Brussels, 08/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - Tourism is recognised as an important factor for economic growth and should be the subject of a global political strategy to consolidate Europe's position as the world leader in tourism and help this tourism become more culturally based and sustainable.
In an effort to put this objective into practice, the Italian Presidency will organise the 13th European Tourism Forum. This will seek to promote the exchange of best practice and look at the policies that are likely to encourage the expansion of tourism in Europe. Discussions will also continue on how to simplify procedures for granting visas and the conditions for the movement of non-European citizens in member states. New information and communication technology (ICT) is also an excellent means for developing the tourism sector and the Italian Presidency will explore different methods of implementation, which can improve tourism services and develop cultural itineraries with the support of ICT. Particular attention will also be placed on the development of mobility plans and intermodal transport services, in order to improve access to culturally interesting sites which suffer from transport infrastructure shortcomings, whilst preserving the natural beauty of these sites and protecting their cultural integrity.
The Italian Presidency will examine the issue of employment in the tourism sector. It believes that it is essential to organise training and courses with workers in the sector still poorly trained. The aim is to create a network of best practice in theoretical training, as a means of educating a “generation” of tourism professionals that have robust and recognised qualifications. (IL)