initiatives provide a unique opportunity to increase the number of visits, promote sustainable and cultural
tourism and open up new business opportunities for European tourism.
Innovation and new technologies are having a profound impact on the competitiveness of the European tourism
industry, especially on SMEs. We have been active on different fronts to help European tourism overcome these
challenges.
Firstly, in the context of the New Skills Agenda and its Blueprint for Sectorial Cooperation, we have stepped up
our efforts to identify and close the skills gap and to improve the perception of careers in the tourism sector. We
have mobilised EU funds to set up a dedicated cooperation platform which will define the skills and job profiles the
tourism industry needs. It will also propose an action plan to roll out those skills at national and regional level. This
will help the industry find and retain professionals with the right competence.
Secondly, we are supporting small and micro tourism enterprises to adapt to technological trends. For instance,
we have enriched the Tourism Business Portal with new tailor-made webinars on digital and online marketing skills
for tourism entrepreneurs. In addition, from this autumn onwards we will organise a number of seminars on digital
skills across the European Union.
Thirdly, innovation is also driven by social trends and new business models. This has a distinct impact on tourism
businesses and on local communities. The Commission is looking at how we can encourage the development
of new and innovative services, and the temporary use of assets, while ensuring adequate consumer and social
protection. Last year we held a series of workshops on the collaborative economy in the tourism accommodation
sector. We discussed the application of EU legislation to new business models with a broad range of stakeholders
and exchanged views on regulatory practices. It has been an open and interactive process that has revealed a lot of
information about practices on the ground.
Lastly, tourism is an industry rooted in a destination. Enabling regions to cooperate and boosting investment to
support innovation and SMEs is therefore crucial. We are working to ensure complementarity between the different
EU funding resources and tailor-made support under the COSME Programme. I am particularly happy that the
European regions seized the opportunity offered by the Smart Specialisation Platform for Industrial Modernisation
and are now working together to promote smart and sustainable tourism.
Our work reflects the complexity of the tourism value chain. In fact, our Renewed Industrial Policy Strategy, published
last September, provides a flexible framework for addressing this complexity through focusing on investment, skills,
innovation and digitisation, the circular economy and internationalisation of SMEs. We must work together to make
the most out of this new strategic approach for the benefit of European destinations and the tourism industry.
Your role as industry representatives is very important in leading European tourism in the 21
st
century and the
Commission is ready to work with you to turn the challenges into opportunities.
FOREWORD BY MS. ELŻBIETA BIEŃKOWSKA,
COMMISSIONER FOR INTERNAL MARKET,
INDUSTRY, ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND SMES