At an informal meeting in Sofia on Tuesday 13 February, the European Union's tourism ministers discussed the possible creation of a European Tourism Fund in order to support development of the tourism sector.
The idea was put forward by Croatia's Minister for Tourism Gari Cappelli and it was much welcomed by the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council. Bulgaria's Minister for Tourism Nikolina Angelkova indeed thought the idea should "be debated" over the coming months, especially as part of the negotiations on the post-2020 multi-annual financial framework. The Commission is due to present its proposal on this framework on 2 May (see EUROPE 11959). European Commissioner for the Internal Market Elżbieta Bieńkowska moreover thought these discussions were relevant in view of the next multi-annual budget.
With the issue of the Western Balkans at the centre of concerns of the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council, representatives from these states and from Turkey were invited to talk to the European Union ministers.
Angelkova, Bieńkowska and Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), all identified digitisation as one of the key issues for the future of the tourism sector – a sector that accounts for over 10% of European GDP.
The tourism ministers also discussed the Bulgarian proposal of creating a Sofia Map (listing 100 major European tourist attractions) and EU-China partnerships. These discussions come at a time when the Chinese-European year of tourism was launched on 19 January (see EUROPE 11942). (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)