Welcome to the 18th issue of Tourism Around Europe, a quarterly newsletter for competitive and sustainable tourism in Europe.

For this issue I had the pleasure to interview Mr Eduardo Santander, Executive Director at European Travel Commission (ETC). It is time for the EU “to develop a new long-term strategy and work plan with clear aims, objectives, indicators and actions for tourism in the EU by involving all tourism stakeholders”, Mr Santander says, underlying the need for European institutions and stakeholders to work together to eliminate travel barriers for overseas markets (such as visas, taxation, interconnectivity, consumer protection, etc). He explains how the Tourism Manifesto has been a concrete initiative also to improve the cooperation among the stakeholders to tackle these issues. 

I am also very pleased to announce that the Summer School in Leadership and Governance for Sustainable Tourism is back for its 4th edition, hosted by Icelandic Tourist Board, and it will take place at the Lonely Planet´s no 1 destination in Europe 2015: Akureyri, Iceland, from the 5th to the 9th of October 2016. The Summer School  is a 3 days High Level event, co-organized by the Foundation for European Sustainable Tourism (FEST) and the European Travel Commission (ETC) to address one of the most important themes in the tourism industry: how to plan and deliver transformative tourism projects and initiatives to generate a sustainable visitor economy.

The 2016 Summer School aims to contribute to the 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, through a publication and preparing a Call for Action. Submit your abstract , deadline the 20th of July. 

The Summer School will once again brings together key representatives of the tourism sector: donors, representatives of European and international organizations, policy makers, industry representatives, project management practitioners, academics and entrepreneurs.

Outstanding speakers will be focusing on: Sustainable Tourism Policies, Criteria, Certifications, Best Practices; Project Management, Destination Management, Branding Destination; Capacity building, Public Private Partnership, tourism funding.

Speakers and participants will enjoy together plenty of social activities to discover the North Iceland, discover more here.

I hope to see you in Akureyri. Save your place: SummerSchool2016

I hope you will enjoy reading the Tourism Around Europe newsletter. You can discover more about 4 interesting ongoing sustainable tourism initiatives in the section dedicated to projects.

• Co-operating for Leadership in Tourism
• ST&Med (Sustainability and Tourism in the Mediterranean) Project 
• Project Wildsea Europe – Empowering Nature Tourism in European Coastal Destinations
• Sustainable MAnageR in TOURism Sector – SMARTOUR

The observatory includes the updated version of the Etis Tool Kit (2016 version) and the Tourism Manifesto. Several funding opportunities may be interesting to make your project ideas happen.

I wish to close my welcome with the quote from Eduardo Santander’s interview “Coming together is a beginning, staying together is progress, and working together is success” (Henry Ford). 

                                                                                                                                                                                                    Silvia Barbone
                                                                      Jlag Managing Director

The next “Tourism Around Europe” newsletter will be issued in September 2016

«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.

A Conversation with 

1. Which is the main scope of the Tourism Manifesto? Why was it needed?

Tourism represents a key sector of the European economy, generating almost 10% of total EU-28 GDP and employing 25 million people. Despite these valuable benefits, European tourism does not receive the importance it deserves on the policy making scene.

In response to this challenge, European public and private stakeholders have united and with a common voice presented their “Tourism for Growth and Jobs Manifesto” last year. Following extensive consultations, the tourism stakeholders including the European Travel Commission, identified eight common EU policy priorities for the sector in the coming years: competitiveness, digitalisation, good governance, joint promotion, reducing seasonality, skills and qualification, sustainability and transport connectivity. The tourism stakeholders came together to call for joint initiatives of the European institutions in these key priorities, which seek to ensure that the continent remains an attractive destination and that the tourism sector continues to make a significant contribution to economic growth and job creation in the European economy.

A unique initiative of its kind in the history of European tourism, the Manifesto is currently endorsed by 30 associations representing each subsector, both public and private. The initiative is welcomed by the European Commission and receives great support from the European Parliament. The full text of the Manifesto is available on www.tourismmanifesto.eu.

Read the full interview

ETIS Toolkit 2016

The European Commission , DG Growth, supported by a panels of experts, has recently launched the updated version of the ETIS  (European Tourism Indicators System) tool kit. The ETIS toolkit provides the primary support (guidelines) and clear explanations of what the indicators (core and supplementary) are, and how to use them. It also shows how ETIS complements other existing tools and methodologies at international and European level. The toolkit has recently be presented through an event organized by the Commission in Bruxelles: the ETIS joint conference on 'Managing and promoting sustainable and accessible tourism destinations’.

In terms of future plans. The Council of Europe is endorsing the implementation of ETIS within the certified transnational cultural routes. In 2016 at least 5 pilot Cultural Routes will be tested using ETIS. A dedicated ETIS/Cultural Routes task force, has been established by the Council of Europe. To encourage wider adoption of ETIS at destination level there are also plans to establish an ETIS destination network. 

Download  the 2016 ETIS toolkit  and  the supporting electronic documents. 

The Tourism Manifesto

With the Tourism for Growth and Jobs Manifesto, for  the first time the European travel and tourism sector stakeholders come together to call European institutions to act on key priorities, which seek to ensure that Europe remains an attractive destination and that the tourism sector continues to make a significant contribution to growth and job creation to the European economy. The Manifesto sets out eight European policy priorities for the travel and tourism sector in the coming years: competitiveness, digitalisation, good governance, joint promotion, reducing seasonality, skills and qualification, sustainability and transport connectivity.
We are pleased to support the Manifesto through  FEST and the Tourism Society Europa. 
Download the full copy is here

Flash Eurobarometer: Preferences of Europeans towards tourism

The survey looks at the travel patterns of European citizens in the 28 Member States of the European Union, and in Turkey, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Iceland, Montenegro and Moldova. It was designed to explore a range of aspects regarding holidays in 2015 and 2016. Where possible, results are compared with the previous waves of the survey and a longitudinal analysis has been carried out for questions which have been asked several times since the initial 2009 edition.

The results by volumes are here

UNWTO - Compendium of Tourism Statistics, Data 2010 – 2014, 2016 Edition

Deriving from the most comprehensive statistical database available on the tourism sector, the Compendium of Tourism Statistics provides statistical data and indicators on inbound, outbound and domestic tourism, as well as on the number and types of tourism industries, the number of employees by tourism industries, and macroeconomic indicators related to international tourism.
The 2016 edition presents data for 200 countries from 2010 to 2014, with methodological notes in English, French and Spanish.

Get an electronic copy

Co-operating for Leadership in Tourism 

Co-operating for Leadership in Tourism (Co-Lead) is a European framework project aiming to develop and test capacity building trainings and tools based on PM4SD to train team of professionals and trainers with appropriate skills and expertise who can directly assist destinations and enterprises to support their strategies, plans and actions for their sustainable tourism growth.

Co-Lead counts on the participation of the University of Malta, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Jlag, and the Bulgarian Economic Forum. During the project there will be opportunities to join the following activities:

• Preparation of case studies (April-Sept 2016)
• European and International Stakeholders workshop (Oct 2016)
• PM4SD training in Sofia (7-11 Nov 2016)
• PM4SD training in Cardiff (3-7 Apr 2017)
• Final Conference in Malta (June 2017)

The Co-Lead Project is co-funded by the European Commission through ERASMUS+, EU programme for education, training, youth and sport for 2014-2020. We will post all the updated and news here: www.pm4sd.eu

Project Wildsea Europe – Empowering Nature Tourism in European Coastal Destinations.

Project “Wildsea Europe” has recently reached one of its key milestones by announcing the launch of Wildsea.eu – the on-line portal of The Wildsea Europe Route.

The Wildsea Europe Route is a transnational Sustainable Tourism Route that connects European coastal destinations with a rich marine biodiversity and vivid seas. Unique places where visitors are able to experience marine wildlife through responsible, ecotourism activities.  The Route is a joint initiative of European tourism operators, public administrations and NGOs, co-funded by the COSME programme of the European Union through the Executive Agency for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises.  

Wildsea.eu shows the tip of the iceberg of Europe’s rich, amazing and mostly unknown marine biodiversity. It portrays some of Europe’s most emblematic marine species, as well as the coastal tourism destinations that thrive with their presence. But most of all, it sheds some light on the great experiential offer of an emerging tourism sector that is shaping around the curiosity and wonder that the marine world awakens in each and every one of us. All around coastal Europe, local tourism operators are inviting visitors from all around the World to come and share the beauty of a realm that has been long hidden behind the mainstream tourism scenes in Europe: the Ocean. Wildsea.eu will work to make this offer more visible and accessible to the millions of tourists and visitors that choose Europe for their holidays.

You can learn more about the Project’s objectives and key actions in www.wildsea.eu. And while you are at it, you may want to start planning for your next marine wildlife adventure!

“S&T MED: Civil Society, Academics, Private Sector and Local/National Authorities working together to build up a model of sustainable tourism for the Mediterranean”

Sustainability relies upon shared values and common objectives. This concept is at the heart of the approach of “Sustainability and Tourism in the Mediterranean” (S&T MED), a strategic Project funded through the EU/ENPI CBC Mediterranean Sea Basin Programme" (www.enpicbcmed.eu).
This Project, implemented in three pilot areas: Sinis Peninsula and Mal di Ventre Island in Italy, Mahdia in Tunisia and the Marine Park of Aqaba in Jordan, is grounded on the three main outcomes: to set up in the target destinations a Destination Management Organization (DMO) based on a community approach, to create a Mediterranean Observatory on Sustainable Tourism combining environmental and socio-economic data on tourism, and to set-up a Mediterranean network of sustainable coastal tourism destinations.
The Project’s three pilot areas are in the process of setting up DMOs, tailoring DMOs concepts and experiences to their own contexts. Through a participatory approach, a number of itineraries are also in their way to be identified in each destination with the participation of the private sector..
The creation of a Mediterranean Network of Sustainable Coastal Destinations will offer the opportunity to develop and test common methodologies during project implementation and after its closure. It will be kind of an open laboratory stimulating exchanges of ideas within and across the areas to help communities in finding their own way to sustainable tourism in full respect of local values, environment, culture and traditions.
For further information on S&T MED, please contact Ms Tiziana Giuliani at communication.stmedproject@beniculturali.it or visit S&T MED website (www.stmedproject.eu) and social media (https://www.facebook.com/STMEDProject/, https://twitter.com/STMED_Project ).

Sustainable MAnageR in TOURism Sector – SMARTOUR

SMARTOUR is a project funded by the European Union which aims to equip managers in the tourism field with the skills to run their businesses sustainably and generate long term benefits for the wider community. The project will provide training in business operations, environment and culture with a view to improving sustainability of the organisation and of the tourism offer in the region. As a first step, the project is surveying tourism businesses, visitors, and local residents, in order to identify the training and support required by business owners and workers. Tourism is experiencing growth both locally and nationally. However, the sector is characterized by high rates of staff turnover and drop-out. The SMARTOUR project aims to help combat this by providing the training so that staff can be developed and retained in the industry.

The project will be developing online training to support the industry based on feedback from the survey. The aim is to make tourism more sustainable by providing more customised and supported training. People living in tourist areas as well as people who have taken a holiday in the last year are also invited to take part in the surveys, which will feed into the wider SMARTOUR project involving European partners in Italy, Finland and Greece.

The project is funded under ERASMUS+ Key Action 2 Strategic Partnerships. For further information on the project, and links to all surveys visit: www.smartourproject.eu/surveys

ERASMUS + Funding Programme:

KA1: Mobility of individuals in the field of youth

Deadline for application: 04/10/2016

KA2: Strategic partnerships in the field of Youth

Deadline for application: 04/10/2016

Europe for citizens:

Town Twinning

Deadline for application: 01/09/2016

Network of towns

Deadline for application: 01/09/2016

EASME:

Call for proposals: Blue Technology - transfer of innovative solutions to sea basin economies

Deadline for application: 30/09/2016

HORIZON 2020:

Participatory approaches and social innovation in culture

Deadline for application: 02/02/2017

Cultural heritage of European coastal and maritime regions

Deadline for application: 02/02/2017

UNWTO Awards for Excellence and Innovation in Tourism

Submission deadline: 30 September 2016

Awarding Date: Awards Ceremony on 16 January 2017

Award Winners

The ETIS and Accessible Tourism Joint Awards 2016

World Heritage and Tourism in a Changing Climate

The report’s goal is to provide up-to-date information and a basis for action on climate change, tourism and World Heritage in the follow-up to the adoption of the Paris Agreement by the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in December 2015 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in October 2015. Using a series of case studies from World Heritage sites around the world, many of them iconic tourist destinations, the report shows how climate driven changes currently, or could in the future, threaten their outstanding universal value (OUV), integrity and authenticity, as well as the economies and communities that depend on tourism.
The case studies were chosen for their geographic representation, diversity of types of natural and cultural heritage and importance for tourism. Most importantly, they provide examples of a wide range of climate impacts, supported by robust scientific evidence. The 12 fully referenced case studies and 18 much briefer sketches provide examples from 31 World Heritage properties in 29 countries. An introductory section summarizes some of the common findings from the case studies and provides a situation report on the relationships between World Heritage, climate change and tourism.
The recommendations lay out a series of priorities for the international community, national governments, the tourism industry and site managers. The report was produced by UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre, UNEP’s Tourism and Environment Programme and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), in close collaboration.

Download the report here.

OECD Tourism Trends and Policies 2016

Tourism Trends and Policies, published biennially, analyses tourism performance and major policy trends, initiatives and reforms across 50 OECD countries and partner economies, providing up-to-date tourism data and analysis. The report is an international reference and benchmark on how effectively countries are supporting competitiveness, innovation and growth in tourism. Tourism has successfully weathered the effects of the global economic crisis, and active tourism policies have played an essential role in supporting a competitive and sustainable tourism economy. The 2016 edition captures these ongoing trends - presenting standardised data covering domestic, inbound and outbound tourism, enterprises and employment, and internal tourism consumption - and reports on how seamless transport can enhance the tourism experience, as well as the opportunities, challenges and implications of the sharing economy for tourism.

Buy full report here

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

Here are the dates for the next training courses:

• Brussels, BE: 26-30 September 2016;
• Domodossola, IT 29 Sept 1st Oct 2016;
• Brussels, BE: 5-9 December 2016.

Visit www.jlageurope.com to learn more about the course and register. For the course in Domodossola find more information here

• BEST EN Think Tank XVI “Corporate Responsibility in Tourism - Standards, Practices and Polices” (Berlin, 12-15 July 2016)
• Tourism users' workshop & International seminar on consumer trends & tourism, Modul University (Vienna, 8-9 Sept 2016)
• Summer school: Leadership and Governance for Sustainable Tourism , FEST & ETC, (Akureyri, 5-9 October 2016)
• European Tourism Forum, Bratislava, 10-11 October 2016
• European Week of Regions and Cities (10-13 October 2016)
• World Travel Market, London, UK, 7-9 November 2016