European destinations and Eurail join forces towards a shared vision for sustainble growth

BRUSSELS - The European Travel Commission (ETC), representing National Tourism Organisations, has joined forces with Eurail to present a White Paper on Rail Transport for International Tourism in Europe defining sustainable growth models that accelerate the transformation to a sustainable, digital and innovative tourism sector in the aftermath of the COVID-19 crisis. 

The coronavirus outbreak continues to have a major impact on mobility and connectivity across the European Union. Measures to contain the outbreak have resulted in a dramatic reduction in international passengers for both the transport and tourism sectors. Tourism is facing the worst crisis since records began, effectively coming to a standstill in Europe for the last two months. 

The scale of this crisis will be unprecedented and felt in all regions and countries across Europe. The latest OECD forecast indicates that the implied shock could amount to a 60-80% decline in the international tourism economy in 2020, depending on the duration of the crisis and the speed with which travel and tourism rebounds. The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) estimates that in 2020, some 13 million tourism jobs in Europe are in jeopardy due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Recovery is predicted to be slow, with Europe as a whole not seeing a return to 2019 levels until 2023. 

As one of the most labour-intensive sectors of the economy, support to establish a fast-track recovery for the European tourism sector is needed to prevent the loss of millions of jobs. As the importance of climate challenges has not waned, the European tourism sector must also take global lead and set new standards that secure future growth along sustainable patterns.