European Parliament’s Committee on Transport and Tourism (TRAN) has approved, by 33 votes to 4 with 4 abstentions, the own-initiative report by Daniel Attard (S&D, Maltese) on destination management and the growth of regional tourism.
This report “delivers on connectivity to rebalance flows beyond hotspots, strengthens culture as the keystone of quality tourism, advances environmental action, boosts skills and mobility, and ensures short-term rentals serve communities, rather than exploiting them”, commented the rapporteur in a statement.
In the report, MEPs point out that 80% of travellers visit only 10% of the world’s destinations and that the aim should therefore be to relieve the pressure on destinations suffering from overtourism. To redirect visitors to lesser-known, emerging or remote destinations, such as rural areas, mountains or remote regions, they felt that resources such as gastronomy, heritage, cycling and regenerative tourism could create new opportunities, extend trips beyond peak seasons and generate additional income.
They proposed improving transport links and invited the European Commission to define a specific support mechanism to strengthen air, sea and land links and accessibility to emerging destinations in its next sustainable tourism strategy.
The elected representatives are also calling for a new European framework for short-term rentals that would define service provision standards, clarify categories of accommodation and allow European countries to limit the number of nights per visitor (see EUROPE 13640/20). They also felt it would be useful to share the results of ‘ecotax’-type initiatives with other EU countries and regions looking for ways to invest in sustainable tourism.
Finally, to remedy labour shortages, improve working conditions and overcome obstacles to mobility, MEPs suggested introducing a ‘tourism skills card’ designed to certify recognised training, skills, qualifications and professional experience in the tourism sector.
The resolution will be put to a vote by Parliament as a whole, possibly during the April plenary session.
Read the compromise amendments: https://aeur.eu/f/l8o (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)