Tourism is undoubtedly an economic backbone of coastal regions. At present about 2.36 million people are employed in the coastal tourism sector, representing 1.1% total EU employment. Around 51% of bed capacity in hotels across Europe is concentrated in regions with a sea border. Cruise tourism alone represents a distinct segment generating direct turnover of € 14.5 billion and nearly 150,000 jobs.
The immense number of islands and their seaside, Greece’s history and its archaeological sites, the beauty of nature and art, make tourism particularly important for Greece: it accounts for 15% of the Greek economy and is key to trigger growth and create new jobs; last year, travel and tourism combined contributed €12.6 billion to the country’s GDP and 332,000 jobs: 8% of the country’s total employment.
Yet, at the same time, this sector faces specific challenges: the dependency on beach tourism, the lack of innovation culture and a growing competition from regions outside Europe still limit its impact.
With my fellow-Commissioner Antonio Tajani, we want to take action to address those issues. We aim at defining a European approach to reap the full potential of a sustainable and smart coastal and maritime tourism.
The European Union already provides access to financing for tourism-related small and medium enterprises through its financial programmes and will continue to do so. Also, the existing European Fisheries Fund and the future European Maritime and Fisheries Fund do and will help boosting the sustainable development of fisheries areas, supporting economic diversification, so that fishermen can start new profitable activities, such as pescatourism.
But we still lack a comprehensive overview of the recommendations and initiatives that can be sponsored and promoted at European level.
This is why the European Commission is now consulting those who work in the field, as well as any other interested organisation and citizen, with a view to produce a concrete strategy for Maritime and Coastal Tourism in the EU by the end of this year: a tangible initiative about what Europe can do to boost growth and create jobs.
Tags: Blue growth, Employment, maritime policy, Tajani, tourism
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Recreational Sea Angling is an important attractor for coastal resorts that rely upon tourism, as well as it’s multiplier effect on coastal economies.