Commissioner Tzitzikostas speech at Rhodes Forum: EU tourism – climate change resilience

Honorable Members, 

Dear Daniel,

President Vassilikos,

Distinguished Guests,

Thank you for your invitation.

Thank you also for being so proactive in following up on the Rhodes Declaration of April.

The Declaration promises collaborative and decisive action towards more sustainable travel and tourism.

As the European Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism, I wholeheartedly share this objective. 

Moreover, this goal sits well with the political priorities for this Commission. 

President von der Leyen has talked about creating sustainable prosperity. 

Tourism is key to fostering economic growth, creating jobs, and driving social development.

I am here to ensure the sector has the support it needs to continue contributing to the EU economy sustainably. 

We come from a strong starting point.

The sector is home to over 3 million small and medium-sized enterprises many of which are family-run.

They run hotels, B&Bs and campsites.

They cook for us and transport us to tourist sites. 

Through travel agencies and tour operators they work hard so that we can relax.

20 million people work in tourism in the EU. 

They are the backbone of the sector. 

And as such, they are also key to resilience within the sector. 

Resilience to pandemics, geopolitical events and threats that perhaps are not yet on our radar.

But also resilience to climate change, which certainly is. 

No one can forget the heart-wrenching images of Valencia and Andalucía, where flash floods claimed at least 158 lives, as well as infrastructure, businesses and homes.

Let’s also not forget the extreme temperatures that led to wildfires in Rhodes in July 2023.

Tens of thousands of local residents and tourists were forced to flee their homes and hotels.

These extreme weather events are becoming more frequent.

Of course, we cannot control the weather. 

But we can step up preparedness, adaptation, and mitigation.

So I want to hear from the people on the ground, from all tourism stakeholders and of course from you, as we identify climate change mitigation tools and adaptation measures.

This year the Commission has published several policy reports 

on climate risks, and on the regional impact of climate change 

on European tourism demand, among other topics. 

A recent study on crisis management and governance and tourism addresses climate preparedness for extreme weather events, such as high temperatures and floods. 

I will continue this work and ensure that the climate crisis is treated as a priority in my future Strategy for Sustainable Tourism.

The Strategy will follow extensive consultations with all relevant stakeholders, including a youth dialogue. 

It will set out a roadmap to supporting the sector while preserving the environment and improving the wellbeing of local communities.

It will address priority areas identified under the Tourism Transition Pathway. 

Climate change will be a focus, but so will unbalanced tourism, labor shortages, workforce training, and digital tools, including artificial intelligence.

We will also be looking at how transport can support tourism.

Single tickets for cross-border rail travel, more high-speed rail connections with airports, and more consistency in rules for cross-border car-rentals would all make life easier for tourists.

Let’s also continue the work branding Europe as a ‘unique’ destination through strong, unified marketing efforts. 

Success will also be dependent upon good cooperation with local and regional authorities and promotion of the work done by Destination Management Organizations. 

They can play a crucial role in managing tourist flows and ensuring that infrastructure supports visitors and preserves our territories and cultural heritage. 

And of course, I hope that I can also count on good collaboration with members of this Forum. 

Dear Friends,

We know what the priorities are, if we are to remain the global leader in tourism – in numbers and quality: competitiveness, sustainability and resilience.

The entire College will be working in collaboration, to increase EU competitiveness overall, but also to ensure that we have measures in place to both mitigate and adapt to climate change. 

As for me, I will champion sustainable tourism. 

You can count on me.

Thank you!