EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 16.12.2025

COM(2025) 763 final

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL

on the implementation of the European Tourism Agenda 2030

Table of Contents

I.    Introduction    

II.    Priority Area 1: Enabling Policy Framework And Governance    

III.    Priority Area 2: Green Transition    

IV.    Priority Area 3: Digital Transition    

V.    Priority Area 4: Resilience And Inclusion    

VI.    Priority Area 5: Skills And Support For Transition    

VII.    Conclusions And Recommendations    

Annex    

I.Introduction 

The European Agenda for Tourism 2030 , together with its multi-annual work programme (hereafter the “Agenda”), was adopted by the Council in its Conclusions of 1 December 2022. The Council invited the Commission to follow up on the implementation of the Agenda and report to the Council at least every three years. This is the first report on the implementation of the Agenda, including progress on implementing the actions contained in its multi-annual work programme.

The Agenda is closely linked to the Transition Pathway for Tourism , which was co-created with tourism stakeholders, including national, regional and local authorities, destination management organisations (DMOs), social partners, industry, and academia, and was published on 4 February 2022. Two annual stocktaking reports on progress made towards the 27 priority actions identified in the Transition Pathway for Tourism for the Commission, Member States and tourism stakeholders were published in January 2024 and May 2025 , respectively. The Commission Work Programme 1 announces a new EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy for the second quarter of 2026, calling for greater efforts across the EU to promote a competitive, sustainable and resilient tourism sector.

The Agenda encompasses five priority areas for the European tourism ecosystem: the green transition, digital transition, resilience and inclusion, skills and support, and the enabling policy framework and governance, which is in line with the Transition Pathway for Tourism. It is important to note, however, that not all 27 pathway topics are covered in the Agenda, which combines actions under 16 topics. Several actions are defined under each priority, such as diversifying tourism services across seasons and locations, reducing environmental footprint and supporting the accessibility of tourism. Another key objective of the Agenda is to meet the skills demand in the tourism ecosystem by implementing the EU Pact for Skills  initiative, a shared engagement model for skills development.

In the three years since the Council conclusions on the Agenda, the European tourism landscape has evolved, as well as since the COVID-19 pandemic, when the tourism sector was severely impacted. The Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) has played a key role in helping the tourism sector recover, with 126 investments across 19 Member States. Around EUR 13 billion have been invested for tourism, culture, and creative industries, enhancing innovation, digitalisation, and destination resilience. Overall, the tourism sector has continued to recover and grow in most regions. However, geopolitical tensions, climate events and unbalanced tourism in some destinations have impacted development, and, in some cases, the well-being of residents. Workforce shortages have also persisted in some sectors, particularly in hospitality .

Progress has been made in all priority areas identified in the multi-annual work programme by nearly all Member States. An overall assessment of the varied progress by each priority area is presented under dedicated sections in this report. This analysis is based on an in-depth study ‘ Stock-taking of the co-implementation of the Transition pathway for Tourism and EU Agenda 2030 ’ 2  carried out on behalf of the Commission from January to October 2025. The assessment is based on the number of measures or initiatives that Member States have either implemented or plan to implement by 2030. These measures were identified through a combination of publicly available sources, as well as qualitative insights gathered from surveys, focus groups, and interviews with a wide representation of stakeholders.

Together with Member States, the Commission and tourism stakeholders have also made progress towards these actions as evidenced in the 2024 stocktaking report on the Transition Pathway for Tourism. Certain actions identified in the Transition Pathway and the Agenda that have been considered as having made the most progress will be considered as completed or will be consolidated with other actions. Nevertheless, some priority areas have seen limited or moderate progress and should be remain as priorities in order to develop a more sustainable and competitive EU tourism sector. These identified actions and level of their progress are laid out in the Annex to this report.

II.Priority Area 1: Enabling Policy Framework And Governance 

In total, four key topics are defined in the Agenda under “Enabling policy framework and governance” - fair measures for short-term rentals (STR), statistics and indicators for tourism, comprehensive tourism strategies development or update, collaborative and databased destination management.

In comparison to the other priority areas, overall progress under the priority area of 'Enabling policy framework and governance' remains limited across the EU, with twelve Member States achieving a 'moderate progress' ranking, while fifteen Member States are categorised as achieving 'limited progress.’ The Commission has made progress across the four key topics, notably with the adoption of its proposal on the collection and exchange of data on short-term rental services which was subsequently adopted by the co-legislators on 24 April 2024 3 , facilitating tourism statistics collection through Tourism Satellite Accounts (TSA) and through support to the D3Hub. More than 130 pledges 4 have been received by stakeholders on the topics related to enabling policy framework and governance.

The comparatively limited progress in this area suggests that many Member States have yet to establish comprehensive governance structures or policy frameworks at national, regional and local level that can effectively support the transition towards more sustainable and resilient tourism systems. This includes gaps in long-term strategic planning, statistics and indicators in tourism, as well as insufficient adoption of collaborative and data-driven destination management practices.

The action as regards measures for short-term rentals (STRs) could be considered ongoing, as the above-mentioned Regulation (EU) 2024/1028  has been adopted and will apply as of 20 May 2026. 5 . The research conducted demonstrates that sixteen Member States have measures in place regarding STR legislation, featuring varying levels of enforcement and transparency. Nine Member States register short-term rental properties in a national database, five Member States impose or increase taxes on rentals and four cities temporarily limit new licenses in highly-populated areas. STRs and unbalanced tourism in some destinations are being reflected in the ongoing efforts to address a larger crisis of affordable housing at EU level. An additional initiative on STRs is currently planned for the second quarter of 2026. The Commission has launched a dialogue on affordable housing , including a public consultation and the Housing Advisory Board, which will inform the European Affordable Housing Plan to be published by the end of 2025.   s

As regards statistics and indicators for tourism, statistics and measurements for tourism are considered a priority in fifteen Member States and overall, Member States have advanced in enhancing tourism statistics through improved data collection methods. Thirteen Member States have specific measures in place and twelve have published shareable good practices . A total of seven national actors have made pledges under this topic. Despite this progress, it remains clear that the availability and coverage of tourism statistics to consider the economic, social, cultural and environmental impacts of tourism must be improved. The planned review of the EU framework for tourism statistics will be a key element for improving the collection of data.

During the preparation of the Transition Pathway and Agenda, stakeholders highlighted the importance of well-designed and data-supported strategies at all appropriate levels (national, regional, local). While this is a competence of Member States or regions depending on national governance structures, effective sharing of good practice plays a key role. As regards comprehensive tourism strategies for development or update, research shows that all Member States have a national tourism strategy in place and more than half are aligned with the Agenda. Member States, regions and municipalities have also used the opportunities under EU funding, including Cohesion Policy 6 , to address identified socioeconomic and territorial challenges related to tourism, strengthen the sector’s resilience and sustainability, and contribute the implementation of national, regional, local and cross-border tourism strategies, in line with the Transition Pathway for Tourism. The Urban Agenda for the EU Thematic Partnership on Sustainable Tourism , launched in 2022, gathers twenty-nine members from all levels of governance and types of stakeholders, including cities, to discuss and design solutions to urban tourism from a multi-stakeholder and multi-level perspective. Its Action Plan covers a wide range of topics such as destination resilience and climate adaptation, development of digital skills for the sector, diversification of tourism offers, accessibility of destinations, and the protection of local retail. National, regional and local tourism strategies should continue to take into account actions in the Agenda and be published by Member States, also on the EU Tourism Platform . National and regional strategies will continue to play an important role in European tourism policy and strategies. 

As regards collaborative and databased destination management, the Agenda calls on the Commission and Member States to support destinations in developing their local governance models. The Commission continues to organise annual competitions for the European Capital of Smart Tourism  (for larger destinations) and European Green Pioneer  (for smaller destinations), inviting them to showcase achievements in smart and sustainable destination management. These achievements rely on collaborative and data-based elements and networking with other destinations, thereby serving as inspiration and catalyst for innovation. Member States exhibit varied progress on this topic, but gaps remain in standardisation and sustainability. 

Considering the modest and varied levels of progress made in this area overall, some improvements could be made to improve data collection and make indicators more robust. Structured dialogue between national, regional and local authorities could foster better communication and collaborations. Support to DMOs to evolve into comprehensive managers of sustainable tourism could be considered.

III.Priority Area 2: Green Transition 

In total, three key topics are defined in the Agenda under “Green transition” - improving circularity of tourism services, supporting the green transition of tourism companies and SMEs, research and innovation projects and pilots on circular and sustainable tourism.

The progress in this priority area is generally moderate to significant, with nine EU Member States achieving a 'significant progress' ranking, while sixteen Member States achieved 'moderate progress', and only two Member States demonstrated 'limited progress'.

Under the green transition, the most notable progress in the last years has been the adoption of numerous legislative initiatives proposed by the Commission under the European Green Deal, such as the e.g. the Nature Restoration Regulation, Net-Zero Industry Act , Directive on the Energy Performance of Buildings , Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation , and the Corporate Due Diligence Directive . As required under the Climate Law, the Commission recommended in February 2024 an additional intermediate target of 90% less emissions by 2040.

More than  110 pledges have been made by stakeholders towards the three green transition topic areas in the Agenda, demonstrating engagement by numerous tourism actors with sustainability initiatives.

In contrast to the first priority area, Member States have shown moderate progress under the green transition topics through a relatively higher number of initiatives and policy actions. This indicates a stronger level of engagement and investment by Member States in this domain.

As regards improving circularity of tourism services, water resilience in particular is a topic that has gained importance in the EU agenda. The challenges resulting from climate change, extreme weather conditions, and natural disasters affect all Europeans and all economic sectors, including tourism. Water scarcity affects 30% of Europeans and 20% of land each year. 70% of Europeans have expressed concern about water pollution and water scarcity, and yet almost half of them do not feel well informed about water-related problems in their country. Several Member States consider the circularity of the tourism industry a challenge (related to waste/water/pollution and also to food services), while even more Member States consider improving waste and water management and reducing pollution of tourism services a priority. A total of thirteen Member States have measures in place to reduce the environmental footprint of food services, and ten have measures to improve waste and water management of tourism services. Regions are also increasingly adopting innovative projects to enhance circularity in the tourism sector by focusing on waste management, resource efficiency and circular economy models. Further support to tourism services to reduce their environmental footprint in line with EU objectives and support the improvement of waste and water management and sanitation capacity will be needed.

In terms of supporting the green transition of tourism companies and SMEs, the take-up of EMAS and the  EU Eco-label schemes by tourism enterprises has been steadily increasing over the past years. Member States are fostering greener tourism by encouraging eco-labels and supporting SMEs in environmental assessment and footprint reduction. Nevertheless, more could be done by both the Commission and Member States to promote the use of these schemes at national, regional and local levels. It is further expected that the entering into application of the Directive ‘Empowering consumers for the green transition’ in September 2026 and the eventual adoption of the Directive on Green Claims by the co-legislators will further boost the uptake and consumer awareness of reliable labels and sustainability schemes, among them the EU Ecolabel, EMAS and Product Environmental Footprint (PEF). Many Member States consider helping SMEs engage in environmentally friendly practices and using green public procurement criteria for procuring tourism-related services (travel, hospitality, catering) as challenging, even though they are both considered a priority. However, approximately half of the Member States have measures to support SMEs. It is therefore clear that the green transition of tourism companies, in particular SMEs, should continue to be a priority.

The objective of research and innovation projects and pilots on circular and sustainable tourism is clear – both the Commission and Member States should support the development of models and transferable practices for sustainable tourism through dedicated projects. At regional and local levels, DMOs should also continue to support such projects including on islands and in outermost regions. Under the 2021-2027 Horizon Europe framework programme, there were several relevant calls for proposals that could support sustainable tourism development: systemic circular solutions for a sustainable tourism, cultural heritage and cultural and creative industries, including the new European Bauhaus and Food 2030 projects 7  for urban food system transformation. Based on the CORDIS database , by September 2025, R&I funding under H2020/Horizon Europe had been granted to more than 300 projects with links to tourism, sustainability, climate and circularity. These projects directly address tourism in urban/peri-urban areas, as for instance the H2020 SmartCulTour focusing on Smart Cultural Tourism; the Horizon Europe VERNE as one-stop-shop for circular tourism and energy; the pilot projects under the Horizon Europe Mission of the Climate Neutral and Smart Cities and the 100 Mission cities embedded tourism-relevant elements in their climate and smart plans of their Climate City Contracts; the Horizon Europe Partnership “Drive Urban Transition for a Sustainable Future” also addressed circular cities and tourism aspects under its pillar of circular economy.

About half of Member States consider the development of transferable practices or establishing pilots on circular and sustainable tourism as a priority, while just as many have established specific measures. The Circular Cities and Regions Initiative (CCRI) should be used as a means for knowledge transfer and upscaling Implementing validated and transferable circular and sustainable tourism models and best practices on sustainable tourism will continue to be important for the tourism ecosystem. In particular, guiding tourism businesses and destinations on EU legislative requirements to achieve climate goals, building up their skills and capacity in green transition efforts, will be essential.

Considering that overall the EU has made important progress in advancing the green transition in tourism, the adoption of circular economy models and resource-efficient practices should be accelerated in order to deliver concrete benefits for local communities, enhancing social sustainability. By empowering local actors and intermediaries, strengthening partnerships for sustainable sourcing, deepening knowledge exchange and replication, and by piloting circular economy clusters, these actions will help reduce the environmental footprint of tourism, foster innovation and strengthen competitiveness, while enhancing social sustainability and benefits to local communities. In light of the findings in the European Environmental Agency’s ‘ Europe’s environment 2025 ’ report, actions in this area are becoming even more important for tourism, considering that environmental degradation poses a direct threat to Europe’s competitiveness.

IV.Priority Area 3: Digital Transition 

In total, three key topics are defined under the “Digital transition” priority area - digitalisation of tourism SMEs, public data sharing for encouraging innovative tourism services, research and innovation projects and pilots on digital tools and services in tourism.

Progress in this priority area is also generally moderate, with five Member States achieving 'significant progress'”, while 17 Member States achieved 'moderate progress' and five Member States demonstrated 'limited progress.'

The Commission is supporting the development of innovative digital tourism SMEs through the Single Market Programme, European Innovation Council funding, EU digital innovation hubs and the Enterprise Europe Network. Horizon Europe also supports digital development projects in the tourism sector to enhance digital innovation in hundreds of SMEs. Eighty-six pledges have been made by stakeholders towards the three green transition topic areas in the Agenda, demonstrating engagement by numerous tourism actors with digitalisation initiatives.

In contrast to the first priority area, Member States have also shown moderate progress under the digital transition topics through a relatively higher number of initiatives and policy actions. This indicates a stronger level of engagement and investment by Member States in this area. The digital transition of the European tourism ecosystem continues to be a key enabler for more sustainable and resilient tourism practices.

As regards the digitalisation of tourism SMEs, in its analysis of digital technology start-ups across EU sectors, the European Monitor of Industrial Ecosystems (EMI) analytical report (2024 ed.) revealed an increase in the uptake of all digital technologies except big data, which decreased from 13.6% in 2023 to 11.5% in 2024. The largest increase is seen in cloud technologies and artificial intelligence, the latter increasing by nearly 15% and the Internet of Things, which increased by almost 10%. The EMI survey of tourism SMEs showed that advanced technologies are already being taken up in innovative companies and have increased compared to just two years ago: 37% were using cloud technologies up from 25%, 11.5% were using big data and 23% had adopted artificial intelligence up from 8%. More than half the number of Member States considered it a priority to support developing innovative, personalised tourism services and/or data-driven destination management, and nearly half have introduced specific measures to tackle these issues. As the Commission has also delivered on a published database of searchable digital tools and practices for tourism, it can be considered that substantial progress has been made on this particular key topic. The Commission also continues to provide cascade funding to organisations and clusters directly supporting SMEs under the Single Market Programme (SMP). Nevertheless, continued support for digital transition initiatives remains essential, particularly in ensuring equitable access to digital tools and for fostering innovation among tourism SMEs.

On public data sharing to encourage innovative tourism services, significant progress has been made by the Commission and Member States’ public authorities. Firstly, the Commission published in July 2023 a Communication on a common European data space for tourism , outlining key considerations and introducing a data sharing test case, and proposing governance options such as a European Digital Infrastructure Consortium (EDIC). Four Member States voluntarily participated in this data sharing test case, and discussions have continued towards setting up an EDIC. Additionally, DMOs and regional administrations continue to develop platforms and websites to showcase reliable information on tourism services in their locality, guiding tourism companies on making their services visible. The Commission also set up the D3Hub EU Competence Centre funded by the SMP COSME programme, which supports destination management organisations (DMOs) in data management and digitalisation. Data is a key driver for innovation and competitiveness, so data access, data management and data sharing should remain priorities for the future: the leadership role of the EU could be further investigated in support of smart tourism across DMOs. 

As with supporting the objective of research and innovation projects and pilots on circular and sustainable tourism, support for projects on digital tools and services in tourism should also continue.  Although there are hundreds of ongoing EU-funded R&I projects linked to tourism and digital technologies, expected outputs have not been fully achieved by 2025. An activity under the co-operation agreement with the OECD (2025-2027) “Optimizing the social impacts of tourism” will deepen understanding to manage the economic and social trade-offs from tourism development and better identify the benefits of tourism in destinations.

Although the take-up of technologies by tourism companies is advancing at a rapid pace, the Commission will promote and support an industry-led initiative to identify a set of guidelines on how to use AI proficiently in tourism in line with the Apply AI Strategy . 

The digital transition could be accelerated by establishing a common framework for tourism data and strategy integration in conjunction with establishing a common data system to underpin evidence-based decision-marking. By exploring the use of artificial intelligence, introducing harmonized KPIs and real-time data systems to support monitoring of progress and providing dedicated capacity-building and training programmes, a robust data-driven framework for tourism planning could be considered.

V.Priority Area 4: Resilience And Inclusion

In total, three key topics are defined under “Resilience and inclusion” - accessibility of tourism services, resilient EU tourism services and destinations, sustainable innovation in tourism services.    

Progress in this priority area is also generally moderate, with four EU Member States having achieved 'significant progress', while 18 Member States achieved 'moderate progress' and five Member States demonstrated 'limited progress.'

The Commission made notable progress when adopting its proposal to create a European Disability Card and a European Parking Card for persons with disabilities, which would apply to tourists as well. The Commission’s Access City and Smart Tourism capital awards also continue to promote accessibility for places to visit and live. Several EU-funded projects are supporting DMOs to become more resilient and diversified. Seventy-four pledges have been made by stakeholders towards the three resilience and inclusion topic areas in the Agenda, demonstrating moderate engagement by tourism actors with resilience initiatives. As with the previous two priority areas, topics under resilience and inclusion have seen a relatively higher number of initiatives and policy actions. This indicates a stronger level of engagement and investment by Member States also in this domain.

As regards the accessibility of tourism services, notable progress has been made over the past years but must remain a priority taking into consideration the exponential increase in the number of travellers over the age of 65 in the next decades. The European Parliament conducted a study on the role of the longevity economy in tourism. Under the Strategy for the rights of persons with disabilities for 2021-2030, the proposed European Disability Card  was adopted by the co-legislators in October 2024. These rules make it easier for people with disabilities to travel across the EU, providing them with recognition of their disability status. Nearly two-thirds of Member States implement specific measures to boost the provision of accessible tourism services and increase awareness in this area. Improving accessibility for persons with reduced mobility, persons with disabilities and catering to older travellers will continue to be addressed by all stakeholders in the next decades.

The objective of ensuring resilient EU tourism services and destinations is to develop more resilient services that can better resist shocks. The EU-funded project ‘ Crisis Management and Governance in Tourism’ aims at strengthening the EU tourism ecosystem resilience by improving its governance and mechanisms for resisting, managing, and mitigating future crises. Member States are advancing resilience through diverse strategies such as sustainable infrastructure, digital innovation, and inclusive experiences. Resilience of destinations also involves the diversification of tourism services both across seasons, activities and locations, which is necessary to avoid unbalanced tourism. For example, seven projects were selected to test innovative urban solutions to tourism-related challenges as part of the second call for Innovative Actions of the European Urban Initiative (EUI), supported by the European Regional Development Fund. Such solutions include support for innovative, sustainable and resilient urban tourism offers, developed through data-driven solutions, consulting local populations and based on sustainability criteria in Coimbra, Copenhagen, Elliniko-Argyroupoli, Krakow, Prato, Ravenna and Valencia. A large-scale project funded under the Single Market Programme  aims to support SMEs in building sustainable growth and resilience. Although several cross-sectoral policies and projects have contributed to the resilience of destinations during the reporting period, in recent years the issue of unbalanced tourism has been brought to the forefront of the EU tourism agenda, as some destinations are experiencing overcrowding and increasing challenges with dispersing tourism flows.

The 2023 Palma Declaration highlights the importance all Member States give to the social sustainability of tourism, including both the accessibility of tourism for all, and the net benefits from tourism for the long-term well-being of both visitors and local residents.

Sustainable innovation in tourism services is critical for meeting new types of demand and respecting the economic, environmental and social sustainability needs of destinations and their residents. In order to promote the EU as a destination that meets the changing demands of tourism requires a stronger ‘Brand Europe,’ which could be further developed in the coming years. The EU-funded project ‘ Sustainable EU Tourism – Shaping the tourism of tomorrow ’ supports destinations, in particular DMOs, to become more sustainable and resilient, with a focus on local communities and the environment. Results include replicable best practices and concrete solutions addressing various challenges – among them unbalanced tourism growth - at destination level. Nevertheless, innovation will need to be further supported to help companies, start-ups and local communities develop sustainable and resilient tourism services that positively impact residents and local ways of life. 

Developing robust crisis preparedness mechanisms with an emphasis on early warning systems, access to reliable disaster information in various languages and taking into consideration the needs of vulnerable people, including people with disabilities could improve destination preparedness.

VI.Priority Area 5: Skills And Support For Transition 

In total, three key topics are defined under “Skills and support for transition” - awareness-raising on needs and opportunities for the twin transition in tourism, Pact for Skills in tourism, integrated support platform for tourism stakeholders.

The progress in this priority area is also moderate, with twenty Member States demonstrating 'moderate progress', and seven Member States showing 'limited progress'.

Progress on the topics under resilience and inclusion is varied, with Commission initiatives under the Pact for Skills and large-scale skills partnership for tourism in the lead and with the development of the EU Tourism Platform. Several projects funded under the Erasmus+ and other programmes (e.g. Digital Europe, Single Market Programme) are supporting upskilling and reskilling initiatives through National and Regional skills partnerships in Member States. Nevertheless, much more awareness-raising needs to be done on the challenges and opportunities for the digital and green transition as well as additional promotion of the EU Tourism Platform. Sixty-four pledges have been made by stakeholders towards the three skills and support for transition topic areas in the Agenda, demonstrating moderate engagement by tourism actors with skills initiatives.

Although significant efforts have been made to raise awareness on the needs and opportunities for the twin transition in tourism – in the form of bi-annual stakeholder events, EU Tourism Days, the annual European Tourism Forum, as well as regular ‘Together for EU Tourism’ (T4T) expert group and other stakeholder webinars – it remains a challenge to reach stakeholders at local levels to inform them about EU tourism policy priorities. Furthermore, the Commission promotes the annual Smart Tourism Capitals and Green Pioneer awards , which contribute to awareness-raising on Agenda and Transition Pathway areas of action, as well as the annual Access City award , Capitals of Culture , European Heritage awards and Green Capital & Green Leaf awards . The Commission also co-finances communication and co-branding campaigns with the European Travel Commission (ETC) to support the visibility and demand for sustainable tourism in the EU.

The EU Pact for Skills large-scale partnership for tourism was launched in January 2022 and has grown to nearly one hundred members, supported by several Erasmus+-funded projects. The headline objective of reskilling or upskilling more than 10% of the European tourism workforce annually was partially achieved in 2024 8 . To date, ten National/Regional Skills Partnerships have been set up to meet skills needs at national and regional level. The objective is to establish such partnerships in significant tourism regions over the next years. Progress has therefore been made in this area, but in order to meet the critical staff shortages in the hospitality sector in particular, more efforts are needed at EU-level to identify skills gaps and provide accessible and affordable training courses for new occupational profiles in tourism. 

Finally, the  EU Tourism Platform , an integrated support platform for tourism stakeholders, has been fully functional for more than one year, and has reached over 650 registered users. The platform is widely promoted and has proved a useful resource for stakeholders in terms of finding information about funding and open calls, sharing best practices and pledges towards actions in the transition pathway, promoting events and webinars, and also serves as a discussion forum for registered users on various topics. Although additional improvements should be made to make the platform more user-friendly and promote its use by a wider variety of stakeholders, it can be considered that the specific action to develop such a platform for tourism stakeholders has been completed.

Although there are many significant initiatives at EU and Member State level on upskilling and reskilling the tourism workforce, particularly those on skills portability and attraction of talent from abroad under the Union of Skills , further efforts should be made to reach the existing tourism workforce and job seekers through open, accessible and affordable training courses to improve digital, green and other critical skills for the tourism sector. Additional support for the development of operational national and regional skills partnerships in the framework of the Union of Skills could be provided.

Comparison of implementation journeys and overall assessment

The Progress Analysis Matrix presented below is structured to provide a comprehensive overview of how Member States are advancing toward the objectives outlined in the Agenda, as developed in the Study.

The matrix is organised with the priority areas of the Agenda listed along the horizontal one axis, and the EU Member States along the other. This layout presents a clear, side-by-side comparison of each country’s progress across all priority areas, making it easier to identify strengths, weaknesses, and trends.

9 Figure 1 – Progress analysis matrix results 10

In the Study, Member States’ progress towards the actions in the Agenda are grouped into three categories: leading, progressing and emerging countries. By assessing the main achievements, together with the identified challenges and gaps, both similarities and differences within each of the three country groups appear.

In certain areas, countries belonging to the same group have demonstrated comparable progress or encountered similar obstacles, indicating the presence of shared structural conditions or policy approaches. Nevertheless, significant differences also emerge within the groups, often shaped by distinct national and regional contexts, including variations in political dynamics and administrative capacities.

For example, leading countries emphasise tourism diversification, strategic positioning and branding, strong alignment of national strategies with EU priorities, and employ innovative approaches to investment. Member States demonstrating the least progress towards actions in the Agenda have notable gaps in addressing these actions, and in some cases lack follow-through and operationalisation of national tourism strategies and show inconsistency with the use of EU funds available for tourism.

Although there are shared objectives and progress towards advancing a more sustainable, digital and resilient European tourism ecosystem, several implementation gaps 11 remain where further efforts could be enhanced, for example:

Additional implementation issues have emerged in relation to unbalanced tourism, crisis preparedness and climate adaptation. Unbalanced tourism remains a challenge, with visitor flows concentrated in popular destinations and limited measures in place to encourage diversification. Crisis preparedness in Member States, regions and municipalities should also be strengthened. Climate adaptation also remains underdeveloped, with tourism policies and infrastructure not yet fully aligned with climate resilience objectives.

These findings demonstrate that more efforts will be needed in the coming years to ensure progress in certain priority areas by all stakeholders (see Annex).

VII.Conclusions

Based on the outcomes of the Study  and the 2023 and 2024 stocktaking reports on the transition pathway, it can be concluded that the majority of Member States have made progress towards the green, digital and resilience priority areas in the Agenda. All Member States agree that the twin transition is a priority, and that support to SMEs and microenterprises is essential. Initiatives towards recovery have been commendable, resulting in record growth in many regions by 2025. Nevertheless, resilience needs to be strengthened in areas such as support for skills and the workforce, climate change adaptation, unbalanced tourism, and crisis preparedness. More coordination is needed for policies related to skills development and support mechanisms.

The disparity in progress across priority areas highlights the need for a more balanced and coordinated approach at local, regional, national and EU levels. Strengthening governance and policy frameworks is essential not only for aligning efforts across and within Member States but also for ensuring that tourism contributes meaningfully to the EU’s broader sustainability and digital transition goals.

The forthcoming EU Strategy for Sustainable Tourism should draw on these results to help align efforts across levels (local, regional, national and international) and sectors, and ensure more balanced progress across the EU.

Main issues requiring further consideration

Based on the outcome of the Study, the following considerations are made for increasing efforts towards the actions in both the Agenda and Transition Pathway for Tourism:

1.Economy, resource efficiency and social sustainability across the tourism ecosystem

Circular economy models require support to local actors and intermediaries. Partnerships for sustainable sourcing could be strengthened, and knowledge should continue to be shared on EU sustainable initiatives such as the Circular Economy Action Plan for Tourism and on the EU Ecolabel and EMAS schemes. The creation of local clusters bringing together tourism SMEs, authorities and community stakeholders to co-design and implement solutions for waste reduction, resource efficiency and community benefits-sharing are key to ensuring that initiatives are inclusive and community-focused.

2.Tourism data and strategy integration 

EU tourism policy requires robust data infrastructure and a unified framework, alongside a common data system to underpin evidence-based decision-making. Harmonised KPIs and real-time data systems are needed to develop and improve monitoring and comparability across Member States. To fully enhance the use of harmonised tourism data, the use of artificial intelligence can help tourism actors regarding planning, service and delivery. Harmonised KPIs and real-time data systems could be useful to support transparent monitoring of progress. Finally, an EU framework could also be established for smart destinations, building on common performance criteria of DMOs’ certification and bi-annual monitoring mechanisms. Such a framework could be endorsed by a system of support to develop a tourism strategic framework and governance system.

3.Crisis preparedness and response

External shocks such as extreme weather events, geopolitical instability, health emergencies and economic volatility highlight the need for structured and proactive crisis management mechanisms across the sector and at all levels of governance. Current frameworks do not yet sufficiently support coordinated action or long-term resilience of the sector. A smart destination framework could involve destinations identifying risks in alignment with the Crisis Management and Governance in Tourism project and crisis management, including risk and crisis communication tailored for all travellers, as well as for those with disabilities.. Climate change adaptation and mitigation could continue to be a priority in tourism policy with an approach to crisis preparedness and response.  

4.Structural and financial support to SMEs

SMEs continue to face challenges in accessing private investment and EU funding, navigating complex funding procedures and investing in the green and digital transition and resilience of the sector. Simplification of financial and structural support for SMEs could be tailored to the operational realities of the tourism sector, by providing clearer guidance, more visible funding channels and user-friendly procedures. Communication on opportunities could emphasise practical benefits such as cost savings and competitiveness to drive engagement and increase participation. SMEs in the tourism sector also stand to benefit from the EU Savings and Investments Union (SIU), which aims to create better financial opportunities for EU citizens and businesses by channelling savings into productive European investments

5.Role of intermediaries and fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration

All tourism actors, including industry associations, chambers of commerce, DMOs, networks and NGOs are critical for connecting EU-level strategies with regional and local decision-making and implementation. Increasing stakeholder engagement involves actors’ awareness-raising efforts about the green and digital transitions, skills development, resilience and inclusion and therefore the impact of these intermediaries could be further strengthened to interpret and disseminate EU-level guidance, particularly through collaboration in regular forums, expert groups and communication platforms such as the EU Tourism Platform.

6.Visibility, coordination and uptake of EU skills initiatives for tourism actors

The EU Pact for Skills initiative already coordinates regular updates and disseminates sector-specific skills intelligence, maps emerging needs such as digital, green, crisis management and accessibility, and translates them into actionable guidance for training providers, employers and workers. To support these actions, targeted resources, toolkits and capacity-building could be provided for DMOs, networks, regional and local authorities to act as skills multipliers, helping them guide their communities in identifying, accessing and prioritising relevant upskilling opportunities. Mechanisms are being established to capture, recognise and disseminate local and informal upskilling initiatives, using the EU Tourism Platform as a central hub for sharing best practices, case studies and feedback, which could be further promoted.

Priority actions that were not fully reflected in the Agenda or the Transition Pathway for Tourism could be considered as part of the new EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy, such as a greater emphasis on tackling unbalanced tourism, crisis management, international cooperation, data sharing, connectivity including sustainable urban mobility and multimodality as key enablers as well as investment/funding. In the context of the Union of Skills, a stronger emphasis could be placed on developing a skilled workforce in the sector.

Annex

Status of progress of actions in the European Agenda for Tourism 2030

(1)

  2026 Commission work programme and annexes - European Commission

(2)

  https://transport.ec.europa.eu/tourism/statistics-reports-and-studies/tourism-studies-and-reports_en , hereafter referred to as “the Study”

(3)

  Regulation (EU) 2024/1028 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 April 2024 on data collection and sharing relating to short-term accommodation rental services and amending Regulation (EU) 2018/1724.

(4)

Pledges are collected on a voluntary basis from all types of tourism stakeholders towards actions in the Transition pathway for Tourism and although can be considered indicators of progress, they do not fully reflect the current situation.

(5)

The Member States concerned will have to adopt the necessary implementing measures by that date.

(6)

Direct support of EUR 4.1 billion from the European Regional Development Fund (EUR 5.4 billion including national contributions) across 160 programmes.

(7)

Food 2030 - Research and innovation - European Commission

(8)

Training/education and up/reskilling a mean 10% of the tourism workforce each year from 2023 until 2030 to tackle the skills gaps in the tourism ecosystem both for the current workforce and new entrants. This commitment represents a total of 7,500,000 tourism sector workers (60%) participating in upskilling or reskilling actions annually by 2030.

(9)

‘Progressing’ Member States demonstrate positive alignment with the objectives of the EU Agenda for Tourism 2030 through a variety of documented actions, initiatives and projects. ‘Emerging’ Member States show promising progress in particular areas, albeit to a lesser extent than others. ‘Leading’ MS also have further opportunities for development, underscoring the ongoing potential for all Member States to advance further towards the twin transition and resilience building.

(10)

The scoring methodology applied in the study assesses each action based on the number of identified projects and initiatives in each Member States, and these scores were aggregated to determine overall progress within each priority area, classified as ‘significant’, ‘moderate’, or ‘limited’. Member States were subsequently classified as ‘leading’, ‘progressing’ or ‘emerging’ depending on their cumulative performance across all five priority areas.

(11)

Number of Member States for which this gap was identified in the Study

(12)

Number of countries where this gap has been identified.