ETOA newsletter

The worst affected Member States by the COVID-19 pandemic are those highly dependent on tourism and unable to compensate the loss of foreign, EU and non-EU, travellers with domestic demand. Most key travel and tourism infrastructures are not designed to operate efficiently under crisis conditions, such as the current pandemic. It is important to ensure that the aftermath of the pandemic will not create long-term problems for international travelling, for example by having incompatible vaccination certificates between continents. The health and safety concerns of visitors may impact their travel preferences and it will be crucial to promote Europe as a safe and quality destination.

These words could have been written by a trade association: in fact, they come from a European Commission working paper. The continued focus on tourism is welcome and echoes the constructive engagement we have experienced throughout the crisis. With recognition comes the chance to develop practical policy to ensure greater resilience. Serious problems remain. From the continued complexity (and obscurity) of travel restrictions to the unavailability of adequate insurance, uncertainty over operating conditions prevents pricing and slows sales.

While much direct regulatory competence affecting tourism will remain national, regional and local, better strategic coordination at European level is necessary. It is vital that the Commission hears directly from all tourism stakeholders, as well as trade associations, about what they think will make the sector more resilient.  The consultation closes on September 15^th. Have your say here.

In a section entitled ‘Improve the EU capacity to manage shocks affecting travelling‘ the paper suggested that industry ‘could undertake investments in adaptation and preparedness.’ Well, yes. If it had the money. Dominated by micro and SMEs, Europe’s tourism ecosystem’s financial reserves are at the lowest they have ever been.

The same document puts the estimated investment gap for tourism in 2020-21 at EUR 161 billion (highest of all ecosystems). “High level of indebtedness increases the risk of slow restart, and also of the ownership of some services moving outside Europe. This can further reduce the capacity of tourism enterprises to invest in the development of more resilient supply chains and new services.”

National governments must ensure that the recovery funds bring benefit across the industry.

2022 will see the production of business carried forward from 2020-21 as well as new sales. Product demand is changing: there will be more small-group travel and itineraries to destinations that are typically less crowded. Within established destinations, alternative attractions are sought as capacity restrictions affect options. For the tourism ecosystem, this represents opportunity on a scale not seen since the early 90s. At time of writing, ETOA’s network includes over 350 buyers looking for product in Europe from niche operators and start-ups to global multinationals, adding new members selling in markets from Mexico to South Korea.

Our industry is still hurting: it still needs government support and urgent policy reform. But the people who work in it are highly resilient and creative. There are grounds for optimism. Transatlantic flight routes are re-opening fast, and intra-Schengen travel is becoming more straightforward as uptake and recognition both of vaccinations and related digital certificates grows. International leisure tourism will play a leading part in Europe’s economic recovery. ETOA is here to support that.

To connect with the ETOA network and build for recovery, register for The Global European Marketplace today or if you’re not yet a member, check out our Tourism Recovery Packages.

Climate Crisis

The IPCC’s recently published sixth assessment report describes the climate crisis and its potential development, it does not go into detail about solutions: that is for COP26 and subsequent reports. But the urgency is clear: to have a better than 50% chance of keeping the temperature increase to below 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels, the reductions required go further than what has already been promised, as recent commentary by The Economist makes clear. An increase close to 2 degrees will be highly disruptive. ETOA’s recent statement on topic is available here.

The political and behavioural challenges are clear. The Tony Blair institute recently published a paper on the behavioural change required if the UK is to meet emissions goals, contrasting that with the structural changes such as a shift from coal in electricity generation that have achieved most of the emissions reductions to date.

While the proposed changes required at first sight look deceptively modest, one finding gives the travel industry pause for thought: public acceptance for, say, tax on flying is higher than increase in food costs. On the other hand, the profile of consumers who are keen to act responsibly may correlate closely with those with the disposable income to spend on holiday flights, but the report focuses on the UK and does not address the implications of a growing global middle class will be in the market for international travel.

For more on this topic, see our climate page.

For guidance please see our Brexit Post-Transition page and the member-only guiding regulation page.

From 1st October 2021, EU national ID cards will no longer be accepted for most travellers entering the UK. This includes travellers arriving directly into Northern Ireland. Exemption list includes EU nationals resident in the UK who have applied to the EU Settlement Scheme.

Our understanding is EU national ID cards will be accepted for stays in the UK continuing beyond 1st October 2021 if entry to the UK is before this date as long as the EU ID card is valid for the duration of stay. EU nationals unable to use a ID card to enter the UK will require a passport to be valid for the duration of stay in the UK and able to use e-gates (if in use).

Multilingual pages

ETOA’s website now has landing pages to provide a short introduction to our activities for readers in French, German, Italian and Spanish.

Check our latest statistics, opinion and research pieces on the Insight Hub.

Register for The Global European Marketplace 2021 – the attendee lists are now live!

We invite you to check the list of buyers and suppliers who have already registered for The Global European Marketplace (29th October 2021, London) and Relaunch ’22 (30th November, online).
ETOA member supplier attendance covers both access to the in-person Global European Marketplace as well as the global online workshop, Relaunch ’22. ETOA member tour operators attend free and can select to attend either or both editions! Book your ticket today!

ETOA Stand at WTM London 2021

ETOA has secured a stand space at this year’s World Travel Market London, which is taking place at ExCel between 1-3 November 2021.  Co-exhibiting spaces are now available to book for ETOA members – all stand partners will be assigned a desk at the live event as well as the virtual show on the 8-9 November.  Prices from £3,500+VAT.

3 weeks to go! The countdown is on to TravelTech Show on 14-15 September. With sessions ranging from new payment models to cybersecurity threats, and from AI-based personalisation in travel to blockchain technology – our conference programme will arm you with the insights you need to future-proof your strategy.

Find out more

UK Inbound invites ETOA members to join its annual conference on 16-17 September in Manchester. With topical industry discussions, inspirational keynotes, a B2B workshop and a networking evening, this year it also includes a virtual workshop on 24 September featuring additional content online. For further details and registration click here.