An alliance of more than 60 travel and tourism organisations is calling for the sector to be “firmly anchored” in national recovery plans across the European Union.
The European Tourism Manifesto group has launched a #Tourism4Recovery campaign to support its call and showcase the impact of investments in sustainable tourism.
It recently published a paper, entitled ‘Call for Action: Accelerate Social and Economic Recovery by Investing in Sustainable Tourism Development’, saying there is an “unprecedented opportunity to reset travel in Europe and build a more sustainable, resilient and innovative tourism sector”.
The paper outlines ideas such as the development of clean fuels; investments in tourism marketing; rapid broadband services for rural, coastal and mountainous areas; and digital skills training for tourism workers.
Eduardo Santander, chairman of the European Tourism Manifesto alliance and chief executive of the European Travel Commission, said: “With appropriate support, travel and tourism can be one of the most effective engines to deliver sustainable development in 2021 and beyond.
“The sector supports employment across all areas and demographics, contributes to social inclusion and wellbeing and generates revenue needed to preserve community identity, culture, and heritage.
“We urge EU governments to follow our call and firmly anchor tourism and travel in their crisis response and recovery plan.”