(TAN): UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili recently led a high-level delegation to Brussels for a series of meetings aimed at ensuring tourism remains at the top of the political agenda of the European institutions, the UN specialised agency said.
Pololikashvili, has been working closely with European leaders to ensure the sector receives the political and financial support needed to protect livelihoods and safeguard businesses. During his visit to Brussels, Pololikashvili urged the leaders of the European institutions to transform the ambitious plans for the recovery into reality by coordinating a package of response measures that will allow for tourism to return and to drive the recovery of the EU economy.
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At the same time, the UNWTO leadership stressed the importance of supporting and growing domestic tourism. According to Pololikashvili, domestic tourism has immense potential, including for the recovery and development of rural communities. However, for this potential to be realized, governments and the European Institutions need to provide greater direction and stronger leadership.
The UNWTO delegation met with Margaritis Schinas, vice president of the European Commission; Thierry Breton, European commissioner for internal market; Virginijus Sinkevičius, European commissioner for environment, oceans and fisheries, with the office of David Sassoli, president of the European Parliament and key representatives of the European Council. On the back of the meetings, it was confirmed that the issue of easing travel restrictions will be on the agenda at the next meeting of the European Council, highlighting the importance and timeliness of UNWTO’s interventions.
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“Tourism is a central pillar of European economies, a leading employer and a source of opportunity for many millions of people across the continent. The leaders of the European Institutions have signalled their commitment to supporting tourism at this challenging time. High-level leadership and unprecedented levels of cooperation between the Institutions, governments and businesses will be needed to translate good intentions into firm actions and so help tourism lead the continent’s recovery from crisis,” Secretary-General Pololikashvili said.
Tourism contributes 10% of total GDP for the European Union and supports more than 2.4 million businesses.
