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Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee – Tourism in the EU: sustainability as a driver for long-term competitiveness (own-initiative opinion)

EESC 2024/00656

OJ C, C/2025/2014, 30.4.2025, ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/2014/oj (BG, ES, CS, DA, DE, ET, EL, EN, FR, GA, HR, IT, LV, LT, HU, MT, NL, PL, PT, RO, SK, SL, FI, SV)

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/2014/oj

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Official Journal
of the European Union

C series

C/2025/2014

30.4.2025

Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee

Tourism in the EU: sustainability as a driver for long-term competitiveness

(own-initiative opinion)

(C/2025/2014)

Rapporteur:

Isabel YGLESIAS

Plenary assembly decision	18.1.2024
Legal basis	Rule 52(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Section responsible	Single Market, Production and Consumption
Adopted in section	9.1.2025
Adopted at plenary	27.2.2025
Plenary session No	594
Outcome of vote (for/against/abstentions)	118/0/0

1. Conclusions and recommendations

1.1.

Tourism is a key sector for the EU’s economy and of the utmost importance in many regions that are highly specialised in tourism. To ensure that these regions can fully contribute to boosting the EU’s competitiveness through tourism, the transition to sustainable tourism needs to be accelerated and regenerative tourism strategies must be implemented.

1.2.

The systemic vision of regenerative tourism and its integration with the circular economy distinguish it from sustainable tourism. While the latter focuses on mitigating the environmental impact, regenerative tourism goes further: it uses practices designed to restore and strengthen natural, social and economic capital, with a positive and lasting impact on destinations and communities.

1.3.

The new EU legislative cycle should promote tourism policies that include active regeneration objectives and take into account how all the components of a tourist destination are interconnected: ecosystems, communities, the local economy and visitors. It is therefore essential to move away from the traditional way of thinking, which sees volume as the main measure of success in tourism, towards a systemic view focused on creating added value.

1.4.

To that end, it is essential to encourage planning, management and monitoring of tourism development that ensure that the activity has a more positive impact. This also means strengthening governance structures through transnational cooperation between Member States and more robust social dialogue.

1.5.

The EESC proposes developing clear guidelines and concrete measures to accelerate the transition to a tourism model centred around active regeneration and social value in the framework of the sustainable tourism strategy. This strategy should be accompanied by appropriate funding and research programmes, as well as social and training policies to ensure that it is implemented effectively.

1.6.

Training and upskilling employees in sustainability and the circular economy is key to increasing job quality and attracting and retaining the talent needed to make the transition to regenerative tourism possible and viable. To achieve these objectives, efforts should be made to involve consumers more. The combination of economic incentives, accessible models and strategies to encourage year-round tourism is key to involving them more widely and more effectively.

2. General context

2.1.

Tourism has a great impact on economic growth, employment and social development in the European Union: it represents 9,7 % of EU GDP (1) and 11,1 % of jobs in related sectors such as hospitality, transport and trade.

2.2.

The strong focus on tourism in many Member States points to tourism as one of the areas where the EU can build new competitive advantages and thereby help to increase the EU’s global competitiveness (2).

2.3.

The European Commission has for decades been working to coordinate and complement Member States’ tourism initiatives, including in key areas such as tourism sustainability. This is evidenced by the publication in 2022 of the Transition Pathway for Tourism (3), developed jointly with stakeholders to accelerate the twin green and digital transitions.

2.4.

From the first responsible tourism initiatives in the 1990s (focusing on protecting local culture and fair distribution of the economic benefits of tourism) to the December 2022 Council conclusions on a new European Agenda for Tourism 2030 (4) and the recent Palma Declaration (5) promoted by the Spanish Presidency of the Council in 2023, the European institutions’ policies and initiatives have underlined the importance of economic, environmental and social sustainability in securing tourism’s contribution to the EU’s economic and social development.

2.5.

Despite significant progress in developing sustainability policies for tourism, the rising international tourism flows in the wake of the pandemic are putting a strain on the sustainability of many destinations and compromising European regions’ ability to boost their economic and social development alongside tourism, with the added challenges of staff shortages and skill matching in the sector.

2.6.

All this calls for broad policy guidelines, based on a holistic approach to tourism which enables more, new types of value to be generated and strikes a balance between the needs of visitors and residents.

3. General comments

3.1.

To drive forward these policies, it is necessary to:

3.1.1.

replace approaches that have proven to be insufficient and are strictly confined to market, sector or product issues with a systemic approach that integrates the environmental and social aspects and incorporates what have thus far been considered externalities as internal factors. Tourism should be understood as a complex system, intricately connected to the ecological and social systems;

3.1.2.

rethink what is meant by ‘tourism success’ and move away from the traditional view of volume as the main parameter for planning, managing and monitoring tourism development. A tourism value should be established, shared by all parties involved, as proposed by the ‘destination stewardship’ approach;

3.1.3.

strengthen models of collaboration and governance bringing together the interests, expectations and capacities of companies, government, research centres, associations, trade unions, NGOs and other entities;

3.1.4.

link tourism growth to continuous productivity improvement, ensuring that this translates into greater capacity to create new and different types of value and new opportunities for professional development;

3.1.5.

move beyond the search for a ‘more or less acceptable, negative impact’ scenario in order to move towards a positive impact scenario through ‘regenerative tourism’; to that end, it is essential to consolidate and increase consumer involvement, giving consumers an active role in the transition. The combination of economic incentives, accessible models and strategies to encourage year-round tourism is key to achieving this.

3.2.

‘Regenerative tourism’ focuses on nature and people and learns from science and technology in order to manage the complex interrelationships between tourism, society and the environment to improve the natural, economic and social capital of destinations as prosperity hubs.

3.3.

This approach is being applied in multiple sectors, such as architecture, urban planning and fashion, and maintains a close link with the circular economy, as it calls for a new production and consumption paradigm that actively contributes to regeneration rather than just conservation.

3.4.

At European level, bold, specific policies are already being developed under the principle of eco-design in many areas. The Commission’s Transition Pathway for Tourism states that all tourism services must work towards circular models and reduce their environmental footprint.

3.5.

The commitment to shift to a circular tourism system, as a strategy for moving towards regenerative tourism, is a step in precisely this direction, as it promotes:

—	active improvement of local ecosystems, restoring natural capital and reducing resource consumption;

—	the well-being of local communities and social cohesion, boosting professionalism and job quality;

—	the regeneration of local economies, promoting their diversification and resilience, which is particularly important in a system with a lot of SMEs;

—	adaptation to global change with solutions that support ecological and social resilience;

—	technological and social innovation and the uptake of new collaborative governance models involving multiple players (public and private);

—	the creation of more value (by improving quality and productivity) and the discovery of new types of value.

3.6.

In order for regenerative tourism to become a reality in the EU, the EESC proposes some measures below to boost it during the European institutions’ 2024–2029 cycle, in line with the Transition Pathway for Tourism, the European Agenda for Tourism 2030 and the Palma Declaration:

3.6.1.

the development by the European Commission of clear guidelines and concrete measures to accelerate the transition to a tourism model based on active regeneration and social value under the sustainable tourism strategy announced by Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas. The strategy should provide specific support to the industry and local communities (6), prioritising restoring ecosystems, increasing the resilience of local communities and implementing circular economy principles;

3.6.2.

the establishment by the Commission of specific tourism financing programmes, including regenerative tourism pilot projects. These programmes and incentives must encourage the uptake of circular practices, renewable energy, eco-design of infrastructure and ecosystem restoration;

3.6.3.

the creation of European innovation laboratories and interdisciplinary research centres, developing nature-based and technology-based solutions to find regeneration formulas tailored to specific regional needs;

3.6.4.

the development and promotion of collaborative governance networks, involving local authorities, businesses, trade unions, consumer organisations and civil society, aligning their interests in support of regenerative tourism;

3.6.5.

the training and upskilling of workers in sustainability, which is key to increasing job quality and attracting and retaining the talent needed to make the transition possible. To that end, it is necessary to roll out training measures aimed at closing gaps in skills in the areas of environmental sustainability, resource management, technological innovation, eco-design, circular economy and use of new technologies;

3.6.6.

explicit inclusion of the impact that tourist activity can have on various socioeconomic aspects, particularly on the housing market and on access to housing, especially when it comes to illegal professional practice and illegal commercial offerings;

3.6.7.

the formulation of social policies in tourist destinations that ensure inclusivity and accessibility through universal design so that older people, chronically ill people and people with disabilities can enjoy tourism on an equal footing;

3.6.8.

development of a system of European indicators measuring progress towards regenerative tourism. It is necessary to assess the impact of tourism policies on biodiversity, natural resources and local communities, and to adjust policies accordingly;

3.6.9.

promotion of cross-border cooperation between Member States and regions to implement regenerative initiatives, especially in tourist destinations that share common ecosystems or natural resources (e.g. Mediterranean areas, mountain regions and areas affected by the specific impact of cruise tourism) and promotion of interregional pilot projects;

3.6.10.

the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools: this could be key to improving the management of tourism flows, optimising resources and customising travellers’ experiences by improving their sustainability and assessing the impact they have (7), as part of the drive to boost digitalisation as a way of attracting workers to the sector.

3.6.11.

Other general measures:

(a)	running awareness-raising campaigns on the importance of regenerative tourism and supporting changing consumption habits and tourist behaviour;

(b)

strengthening social dialogue in the sector in order to successfully implement the measures taken and improve the quality of employment in the sector, enhancing policies to upskill and attract staff, and in order to increase staff motivation and promote staff retention, specifically addressing the challenges associated with the sector’s seasonal nature;

(c)

building the capacity within the European Commission to drive these policies forwards. In this regard, the EESC welcomes the proposal for a European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, and calls for a specific directorate to be set up to promote and consolidate European tourism policies.

3.6.12.

The next European legislative cycle should put regeneration at the heart of tourism policies, providing a model that not only mitigates negative impact but also promotes the restoration of ecosystems and communities. Through legislation, financial incentives, transnational cooperation and an inclusive governance framework, the EU can lead the transformation of tourism and ensure that it contributes to the EU’s global economic competitiveness.

Brussels, 27 February 2025.

The President

of the European Economic and Social Committee

Oliver RÖPKE

(1) WTTC-EU-Economic-Impact.2024.pdf.

(2) WTTC-EU-Economic-Impact.2024.pdf.

(3) Transition pathway for tourism.

(4) Council conclusions on the European Agenda for Tourism 2030.

(5) Adopted by EU tourism ministers in Palma de Mallorca on 31 October 2023, during the Spanish Presidency of the Council.

(6) Watch the hearing of Commissioner-designate Apostolos Tzitzikostas.

(7) In this regard, see initiatives such as AI for Good , from the UN World Tourism Organization, and the UN Tourism Strategic Roadmap for AI in Tourism.

ELI: http://data.europa.eu/eli/C/2025/2014/oj

ISSN 1977-091X (electronic edition)

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