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Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs

Promoting tourism during the low season can stimulate economic growth and jobs in Europe. The European Commission has identified seniors and young people as groups that can travel easily during the low season. Reinforcing their contribution to tourism could help to overcome the challenge of seasonality and contribute to the competitiveness of the industry.

The European Commission aims to encourage the cooperation of all stakeholders involved in the senior and youth travel markets to make the most of potential opportunities to extend tourism seasons beyond traditional peak periods.

Actions

Workshop on low/medium season tourism for seniors and youth in Europe

A workshop held in Brussels in June 2015 aimed at promoting the exchange of views and best practice among selected public and private stakeholders. The profile of the senior and youth tourism markets at EU level was outlined, as well as the opportunities these markets offer. Europe's attractiveness for international inbound markets (China, Brazil and USA) travelling in Europe during low season was also examined.

The workshop also looked at ways to facilitate cooperation between stakeholders and allow the development of innovative solutions to increase off-season travel for senior and young travellers.

Call for proposals 2015

A call for project proposals aimed at increasing tourism flows in the low and medium seasons for the senior (any person over 55 years old) and youth (aged between 15 and 29) target groups was published on 30 April 2015 with a deadline on 28 May 2015.

A total of 11 projects were selected for co-funding. 9 projects are targeting senior tourists and 2 projects are focused on young tourists. The project implementation started in March, respectively, April 2016. The project duration is between 12 and 18 months

Call for proposals 2014

A call, 'Facilitating EU transnational tourism flows for seniors and young people in the low and medium seasons' was launched in November 2014. The deadline for submitting applications was 15 January 2015.

8 projects were selected for co-funding: 2 with a focus on the youth target group and 6 with a focus on seniors. Project implementation started between 1 July and 1 September 2015 and will last between 12 and 15 months.

Coordinating organisation

Project

YOUTH - Europe Social Entrepreneurship and Innovative Studies Institute (Lithuania)

Valuable Opportunities You Are Given in Europe (VOYAGE) (261KB)

YOUTH - X23 Srl; Mr Giuseppe Laquidara (Italy)

EUMillennialsTOUR (114KB)

SENIOR - Tourismusverband Linz (Austria)

Participatory Baroque Festival European region Danube-Vltava (BAROQUE EXPERIENCE) (185KB)

SENIOR- University of Pannonia (Hungary)

Off to Spas (25KB)

SENIOR - European Cyclists' Federation (Belgium)

Silver Cyclists (213KB)

SENIOR - MarketingOost, Henry Zwiers and Elizabeth Stoit (The Netherlands)

Hansatour (49KB)

SENIOR - St Paterakis & Co LP (Greece)

Meet Nature: A tourism product for seniors to experience nature through creative and playful learning (217KB)

SENIOR - Fandango Tour Srl. (Italy)

SEnior TOURism: Discovering European Territories through Golf and Wine, SE.TOUR (433KB)

Call for proposals 2013

The first call for proposals to facilitate transnational low season tourism exchanges in Europe encouraging Senior Citizens to travel was launched in June 2013.

Four projects were selected for funding, representing 17 EU countries. The implementation period started on 1 September 2014 and lasted 18 months.

Informal report on 'Facilitating cooperation mechanisms to increase senior tourists' travels within Europe and from third countries in the low and medium seasons’

Upon the Commission's request, the informal report, 'Facilitating cooperation mechanisms to increase senior tourists' travels within Europe and from third countries in the low and medium seasons' (351 kB) and annex 1, 'Demographic change and the rise of senior tourists' (450 kB), was drafted by a group of experts. The report gathers knowledge on the senior tourism market and presents a series of recommendations for strategic actions, identifying the role that different actors might play in their implementation.

The informal ad-hoc group 'European Union Low Season Tourism Initiative Board' (EULSTIB)

The informal ad-hoc group 'European Union Low Season Tourism Initiative Board' (EULSTIB) was set up by the Commission in 2014 (on the basis of a call for expression of interest) with a mandate for the period 2015-2016. The group gathered together experts from governments, the private sector, European industry, academia and the civil society It provided guidance and expertise to the Commission on various aspects related to low season tourism. The group also participated to the production of informal report gathering knowledge, best practices and policy/business recommendations at EU level in order to increase the tourism demand in off-peak season and thereby contribute to improving tourism competitiveness.

Calypso - Tourism for all

 

Under this initiative, the European Commission funded, amongst others, 10 projects that created bilateral or multilateral exchange models, supporting travel for the target groups and the set-up of the B2B eCalypso platform. Created in 2013, this platform has become a marketplace that brings together organisations involved in sending the target groups on holiday or facilitating their departure with accommodation providers, especially in the low season. It is also a meeting place for the community of European social tourism stakeholders that offers a range of references on social tourism in Europe.

More information

Background

Senior citizens (those aged 55 years and over) represent 128 million people, around 25% of the European population. They often include individuals with purchasing power and leisure time, so they hold significant market potential. Existing regional or national programs could capitalise on this, and elements of these programs could be transferred to transnational (EU) level.

European youth (those aged 15 to 29) represent 96 million citizens - about one-fifth of the total population (19.4%). Youth travel is one of the fastest-growing and most dynamic markets of the global tourism sector