European Tourism Forum, Brussels 2009

9 October 2009 - Brussels, BELGIUM

 

The European Tourism Forum 2009 was organised by the European Commission and was held in Brussels (Square Brussels Meeting Centre) on 9 October, 2009.

The selected theme was "EU Tourism and the Economic Downturn: New Opportunities for a Sustainable and Prosperous Future?".
Four sub-themes were proposed for the four consecutive panels, namely "Consumer Behaviour vis-à-vis Sustainability and the Economic Downturn", "Employer-Employee Relations in Tourism","The Regulatory Framework in Tourism" and "A 2020 Perspective: Promoting Competitive and Sustainable European Tourism".

The 2009 Forum edition was held alongside other Tourism events, such as the European Tourism Day, the EDEN Awards Ceremony -on 8 October- and the EDEN Exhibition.

Vice President Verheugen, national and regional authorities and the main European tourism actors also participated to the Forum.

    

RELEVANT DOCUMENTS, PROGRAMMES AND INTERVENTION

Final Programme [200 KB]

Final Summary Report [86 KB]

Speech of European Commission Vice-President Günter Verheugen (9.10.2009)  

  

Opening session

    Introduction by Pedro Ortun, Director for Tourism, European Commission

• John Kester, Chief of Market Trends, Competitiveness and Trade in Tourism Services Section, UNWTO: "Short- and long-term trends andtourism competitiveness in Europe"  [2 MB]
• Isabelle de Voldere, IDEA Consult: "Roadmap for a competitive EU tourism industry" [2 MB]

  

Panel 1: Consumer Behaviour vis-à-vis Sustainability and the Economic Downturn

Moderator:

• David Jones, Director General, WYSE Travel Confederation

Rapporteur:

• Tom Mikael Selanniemi, Chairman of Tour Operators’ Initiative for Sustainable Tourism Development
• Kees – Jan Van Ginkel, Vice President of the FIA Tourism Commission: "In view of the economic downturn, what activities or aspects of their holidays are consumers willing to give up? What will they search for, above all else?" [225 KB]
• Werner Sülberg, Vice President Corporate Development and Market Research, REWE Touristik: "Are there sectors in the tourism industry that have benefitted from the downturn as a result of changes in consumer behaviour? [61 KB] " (extract)
  
  

Panel 2: Employer-Employee Relations in Tourism

Moderator:

• Franco Ianniello, Head, Tourism Unit, European Commission

Rapporteur

• Martin Couchman, Chair of the HOTREC Sectoral Social Dialogue Committee: "What are the new tourism trends in employer employee relations as a result of the economic downturn?" [51 KB] (extract)
• Emilio Fargnoli, President, EFFAT Tourism Sector
• Karin Leeb, Managing Director, Hotel Hochschober, Austria (see presentation) [290 KB]

Panel 3: The Regulatory Framework in Tourism

Moderator:

• Jacqueline Minor, Director, Politique des Consommateurs, DG SANCO, European Commission

Rapporteur

• Kent Nyström, President of HOTREC: "What is HOTREC’s position concerning the EU’s proposed food labelling legislation?" [111 KB] (extract)
• Jozsef Mosonyi, President of VISZ Hungary
• Daniel John Winteler, Presidente di Federturismo Confindustria, Alpitour CEO
  
  

Panel 4: A 2020 Perspective: Promoting Competitive and Sustainable European Tourism

Moderator:

• Malcolm Bell, South West England

Rapporteur:

• Federico Costa, Turismo de Portugal
• Tom Jenkins, ETOA
• Simon Pickup, Head of Responsible Tourism and Sustainability Management, ABT: "How can Europe’s thematic destinations become even more appealing to the European tourist?" [338 KB]

Closing plenary session

Rapporteur:

• Malcolm Bell, South West England (Summary Report of the Four Panel Discussions)
• János Vértes, Member of the European Economic and Social Committee Group I - Employers, Hungary (see extract) [68 KB]

Moderator and Concluding Remarks:

• Pedro Ortun, Director for Tourism, European Commission ( see document [70 KB] )