European Commission unveils first EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy
The European Commission has published its first EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy, aimed at boosting the sector's competitiveness and climate resilience. It envisages a new Tourism Alliance, academy and data space, but sets no new mandatory requirements for businesses.
The European Commission, the European Union's executive body, has presented its first EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy. The document sets out plans to strengthen the competitiveness of the tourism sector at a time when it faces several interlinked challenges, including the effects of climate change, according to Euronews.
The sector's weight and challenges
The Commission's report says tourism in Europe provides 20 million jobs and covers five million businesses, 99% of them small and medium-sized. The sector accounts for 10% of the EU's total gross value added. It also faces geopolitical uncertainty, a shortage of skilled workers, climate change and shifting traveller habits.
According to Eurostat data, tourists spent about 3.1 billion nights in EU accommodation in 2025, 4.1% more than a year earlier and 26.5% more than in 2015.
Planned measures
The strategy provides for a high-level EU Tourism Alliance bringing together member states, regions, municipalities and businesses. It also foresees an EU Tourism Academy for training, a single European tourism data space and an EU Tourism Observatory. The Commission wants to cut administrative obstacles and give small businesses access to knowledge, digital tools and data.
Raffaele Fitto, Executive Vice-President of the Commission for cohesion and reforms, stressed the aim of ensuring that tourism fosters growth and prosperity in all regions while preserving their diversity. The plan is to balance tourist flows by promoting less-visited destinations and encouraging year-round travel. To that end, an EU tourism governance model is to be developed and an EU Tourism Crisis Coordination Network set up by 2027.
Climate
The strategy calls for building climate risks into tourism planning, strengthening climate resilience by 2027, preparing for heatwaves and forest fires, and improving climate risk insurance. To cut emissions, it highlights cleaner transport, energy efficiency, assessing hotels' environmental impact and the circular economy. By 2028, practical tools are planned for small businesses, and EU eco-label criteria for tourist accommodation are to be renewed.
The strategy itself does not introduce new mandatory climate requirements for tourism companies; it sets the direction of EU support for the sector.
