Tourism & the European Union

Monika Klinger: The EU as an area of free movement of people, goods, services and capital naturally also brings numerous advantages for tourism. It is very important that there have been virtually no border controls since the Schengen Agreement in 1997 - something we now take for granted. Since then, traveling has been much easier for both EU citizens and guests from third countries - also thanks to the uniform visa regime. As a small country in the heart of Europe, Austria benefits in particular. More than 85% of our guests come from the EU. There has also been a surge in growth from those Eastern and South Eastern European countries that also joined the EU in 2004. Overnight stays have increased six-fold compared to 1995.

The euro and free roaming are also major European projects that are very positive for travelers and tourism as a whole. Tourism benefits from EU support for projects in regional development, for example, and also across borders. It is also much easier for people to learn and work in other countries.

Monika Klinger: Austria is one of the most popular destinations in the EU and is in 6th place in terms of international arrivals in absolute figures, behind France, Spain, Italy, Germany and Greece. In contrast to many other countries, we have two almost balanced seasons thanks to the many winter sports enthusiasts.

Many Austrian stakeholders from the tourism sector are very active and also contribute a lot of knowledge to European networks and projects. We in the ministry are also heavily involved in shaping EU tourism policy. This is because Austria is a highly recognized tourism country and we have extensive know-how, also in terms of sustainable tourism development. One example is the area of statistics and measurement of indicators. In coordination with Statistics Austria, we are very active internationally in this area. The new measurement of tourism acceptance in Austria is currently attracting a great deal of interest throughout the EU. The Austrian Tourism Data Space - a project led by the Austrian National Tourist Office - also serves as a model for many in the development of the European Tourism Data Space.

Monika Klinger: The new Commissioner for Sustainable Transport, Apostolos Tzitzikostas from Greece, is the first Commissioner to have tourism explicitly visible in his portfolio. We will see what effect the change of tourism from the economic sector (DG GROW) to the transport and mobility sector (DG MOVE) will have. A new strategy for sustainable tourism is to be developed at EU level by the beginning of 2026 with the broad involvement of all stakeholders. The so-called "Tourism Transition Pathway" and the European Agenda for Tourism 2030 have currently served as the basis for work since 2022.

It can also be assumed that tourism and mobility will become even more closely interlinked. Austria has been focusing on the topic of "sustainable mobility in tourism" for some time now - for example through the annual Tourism Mobility Days or, most recently, by leading the Europe-wide "THE PEP Partnership for Sustainable Mobility in Tourism". In this respect, and in view of the enormous importance of sustainable mobility offers for the green transition in tourism, we hope to see important initiatives in the coming years, including at EU level.

Tourism is of course also strongly affected by measures from many other policy areas and programs, e.g. business and SME policy with the new Commission's focus on reducing bureaucracy, in the area of environmental protection or consumer protection with the Package Travel Directive or passenger rights. Discussions on the EU's new multiannual financial framework from 2028 will also begin in the coming months. And, of course, geopolitical developments could also have a major impact on tourism in Austria and the EU as a whole. In this respect, we can look forward to seeing what the next 30 years will bring for tourism in the EU.