The European Parliament approved a report commending the Abta Travelife system on Tuesday, as MEPs passed a series of recommendations to the European Commission on ‘A new political framework for tourism in Europe’.
The Abta-owned Travelife system gives accommodation suppliers a means to monitor and manage the environmental and social impacts of hotels and apartments. The system is part-EU funded.
Abta head of public affairs Luke Pollard described the endorsement from the European Parliament as “quite an achievement”. He said: “We have been investing significant time and effort in lobbying Brussels and it is good news that MEPs are engaging on the range of issues affecting tourism.”
Italian MEP Carlo Fidanza, who championed Travelife’s inclusion in the report, said: “Tourism is one of the future pillars of Europe’s economy. Ensuring tourism is sustainable is an important goal.”
Travelife business manager Soren Stoeber added: “We are delighted. As a project partly funded by the EU that adheres to EU standards, Travelife is perfectly placed to raise standards for the tourism industry in Europe.”
Abta established Travelife as a stand-alone company, wholly owned by the association, this summer. It reports the number of participating properties and tour operators has grown 60% in the past year, with 15,000 properties registered, 1,500 completing a third-party audit and 500 granted a Travelife award.
Travelife-accredited properties are now identified on agents’ online directory gazetteers.com