tourism policy eu

EU tourism: an almost full recovery to pre-pandemic levels

The upgraded EU Tourism Dashboard offers insights on the impact and state-of-play of this industry and supports the transition to greener, more digital tourism.

Fresh statistics on EU tourism suggest that in 2022, tourism demand was already at nearly 96% the level in 2019. This shows an almost full recovery on average for the EU , with countries like Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, and Netherlands even surpassing pre-pandemic levels.

However, recovery in Eastern European tourism destinations has been more sluggish, possibly also due to the war in Ukraine. Data also shows that international tourism demand is picking up more slowly than domestic tourism, staying in 2022 at 91% the level of 2019.

These new figures result from an update of the EU Tourism Dashboard , an interactive tool providing statistics and indicators relevant for tourism policies . These include, amongst others, the environmental and socio-economic impact in a given area, the level of digitalisation and the main tourism typology.

The recent upgrade has brought updated figures and novel indicators on the adoption of environmental labels and schemes by tourist accommodations, nature-based tourism opportunities and the economic impact of tourism. 

A greener and digitalised tourism in the EU

According to the new data, on the digitalisation front, internet infrastructure continues to improve, covering tourism destinations with ever increasing internet speeds: in 2019, only 10% of the tourism capacity had internet speed above 100 Mb/s. This has improved to 42% and 63% in 2021 and 2023, respectively.

On the green front, nearly 850 tourist accommodation establishments had the EU Ecolabel in 2022 or were registered to the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) . The EU tourism dashboard also identifies that other 4750 tourist accommodations in the EU countries, Switzerland, Iceland and Norway that have other reliable environmental labels and schemes.

However, the number is still a tiny fraction of the nearly 650,000 tourist accommodation establishments in these countries.

Better data to design policies for a more sustainable tourism

The new data collected and provided in the upgraded dashboard will further help decision makers to identify vulnerabilities and opportunities, and to design effective strategies to make the EU tourism ecosystem more sustainable and resilient to possible shocks, for example encouraging further the adoption of reliable environmental labels and schemes by tourist accommodation establishments.

The EU Tourism Dashboard is a valuable source of knowledge for policy makers in EU countries and regions to better understand how tourism is progressing towards the green and digital transition, and to assess local socio-economic resilience. It can also contribute to the work of statistics experts in EU countries, of researchers, as well as of public and private operators who promote local and regional tourism.

Indicators on the dashboard are organised under three main policy pillars: green, digital and socioeconomic. The dashboard also includes descriptors of tourism demand and supply such as occupancy rates, average duration of stays, presence of UNESCO sites and many more.

Launched in October 2022, the EU Tourism Dashboard was developed by the JRC and the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs , following a request by EU Member States in 2021 to design a tool for monitoring the twin transition and resilience of the tourism ecosystem – one of the most heavily affected by the travel and health restrictions put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. The dashboard is developed in cooperation with Eurostat and in coordination with the EU Member States.

The initiative contributes to the Transition Pathway for Tourism published in February 2022, which was created in collaboration with public and private EU tourism stakeholders to identify 27 areas of actions for the green and digital transition and for improving the resilience of EU tourism. Improving statistics and measurements for tourism regarding its economic, environmental and social impacts was recognised among key topics for action.

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Eu strategy for sustainable tourism.

The green transition of tourism

Climate change is the most urgent global challenge of our times that affects all spheres of our lives, every economic sector, every region and city. The tourism ecosystem will not only benefit from a cleaner and healthier environment but will also be an important player, contributing to the shared goals of a climate-neutral Europe.

With the  European Green Deal , the EU is leading by example by promoting new growth models and by setting climate-neutral goals by 2050. It is already committed to cutting emissions by at least 55% by 2030. These goals are being implemented through a transformative and streamlined set of policies and legislative initiatives. The  'Fit for 55' package , proposed by the Commission on 14 July 2021, translates the ambitions of the Green Deal into law by revising and adding new initiatives on climate, energy and transport-related legislation.

A greener EU tourism

Greening European tourism is part of the broader objective to develop a more sustainable and responsible ecosystem, a process involving all players at multi-level governance: industry, destinations, national, regional and local authorities, but also the consumer – the tourist. According to the UN World Travel Organisation,  sustainable tourism development  "takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities".

Sustainable travel has been steering the European tourism policy for the past years, led by increasing demand and expectations by the travellers and the host communities alike. While the COVID-19 crisis had paralysed travel in the past years, it has been also a unique opportunity to reset, shift the cultural mindset and emerge more resilient. 

By stepping up the greening of the EU tourism ecosystem, industry and destinations would not only contribute to CO2 reduction and a better-protected environment but would also benefit from reduced costs and reinforced competitiveness. Responsible tourists would benefit from an improved travel experience while contributing to the well-being of host communities.

EU support in reducing the environmental footprint of tourism

The EU has been supporting and promoting greener tourism for years. Here are some examples of how the EU is facilitating the process.

Sustainable and smart mobility

Promoting sustainable and smart mobility, in line with  sustainable and smart mobility strategy and action plan . 

Greener SMEs

Encouraging SMEs to adopt green practices and improve circularity through the uptake of the  EU Ecolabel for tourist accommodations  and the  EU eco-management and audit scheme (EMAS) . Also by supporting  energy efficiency  and renewable energy use, sustainable use of natural resources (water, land), and reducing waste generation (including  food waste  and  single-use plastics ).

Biodiversity

Encouraging the tourism ecosystem to contribute to the objectives of the  EU biodiversity strategy , as tourism relies on a healthy ecosystem and its rich resources (for example, ecotourism has close links to the protected areas, such as Natura 2000 or marine protected areas).

Measuring environmental footprint   by including   sustainability data and indicators on tourism statistics (tourism satellite accounts, the Tourism Dashboard, the upcoming revision of the statistics regulation), sharing best practices on sustainability schemes and measurement tools. 

Smart data use

Facilitating data sharing and smart use of data to improve sustainable tourism destination management and to apply innovative digital solutions.

Adapting to climate change

Encouraging tourism businesses and destinations to take part in   climate adaptation actions   at all levels, in line with the new  EU strategy on adaptation to climate change , and supporting them with research.

Green skills

Supporting skills and building the capacity of tourism businesses and destinations to enable them to implement green practices (e.g. Pact for Skills in tourism ).

Raising awareness

Raising awareness about the advantages of green transition for tourism businesses through the promotion of sustainable destinations and dissemination of best practices in greening tourism. Travel sentiment towards sustainable choices is followed up by the Commission and can be found via EU Eurobarometer .

Best practice examples on green actions in tourism

• European Capital of Smart Tourism,  
• European Destination of Excellence  (EDEN) 
• European Green Capitals, Green leaf Awards Interreg MED sustainable tourism community
• Compendium on overtourism evidence and case studies on unbalanced tourism growth

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• Circular economy action plan
• EU renovation wave
• A Long-term vision for the EU rural areas  
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Transition pathway for tourism

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• Publication details
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• Published: 2022
• Corporate author(s): Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs ( European Commission )
• Themes: Tourism
• Subject: climate change , cloud computing , community resilience , coronavirus disease , digital literacy , digital single market , economic transition , electoral reform , EU industrial policy , EU research policy , EU strategy , European industrial area , fund (EU) , innovation , investment , professional qualifications , regulation (EU) , size of business , sustainable development , technical cooperation , tourism
• Released on EU Publications: 2022-02-04

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How quickly is tourism recovering from COVID-19?

The pandemic helped fuel a decline in tourism globally. Image:  Unsplash/Markus Spiske

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EU STRATEGY FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

On 25 March 2021, a resolution on establishing an EU strategy for sustainable tourism was adopted by 577 votes to 31, and 80 abstentions.

Tourism and travel sectors account for almost 10% of the EU's GDP and the COVID-19 outbreak has put 6 out of 27 million jobs at risk. To address such a critical situation, the resolution does not only suggest to temporarily reduce VAT on these services , but also urges them to implement common European traveling conditions through the Digital Green Certificate .

On the long term, the sanitary crisis is expected to launch a transition to a more 'sustainable, responsible and smart tourism ', as well as a rethinking process aiming to plan the future of the industry .

As part of this rethinking process, sport and sporting events have been highlighted as opportunities for the tourism sector :

63. Points out the major contribution of sport to European tourism and highlights the opportunities arising from sporting events and activities , while not forgetting the importance of improving the sustainability of major events;

Recent Posts

On 17 October, the Commission adopted its Work Programme for 2024, which focuses on the last four years' successes, summarizes the Commission's fresh ideas for the next months, and provides substantial measures it intends to pursue the next year. The newly adopted Work Programme outlines a number of new initiatives such as the “2040 climate […]

This week, MEP Iban Garcia del Blanco (S&D), co-chair of the European Parliament Sports Group and member of the Committee on Culture and Education stood up for sports in the development of EU policies. On 9 and 10 October, M. Garcia del Blanco attended the Conference on combatting online piracy of sport and other live […]

On 6-7 October, the EOC EU Office´s team is showcasing the GAMES project at the 52nd European Olympic Committees´ (EOC) General Assembly in Istanbul where more than 300 representatives of the sporting community will gather. European sport leaders from European National Olympic Committees and European Federations will have the opportunity to get insights on the ongoing activities of the project which […]

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EU tourism fully recovered from the pandemic in 2022- Eurostat

Chinese tourists take pictures in the Champs Elysees Avenue near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, France, March 14, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo Acquire Licensing Rights

Oct 31 (Reuters) - Nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments in the European Union reached 96% of their pre-pandemic levels in 2022, demonstrating a near full recovery from the COVID-19 lockdown that slashed the bloc's tourism industry in 2020, Eurostat data showed on Tuesday.

Following recovery from the subprime crisis, tourism in the EU grew sustainability between 2009 and 2019 before it became one of the most affected sectors hit by COVID in 2020.

International guests, from EU as well as non-EU countries, led the way with 53% more nights spent, while domestic trips increased by 30% compared with 2021 levels.

"France, Italy and Germany each recorded more than 400 million nights spent in 2022", Eurostat said, adding that "these four countries accounted for more than six out of ten nights spent in the EU in 2022".

Paris kept its status as the most visited city in the bloc, with more than 71 million nights, followed by Rome and Berlin with 29.2 and 26.3 million nights respectively. On a regional level however, Spanish Mallorca topped the ranks, followed by Paris' own.

Hotels and similar accommodations, such as bed and breakfasts, apartment hotels and motels, were by far the most frequented across the EU, accounting for 61.6% of total stays, while rented apartments stood at 24% and campgrounds comprising areas for recreation vehicles represented 14.5%.

Recovery, however, was unequal, as countries like "Latvia and Slovakia still faced the biggest gap to bridge, reaching less than 75% of 2019 levels", while France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark were already fully recovered.

Germans represented the largest share of international tourists, accounting for four of every 10 nights spent in EU accommodations. They also were the majority in 11 out of the 26 member states with available data.

The number of tourist accommodation establishments outpaced recovery, and showed a 4% increase compared with pre-pandemic levels, while available beds grew by 3% compared with 2020, with Italy and France representing more than one-third of the total EU capacity.

Reporting by Nathan Vifflin; editing by Jonathan Oatis

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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Traveling to Europe is changing for millions of tourists. Here’s what to know.

The EU’s new visa waiver system for foreign visitors has been delayed until 2025. We explain how and when to apply.

Europe has delayed yet again its new visa waiver system, which by May 2025 will require travelers from the United States and dozens more countries to get pre-approval to enter most European nations.

Called ETIAS (European Travel Information and Authorization System), it will replace manual passport stamping with digital registration, and aims to identify travelers who pose a security risk or are trying to breach immigration laws.

This system was originally set to launch in 2016, but has been postponed repeatedly, most recently last week when the European Union deferred its 2024 rollout. It will be adopted by 30 European countries, including tourist hubs France , Italy , Germany , Spain , and Greece .

ETIAS will apply to more than 60 countries which currently have visa exemptions for Europe, such as the U.S., the United Kingdom , Canada , Australia , Japan , and Singapore .

Travelers from other countries will lose the privilege of using only their passport to visit most of Europe. Instead, they’ll also need to successfully complete an ETIAS application, similar to the U.S.’ ESTA process for granting tourist visa waivers.

The EU warns that travelers will need to apply for ETIAS well in advance—before booking flights or hotels. While most applications will be processed in minutes, some may take weeks.

ETIAS essential info

Once this system is launched, the first step for travelers will be downloading the ETIAS mobile app or visiting its official website.

Travelers will need a passport less than 10 years old, and which doesn’t expire for more than three months.

Travelers will have to submit their passport data, home address, current occupation, level of education, parents’ names, and details of their itinerary in Europe.

Applicants must also disclose criminal convictions, deportations, and past visits to war zones.

( Learn about the the contentious history of the passport .)

After completing this process, travelers will receive an email containing their unique ETIAS number, which they’re advised to keep for future reference.

Airline and Immigration staff will also be able to confirm a traveler’s ETIAS status via their passport number, which is linked to the ETIAS database.

An ETIAS application will cost 7 euros for people between 18 and 70 years old, but will be free for all other ages, and for family members of EU citizens.

An approved ETIAS is valid for three years. Its holder can then stay in participating European nations for a maximum of 90 days during any 180-day period.

This system is being adopted by all 27 countries in Europe’s Schengen Area, as well as Bulgaria , Cyprus , and Romania .

Biometrics won’t be required during an ETIAS application. But travelers using the new system will have to submit to facial and fingerprint scans upon arrival in Europe.

This may increase immigration processing times at European airports, says Kuan-Huei Lee, associate professor of tourism at Singapore Institute of Technology. “If the [biometric] process is added to the entry process, careful logistic planning is crucial to avoid congestion,” Lee says.

( Here’s how to plan a trip around the world .)

ETIAS is also likely to cause disruptions at airports outside of Europe, predicts Jun Wen, professor of tourism at Australia’s Edith Cowan University. He says that in the months after it launches, many travelers won’t know they need an ETIAS, and will then be barred from boarding their flight to Europe.

However, both Wen and Lee believe that ETIAS won’t deter many people from visiting Europe.

Several popular European destinations will not be adopting ETIAS, such as Ireland and the U.K. Travelers from many nations, including the U.S., will still be able to enter these countries simply by providing a valid passport.

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Culture and Creativity

Sustainable cultural tourism.

Europe’s cultural heritage is a valuable resource in the fields of tourism, education, employment and sustainable development. Sustainable cultural tourism is a vital part of regional and macro-regional development strategies. In this regard, culture is both a driver and an enabler of sustainable development.

Tourism: the balance between development and the protection of cultural heritage

Tourism is an excellent way to encourage and provide access to cultural heritage, but it also brings with it challenges related to overcrowding, cultural appropriation and the loss of authenticity. Tourism brings money and jobs to cities and regions, but it can also damage residents’ day-to-day lives, as well as the area’s culture and heritage.

Given the possible negative effects of over-tourism and its impact on cultural heritage, some local communities and heritage experts have at times opposed tourism and its associated development.

Sustainable cultural tourism offers a new perspective, as it places cultural heritage and local communities at the centre of decision-making processes.

Involving local communities and other stakeholders in the decision-making processes is key to ensuring results benefit both cultural heritage and the local population. The objective of sustainable cultural tourism is to ensure good conservation practices along with authentic interpretation that supports the local economy.

Find out more about what the European Commission is doing to encourage sustainable cultural tourism .

Sustainable cultural tourism Open Method of Coordination working group

The Work Plan for Culture adopted by EU Member States for the period 2015-2018 included a working group composed of European experts on sustainable cultural tourism under the  Open Method of Coordination approach.

The resulting report includes the first definition of sustainable cultural tourism, as well as recommendations and guidelines for policymakers and 27 case studies illustrating best practices in both tangible and intangible cultural heritage.

Read the Sustainable cultural tourism report .

Selected projects

Spot project.

Funded under the Horizon 2020 programme, this project aims to develop a new approach to understanding and addressing cultural tourism and to promote the development of disadvantaged areas.

Find out more about the SPOT project .

SmartCulTour

Funded under Horizon 2020, this project supports development in European regions with important cultural assets, both tangible and intangible, through sustainable cultural tourism.

Find out more about SmartCulTour .

Funded under Horizon 2020, this project connects cultural tourism stakeholders and researchers who have new approaches and methods to support European cultural tourism. The aim of the project is to reinforce a feeling of belonging and to value minority cultures.

Find out more about the IMPACTOUR project .

The European Destinations of Excellence (EDEN)

EDEN promotes models of sustainable tourism across the EU. Through this initiative, partnering countries select and promote “destinations of excellence”.

EDEN draws attention to emerging, non-traditional European destinations, highlighting their values and character. It also works as a platform for sharing good practices between awarded destinations. The European Commission and the National Tourism Bodies choose a theme every year. Cultural tourism was the EDEN theme in 2017 .

Discover the winning destinations on the EDEN website .

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