European Travel Commission (ETC) research on “Monitoring Sentiment for Domestic and Intra-European Travel – Wave 11” leads to optimism: 77% of Europeans have travel plans between now and September. Over half of them (56%) plan to visit another European country, while 31% will choose national trips. From this base the 103rd General Meeting of the ETC kicked off in Slovenia brought together 31 of the 34 CEOs of national tourism authorities (NTOs).
Despite optimism about strong recovery prospects, delegates could not ignore the new challenges facing the travel industry in Europe, including rising inflation and the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Mariana Oleskiv, president of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine (SATD), attended the General Metting online as a guest of honor. As a sign of solidarity, the Ukrainian tourism agency was invited to become the 35th member of ETC. Over the next three years, the ETC will support the SATD by giving it access to all of its resources, including research data and best practices, to help plan its recovery after the war.
Despite geopolitical risks affecting current events, sustainability has remained on the agenda with the Industry Forum on Sustainable Tourism Practices. Integrating sustainable practices into tourism has long been a priority for NTOs, and ETC is determined for it to remain a core focus in the sector amidst competing crises including the ongoing pandemic, rising energy prices, and the war in Ukraine.
The forum was dedicated to discussing how to continue encouraging companies to focus on a sustainable and green transition. Peter Jordan, Head of Insights at Toposophy, was joined by speakers from Business Finland and Scottish Enterprise to present the different practical approaches they have taken in developing sustainability toolkits and decarbonisation plans for mobilising tourism business communities in their countries.
A long-time pioneer in the field of sustainable tourism, the Slovenian Tourist Board took the opportunity to show its vision in this area. Ilona Stermecki, Acting Director of the Slovenian Tourist Board presented Slovenia’s decade long commitment to sustainable tourism and the positive effects of the Green Scheme of Slovenian Tourism (GSST). The GSST is a key platform for the development of green tourism and the implementation of sustainable projects in Slovenian tourism.
“National tourist authorities throughout Europe are right to be hopeful about the resurgence in tourism predicted for this summer,” said Luís Araújo, president of ETC. “However, it would be remiss of them to turn a blind eye to challenges on the horizon. It has been encouraging to see the brightest minds in the sector come together to strategise on the geopolitical and environmental issues that will impact us for the months and years ahead. It is also symbolic that we are hosting our discussion on sustainability in Slovenia, which has been at the forefront of the green transition in European tourism.”
Camping Business releases a second video report from the SETT, this time focusing on products and services