european commission actions on sustainable...
TRANSCRIPT
Date: in 12 pts
European Commission actions on sustainable tourism
17 November, ŠILUTĖ, Lithuania
17 November 2016
Ilona Lelonek Husting,
Policy Officer, Unit ‘Tourism, Emerging and Creative Industries’, Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROWTH), European Commission
Facts & figures
• The 3rd largest economic activity in the EU (after Distributionand Construction)
• Dominated by SMEs (>90% = 3.4 million)
Socio-economic importance of tourism
• Direct, indirect and induced contribution:
EUR 1,6 trillion turnover
25 million jobs (10 % of the total labour force)
20% of the employees in the sector are aged below 25
• Spill-over effects: agro-food, transport, construction, retail,culture, design, etc.
Europe - Nr 1 destination of the world - 581 million international tourist arrivals
Thanks to great:
•cultural and historical heritage
•natural assets
•diversity of sceneries
•quality services
•good connectivity
3
INSERT
Administrative obstacles to businesses,
lack of awareness of
funding opportunities
Increased competition
from destinations in
emerging countries
Low ICT uptake,
keeping up with digitalisation
Quality of jobs in tourism,
appropriate skills
development
Challenges for European tourism
Improve
business
environment
and facilitate
access to
finance
4 PRIORITY ACTIONS 2016 ONWARDS
Uptake of
Digitalisation
(+ collaborative
economy)
Enhance skills and
training & workforce
mobility
Promotion of
destination Europe
and
internationalisation
of SMEs
4
Legal Framework – EU Tourism competences
• EU competence (after the Lisbon Treaty art. 195):Complement, support and coordinate the action of the
Member States in the tourism sectorHow? By:
• Encouraging the creation of a favorable environmentfor the development of undertakings in this sector
• Promoting cooperation between the Member States, particularly by the exchange of good practice
• No harmonization ofthe laws and regulations of the Member States
European Destinations of Excellence "EDEN" (1)Objectives:
Enhancing visibility of the emerging, non-traditional European tourist destinations of excellence
Rewarding sustainable forms of tourism
promoting networking between awarded destinations to persuade other destinations to adopt sustainable tourism development modes
This European quest for excellence in tourism is developed around an annual theme (leitmotif), chosen by the Commission together with the relevant national tourism bodies.
2007 – rural tourism 2008 – local intangible heritage
2009 – protected areas 2010 – aquatic tourism
2011 – tourism and regeneration of physical sites
2013 – accessible tourism 2015 – Tourism & local gastronomy
2017- cultural tourism
http://ec.europa.eu/eden
European Destinations of Excellence "EDEN" (2)
> 140 destinations awarded in Europe so far and hundreds of runners-up of the contest
In Lithuania: Plateliai, the Nemunas River Delta Regional Park, Zarasai region, Rokiskis Manor, Telsiai, Jesenika – Druskininkai.
> EDEN Network - a platform for the exchange of good practices at European level between awarded destinations but also with the aim to persuade other destinations to adopt sustainable tourism development practice.
Date: in 12 pts
European Destinations of Excellence "EDEN"(3)
The key feature of the selected destinations is their commitment to social, cultural and environmental sustainability.
The recipients of the award are emerging, little known European destinations
The process thus aims to help de-congest over-visited tourist destinations.
The initiative helps to spread the sustainable practices across the Union and to turn these little known but excellent places into all-year-round venues.
Main benefits for destinations and their local economies:
visibility, tourism flows, networking
Diversifying of EU tourism offerSupport to transnational thematic tourism
products
• Transnational projects – min 4countries involved, public-private partnerships withinvolvement of SMEs,developing tourism offeraround a common theme.
• 1. Sustainable transnationalthematic products
• linked to natural heritage andsustainable, environmentallyfriendly tourism.
• 2. Cultural or industrialheritage tourism routes
• 3. Accessible tourismitineraries
Support to sustainable and cultural transnational thematic tourism products (itinairaries, routes, trails…)
The Commission has directly supported through the calls for proposals the development and promotion of numerous transnational tourism products over the period 2011 – 2014 under different programes.
active
Religious
History
Gastronomy
Art/Heritage
Green
Wellness
Total investment : 8,4Mil€(EU co-financing 6,7Mil€)
Number of projects up to 2015: 37
organizations involved: 303
Examples of the co-financed projects:
- EuroVelo- Iron Curtain Trail (EV 13)- St James Way (EV 3)- Hiking trail along Danube- Greenways- Via Francigena and the
Pilgrimage Ways- CERA-DEST European Route of
Ceramics- Venetian Routes - European Equestrian routes- LIMES (the frontiers of the
Roman Empire) http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/tourism/offer/sustainable/transnational-products/index_en.htm
Some tips, how to prepare a sucessful project:
- concentrate on delivering results and achieving impact
- concrete impact on tourism development /increasing tourism flows
- build strong partnerhips, networks among different stakehloders and create new opportunities for businesses
- exploring synergies between tourism and other sectors ( gastronomy, arts, fashion, sports,… ) involving local communities
- good promotion/visibility of your activities (involvement of SMEs, regional (local), national tourism organisations, public authorities, media).
- using digital tools for promoting tourism offer
- sustainability of results (the initiative should not end with the end of co-financing – this should be the begining…)
Cooperation with the Council of Europe on its “European Cultural Routes” programme + Organisation of fairs on cultural tourism“Crossroads of Europe”.
Cooperation with European Travel Commission (ETC) food fairs & festivals portal to promote European traditions and culinary heritage www.tastingeurope.com + transnational itineraries on www.visiteurope.com;
Cooperation with UNESCO in order to enhance the visibility of UNESCO sites in Europe as tourism destinations.
How do we support 'cultural tourism'?
The European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS) for Sustainable Management of Tourist Destinations (1)
A tool to support destinations in monitoring and in measuring their sustainable tourism performances , not a certification scheme. Launched in 2013, revised toolkit in 2016.
• Simple to use (easy for any destination to measure and improve their sustainability)
• Destination led
• A system that involves, engages and empowers stakeholders
• Flexible and suitable for any destination, (on voluntarybasis)
• Toolkit as a guiding tool – to equip stakeholders with the skills needed to implement a system of indicators in their destination
European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS)for Sustainable Management of Tourist Destinations (2)
The ETIS toolkit provides the primary support (guidelines) , a step-by-step guide to the implementation of the System, explanations of what the indicators are and how to use them.
ETIS has been tested in around 200 destinations and is available at:
http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sectors/tourism/sustainable-
tourism/indicators/index_en.htm
Step 1. Raise Awareness
Step 2. Create a Destination Profile
Step 3. Form a Stakeholder Working Group (SWG)
Step 4. Establish Roles and Responsibilities
Step 5. Collect and Record Data
Step 6. Analyse results
Step 7. Enable ongoing Development and Continuous
improvement
Re
turn
to
SW
G to
ag
ree p
rioritie
s a
nd
develo
p a
pla
n o
f action
How ETIS works: The Seven Step Guide to ETISImplementation
Destination management related indicators
A.1 Sustainable Tourism
Management in Tourism
Enterprises
A.1.1
Percentage of tourism enterprises/establishments in the
destination using a voluntary certification/labelling for
environmental/quality/sustainability and/or Corporate Social
Responsability measures
A.2.1Percentage of tourists and same day visitors that are satisfied with
their overall experience in the destination
A.2.2 Percentage of repeat/return visitors (within 5 years)
A.2 Customer
Satisfaction
A.
De
stin
atio
n
ma
na
ge
me
nt
Economic value indicatorsB
. Eco
no
mic
Val
ue
B.1 Tourism Flow (volume &
value) at the Destination
B.1.1 Number of tourist nights per month
B.1.2 Number of same day visitors per month
B.1.3Relative contribution of tourism to the destination's economy (% GDP)
B.1.4 Daily spending per overnight tourist
B.1.5 Daily spending per same day visitor
B.2 Tourism Enterprise(s) Performance
B.2.1 Average length of stay of tourists (nights)
B.2.2Occupancy rate in commercial accommodation establishments per month and average for the year
B.3 Quantity and Quality of
Employment
B.3.1Direct tourism employment as percentage of total employment in the destination
B.3.2Percentage of jobs in tourism that are seasonal
B.4 Tourism Supply Chain
B.4.1Percentage of locally produced food, drink, goods and services sourced by the destinations tourism enterprises
Social and cultural impact indicators
C.1.1 Number of tourists per 100 residents
C.1.2Percentage of residents who are satisfied with tourism in the
destination (per month/season)
C.1.3Number of beds available in commercial accomodation
establishment per 100 residents
C.1.4 Number of second homes per 100 homes
C.2 Health and Safety C.2.1 Percentage of tourists who register a complaint with the police
C.3.1 Percentage of men and women employed in the tourism sector
C.3.2Percentage of tourism enterprises where the general manager
position is held by a woman
C.4.1Percentage of rooms in commercial accomodation establishments
accessible for people with disabilities
C.4.2Percentage of commercial accommodation establishments
participating in recognised accessibility information schemes
C.4.3Percentage of public transport that is accessible to people with
disabilities and with specific access requirements
C.4.4
Percentage of tourist attractions that are accessible to people with
disabilities and/or participating in recognised accessibility
information schemes
C.5.1Percentage of residents that are satisfied with the impacts of
tourism on destination's identity
C.5.2Percentage of the destination’s events that are focused on
traditional/local culture and heritage
C.4
Inclusion/AccessibilityC. S
ocia
l and
Cul
tura
l Im
pact
C.5 Protecting and
Enhancing Cultural
Heritage, Local Identity
and cultural Assets
C.1 Community/Social
Impact
C.3 Gender Equality
Environmental impact indicatorsD.1.1
Percentage of tourists and same day visitors using different modes
of transport to arrive at the destination
D.1.2Percentage of tourists and same day visitors using local/soft
mobility/public transport services to get around the destination
D.1.3Average travel (km) by tourists and same day visitors from home to
the destination
D.1.4Average carbon footprint of tourists and same day visitors travelling
from home to the destination
D.2.1
Percentage of tourism enterprises involved in climate change
mitigation schemes—such as: CO2 offset, low energy systems,
etc.—and “adaptation” responses and actions
D.2.2Percentage of tourism accommodation and attraction infrastructure
located in “vulnerable zones”
D.3.1Waste production per tourist night compared to general population
waste production per person (kilos)
D.3.2Percentage of tourism enterprises separating different types of
waste
D.3.3Percentage of total waste recycled per tourist compared to total
waste recycled per resident per year
D.4 Sewage Treatment D.4.1Percentage of sewage from the destination treated at least at
secondary level prior to discharge
D.5.1Water consumption per tourist night compared to general
population water consumption per resident night
D.5.2Percentage of tourism enterprises taking actions to reduce water
consumption
D.5.3 Percentage of tourism enterprises using recycled water
D.6.1Energy consumption per tourist night compared to general
population energy consumption per resident night
D.6.2Percentage of tourism enterprises that take actions to reduce
energy consumption
D.6.3
Percentage of annual amount of energy consumed from renewable
sources (Mwh) compared to overall energy consumption at
destination level per year
D.7 Landscape and
Biodiversity ManagementD.7.1
Percentage of local enterprises in the tourism sector actively
supporting protection, conservation, and management of local
biodiversity and landscapes.
D.1 Reducing Transport
Impact
D. E
nviro
nmen
tal Im
pact
D.2 Climate Change
D.3 Solid Waste
Management
D.5 Water Management
D.6 Energy Usage
Upcoming major EU tourism events
- European Tourism Day, 29 November, Brussels
"Tourism and synrgies with cultural and creative industries"
- Joint event UNWTO - EC on sustainable and responsable tourism, tourism ethics, April 2017, Poland (tbc)
Date: in 12 pts
EU funding opportunities for tourism
17 November 2016
Ilona Lelonek Husting,
Policy Officer, Unit ‘Tourism, Emerging and Creative Industries’, Directorate General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROWTH), European Commission
EU Funds…
80 % of the EU budget is managed by national or regional governments.
1. EU funds managed centrally by the Commission /ExecutiveAgencies, available through European Commission open calls for proposals (e,g part of the COSME, Erasmus+ ) http://ec.europa.eu/contracts_grants/
2. EU funds managed through shared management with MemberStates (European Structural and Investment Funds)
Contact : Managing authorities in each Member State
*Financial instruments available through financial intermediariesin Member States selected by the European Investment
• Fund (EIF)
COSME - EU programme for the Competitiveness of Enterprises and SMEs
• Total budget of €2.3billion (2014-2020)
• COSME supports SMEs in the areas:
• • Facilitating access to finance• http://europa.eu/youreurope/business/funding-grants/access-to-
finance/index_en.htm
• • Supporting internationalisation and access to markets
• • Creating an environment favourable to competitiveness
• • Encouraging an entrepreneurial culture• http://ec.europa.eu/growth/smes/cosme_en
Tourism actions earmarked under COSME
• Budget depending on decision of the COSME Committee (2015:
9MLN EUR, 2016: 4,5MLN EUR, 2017 possibly 5.4MLN EUR)
• EU-level investments complementing investments made through
other funding programmes. (e.g skills are supported through
Erasmus + or European Social Fund. Small infrastructure,
protection of cultural heritage and environmental investments can
be implemented by regions trough European Structural and
Investment Funds (ESIF)).
Focus on:
• development and promotion of transnational tourism offer
• trans-national dimension / European added-value
• involvemet of SMEs
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Tourism actions planned under COSME 2017 (1)Total budget for tourism 5.4 MLN EUR
Objective 1)Creating conditions for a favourable and competitive environment for tourism businesses, in particular through enhanced socio-economic and market intelligence and exchange of best practices
• a) provision of additional content for the “Virtual Tourism Observatory” portal, to provide the most updated statistical information, analysis and mapping of policy and legislation relevant for the EU tourism sector. (500.000EUR)
• https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/vto/?field_section_tid=151
• b) organisations of a number of events
• European Tourism Forum (Presidency event) and the European Tourism Day + other workshops and targeted events on different topics e.g Digital tourism network (400.000 EUR)
Tourism actions planned under COSME 2017 (2)
Objective 2) Diversifying and increasing the visibility of Europe's transnational tourism offer
• (a) a call for proposals to support the promotion anddevelopment of transnational thematic tourism products. Aparticular focus will be given to exploiting synergies betweentourism and cultural and creative industries.
• Total budget 1.5 MLN EUR
• Publication foreseen Q2 of 2017
• http://ec.europa.eu/growth/contracts-grants/calls-for-proposals_en
Tourism actions planned under COSME 2017 (3)
• (b) the European Destinations of Excellence (EDEN)
• Ad-hoc grants for "Promotion of existing European Destinations ofExcellence" (500.000 EUR)
• (c) the cooperation will be strengthened with the European Travel Commission (ETC) through an ad-hoc grant for extensive actions to promote Europe as a tourist destination. The focus will be on transnational thematic products such as: cultural tourism, creative industries and high-end products, gastronomy, natural heritage, etc.
• (2.5 MLN EUR)
Date: in 12 pts
Skills Study "Mapping and Performance check of the supply side of tourism education and training" (February 2016).
Mismatch between needs of industry and education offer
• Lack of basic skills (intercultural, interpersonal, languages)
• Need to adapt to rapid technological change, new trends and customers' needs
Poor image of tourism careers, seasonality
• Part-time, temporary work, high turnover
• Poor job quality (weak training culture, uninspiring career paths, inequitable salaries)
"New Skills Agenda"
• On 7th June, 2016, the Commission adopted the "New Skills Agenda" - aims at promoting skills development, including the mutual recognition of qualifications, supporting vocational training and higher education and reaping the full potential of digital jobs.
• It contains a Blueprint for Sectorial cooperation on skills where tourism was identified as one of the six pilot sectors to pursue specific actions based on an industry-led approach.
• http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1223
Erasmus+ fund for skills in tourism
Call for proposals to be publish in January 2017 on Sector's Skills Alliance, Budget : 4 million EUR for one European Alliance over a four-year period.
The Alliance must be led by representatives of industry and include education and training providers. The fund will support the set-up of a platform of sectorial key stakeholders who will propose actions and recommendations for the next 5/10 years, including the roll out at national level, in close cooperation with Member States and with the involvement of key national and/or regional stakeholders.
COSME is also supporting skills in tourism
Apart the 5.4M EUR earmarked to tourism actions, COSME will finance a call for tender ( to be published in Q1 2017).
The aim: to support a dedicated skills action covering several sectors, including tourism, for an indicative budget of 800.000 EUR per sector over a period of one year.
The tourism strand will focus on the following type of support actions: i) digital and management skills, ii) customer relations and intercultural skills and iii) promoting the image of tourism careers.
COSME supports actions to boost Entrepreneurship
•Erasmus for Young Entrepreneurs - cross-border programme facilitating exchange of entrepreneurial and management experience
http://www.erasmus-entrepreneurs.eu/index.php
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COSME - Commission actions to boost entrepreneurship and support SMEs
• Your Europe Business Portal http://europa.eu/youreurope/business/index_en.htm
• Enterprise Europe Network http://een.ec.europa.eu/
• Aim: encourage business cooperation at European level, find partners, promote technology transfer,
http://een.ec.europa.eu/about/branches/lithuania
local point in Kaunas, Klaipeda and Vilnius
The EEN Sector Group "Tourism and cultural heritage" - brings together Network experts in the sector of tourism and cultural heritage.
• SME Internationalisation https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-
databases/smeip/ clusters internationalisation, guidebooks, helpdesk
• Single portal on Access to Finance http://europa.eu/youreurope/business/funding-grants/access-to-finance/index_en.htm 34
Portal www.access2finance.eu Financial instruments (Business loans, microfinance, guarantees and venture capital) are available for start-ups, entrepreneurs and companies of any size or sector. Every year the EU supports more than 200 000 businesses
European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF) 2014-2020 – impact of € 450 billion….
• ERDF supports regional and national programmes in the Member States, along 11 "thematic objectives and investment priorities". The most relevant for the tourism sector :
• Research and innovation (N°1)
• Information and Communication Technologies (N°2)
• Competitiveness of SMEs (N°3)
• Shift to a low-carbon economy (N°4)
• Environmental protection and resource efficiency (N°6)
• Employment and support for labour mobility (N°8)
• Education, skills and lifelong learning (N°10)
• Guidance fiche: http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/sources/docgener/informat/2014/guidance_tourism.pdf
European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)
Tourism will play a prominent role in ERDF investment as well asrelated investments into the conservation, protection, promotion anddevelopment of natural and cultural heritage with about € 8 billion ofplanned ERDF allocation.Small-scale infrastructure is eligible.
- "European Territorial Cooperation" (ETC) relevant for tourism:
Cross-border (Interreg A), Transnational (Interreg B) or Interregional co-operation programmes (Interreg C).
Contributing also to "Macro-regional strategies" (Baltic sea strategy)
Programme: Interreg V-A - Poland-Denmark-Germany-Lithuania-Sweden (South Baltic) http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/EN/atlas/programmes/2014-2020/xxx/2014TC16RFCB013
http://2014-2020.southbaltic.eu/index/
EU Structural Investments Funds 2014-2020, where to find info?
Operational Programme for Lithuania, total budget:7,887,798,520.00 http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/EN/atlas/programmes/2014-
2020/lithuania/2014lt16maop001
Managing authority (Finansų ministerija, Lukiškių g. 2,LT-01512 Vilnius, +370 5 2194 437 http://www.finmin.lt)
Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Lithuania
Šventaragio g. 2,01510 Vilnius
********
EU level: European Commission DG REGIO http://ec.europa.eu/regional_policy/index_en.cfm
Joint Reseach Center - The Smart Specialisation Platform provides professional advice to EU countries and regions for the design and implementation of their research and innovation strategies for smart specialisation (RIS3). http://s3platform.jrc.ec.europa.eu/home
LIFE Programme – supporting environmental and nature conservation projects throughout the EU
Structure and budget for 2014-2020
2 sub-programmes:
• • Environment, including as priorities areas environment and resource efficiency, nature and biodiversity, and governance and information
• • Climate Action, including as priorities areas adaptation, mitigation and governance and information
• Budget: €3,456.7 million (€2,592.5 m for ENV, €864.2 m for CLIMA)http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/about/documents/life2014-2020.pdf
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/about/index.htm#life2014
Other EU funds…
The Investment Plan for Europe and a new European Fund for
Strategic Investments (EFSI) http://ec.europa.eu/priorities/jobs-
growth-investment/plan/index_en.htm
Investment and innovation window (EIB)
SME window (EIF)
Creative Europe Programme
http://ec.europa.eu/culture/calls/index_en.htm
A comprehensive "Guide on EU funding 2014-2020
for the tourism sector" with examples of projects:
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/tourism/support-business_en
Contact details
European Commission, Tourism
website:
http://ec.europa.eu/growth/sectors/t
ourism/index_en.htm
Unit F4. Tourism, Emerging and
Creative Industries
[email protected] Thank you for
your attention