9 EU Members Propose Introduction of European Plan to Help Tourism Sector

Posted date: 22 Jul 2021

Nine European Union countries have signed a declaration which has been addressed to the European Commission for better coordination between member states and to help revive the tourism sector.

Malta, Croatia, Austria, France, Italy, Greece, Romania, Portugal and Spain have supported the proposal which has been initiated by Malta’s Tourism Minister Julia Farrugia Portelli in the virtual meeting held between EU Tourism Ministers, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports. The meeting was arranged by the German Presidency of the Council of the European Union, while the main issue discussed was the challenges caused by the Coronavirus pandemic for the tourism sector. In the meeting, the participants also discussed new ways to help the tourism sector recover from the current crisis.

Minister Portelli said that it is compulsory to begin discussions to amend the Package Travel Directive so that this addresses the challenges faced by travel operators and consumers in the light of the circumstances brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, which were never envisaged when this directive was drafted.

Malta’s Tourism Minister also discussed the importance of tourism within the recovery plan of the European Commission. Last week, the European Union Commission was urged by the Members of the European Parliament’s Task Force to find a strategy that would help the tourism sector get out of the financial crisis. The Transport and Tourism Committee stressed that the tourism industry risks to collapse and 22 persons working in this sector could lose their jobs.

The European Tourism Manifesto alliance had previously called the European Union Member States to reach mutual coordination in the imposed travel restrictions to help the tourism sector across Europe. The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), introduced several recommendations in an effort to help European businesses to reopen to their customers safely. As the travel and tourism industry is facing a difficult situation, for months now,  ICC together with WTTC published a Quick Restart Guide for Employers.

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