With these initiatives, the European Commission aims to create a more sustainable and competitive EU tourism sector that considers issues like climate change, development imbalances, geopolitical tensions and sector structural fragmentation.
ECTRI welcomes the opportunity to contribute to this process and underlines the following 9 key points to promote sustainable tourism with sustainable mobility practices:
1. Prioritise initiatives like cross-border rail, ferry services, and long-distance cycling routes to shift demand away from aviation and cars
2. Increase tourists connection to rural and peri-urban areas by implementing mobility hubs and on-demand transit services and supporting less-known Destination Management Organisations (DMOs)
3. Encourage the use of apps, open data platform, European Digital Identity Wallets and interoperable booking platforms to optimise transport use
4. Promote the use of digital tools like destination cards, real-time mobility apps, and data-driven decision platforms as well as reward systems, carbon labelling, and storytelling campaigns encouraging low-emission travelling
5. Implement last-mile logistics practices such as micro-mobility, pedestrian-friendly design, and low-emission zones, with an open eye for transport accessibility and inclusivity
6. Ensure safe mobility infrastructure and public spaces for vulnerable groups (i.e., female travellers, ethnic minorities, and LGBTQ+ individuals)
7. Integrate climate-resilient transport infrastructure, forecasting, and emergency protocols in high-risk destinations to protect heritage and support disaster response
8. Measure impact and adjust relevant policies using cross-sector data on mobility, emissions, and tourism, aligned with NetZeroCities, the EU Mission for Climate Neutral and Smart Cities, and long-term foresight
9. Include new governance and business models for sustainable EU tourism mobility as additional research themes, such as rural mobility hubs, carbon equity, digital innovation, SME transition, and climate-resilient transport
Read the reply to the public consultation here
Read the reply to the call for evidence here
Thanks to the ECTRI Thematic Group Mobility for contributing to this paper.
Special thanks to the main contributors of the ECTRI position paper: Maria Morfoulaki, Glykeria Myrovali, and Julia Jarass.