Welcome to the 14th issue of Tourism Around Europe, a quarterly newsletter for competitive and sustainable tourism in Europe.

European tourism has continued to grow robustly throughout 2014 and has proved resilient to headwinds. Data from the first three quarters of this year paint a very positive picture for destinations in Europe. Travel & Tourism is responsible for 9% of Europe’s Gross Domestic Product and 22m jobs, 10% of total employment. It is bigger than the automotive industry and bigger than the oil & gas and chemical industries put together. To let tourism growth more the European tourism industry today calls to create a playing field that is globally competitive on regulation.

I had the pleasure to interview Tom Jenkins, Executive Director of the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA). I met Tom during the European Tourism Day organized by the European Commission in Brussels the 1st of Dec, he was one of the speakers of the panel "Towards a 'Europe Destinations brand initiative?" The session was very interesting and interactive, bringing together different perspectives.

In this issue, we focused on food tourism through three projects that span five continents. In our bookshelf, we recommend the UNWTO Global Report on Food Tourism. In the observatory session, you can read more about the Trends and Prospects of the European Tourism, about the 10 Year Framework Programme on Sustainable Consumption, the Global Report on City Tourism, you can download the San Marino Declaration, adopted at the First UNWTO Conference on Accessible Tourism. In the funding session you can check some of the calls open within the main European funding programmes (Cosme, Horizon2020, Erasmus+, Cooperation programmes).

I am very proud to announce that Basquetour, the public Basque Tourism Agency, has been selected as the host organization for the third European Summer School in Leadership and Governance for Sustainable Tourism. The event, organised by FEST and the European Travel Commission, with the patronage of the Eutopean Parliament, will take place in the city of Vitoria-Gasteiz, in the Basque Country, Spain, in July 2015.
Registrations will open in early 2015.

Finally, I am also pleased to announce that for the first time the Project Management for Sustainable Development (PM4SD) training course will be delivered in n North America. The course will take place in May 2015, and it is organized in partnership with the Ryerson University’s Institute for Tourism and Hospitality Research, based in Toronto, Canada.

The 2015 will be the European Year of Development; it will be a key opportunity to raise awareness of development across Europe, and design and deliver tourism projects and actions that aim to create a positive impact in developing countries.

I wish you all a peaceful and prosperous 2015.

Silvia Barbone
Jlag Managing Director

The next “Tourism Around Europe” newsletter will be issued in March 2015

«Tourism Around Europe» is a quarterly newsletter for competitive tourism in Europe. Our aim is to disseminate European tourism policies and practices. We wish to encourage the exchange of knowledge regarding European tourism themes, actions and challenges. Each issue includes a conversation with influential leaders and thinkers within the sector.

I had the pleasure to interview Tom Jenkins the Executive Director of the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA). I met Tom during the European Tourism Day organized by the European Commission in Brussels the 1st of Dec, he was one of the speakers of the panel "Towards a 'Europe Destinations' brand initiative?". The session was very interesting and interactive, bringing together different perspectives, and Tom's speech contributed to generate an interesting debate. In this interview we talk about branding Europe as a unique destination, EU regulations and how sustainability can be related to marketing strategies.

SB: ETOA is the representative association for tour operators and business suppliers in Europe. How does ETOA view sustainable tourism and what is the impact of “sustainability” as part of ETOA’s business/ marketing strategy?

TJ: This is an interesting question to pose in an area where there is a lot of piety and little action. As an association, we have always been interested in the environment, and the impact that tourists have on the destinations they visit. As we are primarily an inbound association, we are principally concerned with access, overcrowding and anti-tourism movements. These concerns manifest themselves in pointing out that such problems are usually caused by misperceptions and poor planning. As for the wider “green agenda”, tourism tends not to fit. This is not because we deny global warming, nor that it is anthropogenic. But tourism is fundamentally amoral. It is noticeable that some companies that broadcast their green credentials have now dropped them as a central part of their marketing campaign. Among the many motivations to travel for leisure, virtue is seldom a motivating factor. Undeniably some choose their holidays according to “green” criteria. It is possible that this may grow to be as significant a niche as those who go on religious pilgrimages. Tourism is a consumer activity. As a pastime it is inherently self-indulgent, not virtuous. And tourism businesses supply what clients feel they want, not what others think they should have.

full interview

European Tourism 2014 - Trends & Prospects (Q3/2014)

This report, elaborated by the European Travel Commission, confirms that European tourism has continued to grow robustly in 2014 and has proved resilient. Growth in large destinations in Southern and Northern Europe exceeded expectations, and strong two-digit growth was reported by a large number of smaller destinations. Established source markets in Europe were the strongest contributors to the success of many destinations in the region. Data point to a rebound of short breaks on top of main holidays, backed by increased consumer spending power in key source markets. Additionally, long-haul markets support the positive performance of European destinations even further.

Download the full report.

The new 10 Year Framework Programe on Sustainable Consumption

During the World Travel Market, in November, the Sustainable Tourism Programme of the Ten-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production Patterns (10YFP) was launched. This new international programme aims to catalyze a shift to more sustainable tourism over the next decade. The programme will be led by the UNWTO and the Governments of France, the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Korea, with the support of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), which hosts the 10YFP Secretariat.

Tourism contributes 9% to global GDP and if not sustainably managed however, tourism can de-plete natural resources leading to water shortages, loss of biodiversity, land degradation and con-tribute to climate change and pollution, among other impacts. Tourism’s contribution to global warming is estimated at 5 per cent of global CO2 emissions. UNEP’s 2011 Green Economy Report reveals that under a ‘business-as-usual’ scenario, projected tourism growth rates to 2050 will re-sult in increases in energy consumption by 154 per cent, greenhouse gas emissions by 131 per cent, water consumption by 152 per cent, and solid waste disposal by 251 per cent.

Learn more about the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production here.

UNWTO's San Marino Declaration calls for universal accessibility in tourism 

The San Marino Declaration, adopted at the First UNWTO Conference on Accessible Tourism in Europe, calls for all stakeholders to ensure universal accessibility in all the components of the tour-ism value chain: physical environment, the transportation system and information and communi-cations channels. Public-private partnerships are also called to actively engage in the field of uni-versal accessibility.
UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai stressed that ““People with disabilities and special needs should be able to actively take part in tourism just as any other traveler. Great strides have been made to advance universal accessibility, particularly in Europe, but there are still many opportuni-ties to be seized. Accessibility for all depends much on the will of all players to work together, and we at UNWTO remain committed to advancing this fundamental agenda and implementing the necessary changes alongside our partners.”

The conference took place in San Marino, on the 19th and 20th November 2014 and organised by the UNWTO and the Government of the Republic of San Marino, in collaboration with Village for All (V4A) and the ONCE Foundation of Spain. Its aim was to address how to advance quality, sus-tainability and competitiveness in accessible tourism with a special focus on cultural heritage and the use of smart technologies.

Download the San Marino Declaration here.

Measuring Employment in the Tourism Industries – Guide with Best Practices, UNWTO

This public report, a joint project by the ILO (International Labour Organisation) and the UNWTO, confirms that employment in tourism and the economic value of tourism in terms of employment remain inadequately measured and insufficiently studied. Employment in the tourism industries needs to be measured and described in a more consistent way supported by proper statistical instruments developed on international tools and enhanced through international cooperation. This report shows that statiscal data are indispensable tools for evidenc-based decision-making, planning implementation and monitoring of policies and programmes. Reliable and comparable statistics on tourism employment are thus fundamental to understanding tourism labor markets, devising effective job creation policies, promoting employment opportunities, planning workforce needs and developing human resources through education and relevant training.

This guide provides some examples of best practices of measuring employment in the tourism industries from countries that have demonstrated capacity to develop a comprehensive set of employment indicators.

Download the full report.

Global Report on City Tourism

This report is based on a wide-ranging study carried out by the UNWTO Affiliate Members Programme among 21 of the world’s most-visited cities, providing insight into their urban tourism strategies and priorities. These 21 cities represent an international reference in urban tourism.
Managing urban tourism, however, is no simple task. As metropolitan areas expand rapidly, both the public and private sector face radical changes, as well as significant opportunities. Sustainably managing increasing tourist numbers amid a constantly changing city landscape while ensuring the city is developed to respond to the needs of both visitors and local communities is key. Against this background, the Global Report on City Tourism is a timely contribution to the debate of the role of cities in the growth of global tourism and conversely the role of tourism in contributing to the well-being, environmental quality and cultural identity of city dwellers worldwide.

Download the full report.

In this issue, we focused our attention on three projects dedicated to food and wine tourism. 

The Food Heritage Foundation and Food Tourism in Rural Areas in Lebanon

In Lebanon, the Food Heritage Foundation aims to promote local food heritage as a main driver of rural economic development. One of its main projects is a food trail passing in 10 villages. It is being implemented in collaboration with the Environment and Sustainable Development Unit at the American University of Beirut and the Shouf Cedar Biosphere Reserve. It is supported by USAID in the framework of the Lebanon Industry Value Chain Development project.

This is the first project of its kind in Lebanon. It aims to create a touristic destination focused on food tourism and to diversify the income of small-scale farmers, food producers, local guides, and bed and breakfast operations integrated to the trail. By putting the visitor in direct contact with the local producers, the project raises awareness about the origin of a food product or a traditional dish and its cultural and emotional ties to the destination.

USEWINE

USEWINE is an Erasmus+ project that aims to apply the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) to Wine SMEs in rural areas. The Triple Bottom Line model defends that the bottom line for organizations should not be just one, profit; but three: profit, people and planet (environment). This project will develop SME and stakeholders’ leaders who will have the competencies to promote and implement this business model.

The project was launched on October 21st 2014 and it will run until August 31st 2017 and involves ten partners from eight EU countries: Cyprus, France, United Kingdom, Portugal, Austria, Poland, Romania and Spain. It will start by collecting information of the current situation on TBL. It will then train 20 consultants on how to assist the Wine SMEs and local authority leaders to implement TBL in their strategy. The results of the project will be presented in the international conference is Zaragoza, Spain, in June 2017.

Visit USEWINE’s website for more information.

BookaLokal

BookaLokal is a social dining website founded in Brussels which helps travelers and locals find authentic, social dining experiences. Often referred to as the "AirBnB for food", BookaLokal brings the sharing economy into the kitchen, allowing local chefs, amateur cooks and food entre-preneurs to host their own food events in homes, private restaurant spaces and unique venues. Whether you're traveling to a new country or looking to make new connections in your city, BookaLokal is a safe and easy way to meet locals and get a taste of their culture.

How it works: hosts create a meal or experience on the site at no charge, and then guests from around the world can browse and book the hosts and events that appeal to them. BookaLokal holds onto the payment until after the experience has ended, and protects both the guests and hosts from financial risk.

Founded in Brussels in 2012, BookaLokal is now headquartered in New York City, and has over 10,000 members and hosts in over 43 countries. 

Learn more about BookaLokal here.

Watch a demonstration video here.

INTERREG EUROPE programme launched

The new interregional cooperation programme for 2014-2020 is ready to start.
On the 2nd and 3rd December, almost 800 people from all over Europe gathered in Bologna for the interregional forum “Europe, let’s cooperate!” to discuss past projects and share ideas on how to work together in the future on improving the life in their regions. More than 100 ideas were pro-posed and you read the here.
The event also presented the new features of INTERREG EUROPE, with detailed tutorials. Videos will be posted online soon.

Find out more about the new INTERREG EUROPE.
 

COSME

Enterprise Europe Network (2nd Call) - 2015/2020
Deadline for application: 21/01/2015

Facilitating EU transnational tourism flows for seniors and young people in the low and medium seasons 
Deadline for application: 15/01/2015

ERASMUS+

Strategic partnerships in the field of youth
Deadline for application: 04/02/2015

Capacity building in the field of higher education
Deadline for application: 10/02/2015

Forward-Looking Cooperation Projects 2014
Deadline for application: 24/02/2015

Jean Monnet – Activities 2015
Deadline for application: 26/02/2015

Download the Erasmus+ Programme Guide

View the full list of open centralized calls here.

HORIZON 2020

Emergence and trasmission of European cultural heritage and Europeanisation
Deadline for application: 28/05/2015

The cultural heritage of war in contemporary Europe
Deadline for application: 28/05/2015

Horizon 2020 dedicated SME Instrument - Phase 1 2015: SME business model innovation
Deadline for application: 16/12/2015
Cut-off dates: 18/03/2015; 17/06/2015; 17/09/2015

View the full list of open calls here.

EuropeAid

Vocational Education, Training and Employment
Deadline for Application: 26/01/2015

Switch Asia II - Promoting sustainable Consumption and Production
Deadline for Application: 09/02/2015

UNWTO Global Report on Food Tourism

The Global Report on Food Tourism explores the links between tourism and food, as gastronomy has become a central part of the tourism experience. Food tourism has gained increasing attention over the past years. Tourists are attracted to local produce and many destinations are centring their product development and marketing accordingly. With food so deeply connected to its origin, this focus allows destinations to market themselves as truly unique and appealing to those travellers who look to feel part of their destination through its flavours.
The report analyses the current situation of Food Tourism, through a survey of the UNWTO Affiliate Members as well as the reflections of professionals with extensive experience in international organizations, destination management, tourism companies and the training schools.

Download the full report.

The PM4SD™qualification is the next step for anyone involved in this growing industry looking for further demonstrate their commitment to sustainable tourism.

Jlag will run the next courses throughout Europe, in 2015:

• Rome, IT, 8-9 January 2015 (Practitioner only)
• Brussels, BE, 23-27 February 2015
• Cardiff, UK, 13-17 April 2015
• London, UK, 16-20 March 2015
• Toronto, Canada, 4-8 May 2015
• Rome, IT, 8-12 June 2015

Register at www.jlageurope.com

Smart cooperation in coastal and maritime tourism – Encouraging transnational partnerships through clus-ters and networks, organised by DG Enterprise and Industry of the European Commission, 20 January 2015, Brussels, Belgium

Eleventh International Conference on Environmental, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability, organised by the On Sustainability Knowledge Community, 21-23 January 2015, Copenhagen, Denmark

FITUR – International Tourism Trade Fair, 28 January – 1 February 2015, Madrid, Spain

UNWTO/UNESCO World Conference on Tourism and Culture: Building a New Partnership, 4-6 February 2015, Siem Reap, Cambodia

ENTER2015 e-Tourism Conference, organised by the International Federation for Information Technology and Travel and Tourism (IFITT), 4-6 February 2015, Lugano, Switzerland

2015 International Symposium and Annual Conference of Partners, organised by the Global Partnership for Sustainable Tourism, 23-25 February 2015, Windhoek South, Namibia

Travel Technology Europe 2015, 25-26 February 2015, London, United Kingdom

ITB Berlin, 4-8 March 2015, Berlin, Germany

Pan-European Dialogue between cruise operators, ports and coastal tourism stakeholders, 5-6 March 2015, Brussels, Belgium.

T-GuIDE European Conference, 21 March 2015, Brussels, Belgium

World Food Travel Summit, organised by the World Food Travel Association, 6-11 April 2015, Estoril, Portugal

The WTTC Global Summity 2015, organised by the World Travel and Tourism Council, 15-16 April 2015, Madrid, Spain

European Sport Tourism Summit 2015, 14-15 May 2015, Limkerick, Ireland

Sustainable Energy Week 2015, organised by the European Commission, 15-19 June 2015, Brussels, Belgium

Summer School in Leadership and Governance for Sustainable Tourism, organised by FEST, July 2015 (dates to be announced)