“Tourism offers some of the best opportunities for growth in Europe, and the positive trend is continuing”, Martin Bartenstein, the minister responsible for tourism in Austria and President of the EU Tourism Council said today, Tuesday, at a press conference in the Vienna Hofburg during the Conference of European Tourism Ministers hosted by the Austrian Presidency. Tourism contributes around 10.9% directly and indirectly to the economy, and this figure is expected to show an above average increase to 12% by 2016. Bartenstein: “Tourism and the leisure industry can also be a driver for jobs. In the EU, 23.8 million jobs - 11.8 % of total employment - depend directly or indirectly on this sector. According to the estimates, this figure will rise to 13% by 2016. Thus approximately every eighth job depends directly or indirectly on tourism.”
Bartenstein said that Europe is in an excellent position in an international comparison of tourist destinations: in terms of foreign exchange earnings, six EU countries, including Austria, figure among the top ten according to a survey by the World Tourism Organisation.
According to the minister, the tourist industry is a service sector with relatively low potential for productivity gains, so any growth in tourism normally creates more jobs. It is also a localised service, so it is less susceptible to international price competition.
Bartenstein welcomed the European Commission’s new strategy to promote tourism, under which it will have a coordination function. This, he said, is an example of initiating measures for more jobs in keeping with the Lisbon Strategy.
The European Commissioner responsible for tourism, Günter Verheugen, stressed the need “to do more to ensure Europe remains a leading travel destination”. The new strategy would support the individual countries in their own efforts, since the Union itself does not have any direct powers in this field. The aim is to ensure “more efficient, better coordinated promotion of Europe as a unique travel destination". The Commission’s objective, according to Verheugen, is to ensure that account is taken when planning measures in other areas, such as regional policy or transport, of the extent to which the tourist industry can be supported at the same time.
The conference in Vienna, co-organised by Austria and Finland, is being attended by ministers and government representatives from the EU-25, the acceding and candidate countries, EFTA/EEA and the Western Balkans.
Photos of the conference, additional information and documents are available on the Presidency website.
The conference also saw the launch of the new, pan-European travel portal www.visiteurope.co, developed with funding from the European Commission, which will be operated by the European Travel Commission (ETC). President of the ETC is the managing director of Austria Tourism, Artur Oberascher.
Contact:
Federal Ministry for Economics and Labour
Office of the Minister: Ingrid Nemec, Tel.: +43 (1) 711 00-5108
Press section: Harald HoyerHarald Hoyer, Tel: (++43-1) 71100-2058
mailto: presseabteilung@bmwa.gv.at
Internet: http://www.bmwa.gv.at
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