EU policy aims to maintain Europe's standing as a leading destination while maximising the industry's contribution to growth and employment and promoting cooperation between EU countries, particularly through the exchange of good practice. The EU's competence in the tourism is one of support and coordination to supplement the actions of member countries.
The main challenges are:
In June 2010, the European Commission adopted the Communication, ‘Europe, the world's No. 1 tourist destination – a new political framework for tourism in Europe’. This communication set out a new strategy and action plan for EU tourism.
Four priorities for action were identified:
A regularly updated implementation rolling plan has been developed that outlines the major initiatives to be implemented as part of the strategy, in collaboration with public authorities, tourism associations and other public/private tourism stakeholders.
To date, the Commission has successfully implemented the majority of the actions set out in the Communication, focusing on the following priorities:
In December 2013, the Commission launched two public consultations on the tourism industry.