European Day of Tourism and European Tourism Forum

On the 8th and 9th of October the European Day of Tourism (EDT) and the European Tourism Forum (ETF) were held in the Conference Center "Square Brussels" in Brussels, BE, organised and chaired by DG Enterprise & Industry. Various issues related to "Tourism in Europe" and its future challenges were discussed by a wide range of experts.

After the official opening of the European Day of Tourism the programme was divided into three panels:

• Panel I: Indicators – a tool for the European tourist destinations
• Panel II: The role of SMEs and the knowledge networks in developing sustainable                                    tourism in the EU
• Panel III: Thematic Networks

The main topic of the European Tourism Forum was “EU Tourism and the Economic Downturn: New Opportunities for a Sustainable and Prosperous Future”. After the opening plenary session the programme was divided into four panels:

• Panel 1: Consumer behaviour vis-à-vis Sustainability and Economic Downturn
• Panel 2: Employer – Employee Relations in Tourism
• Panel 3: The regulatory framework in tourism
• Panel 4: A 2020 perspective: promoting competitive and sustainable European tourism

The Forum ended with a closing plenary session.

Around 500 participants representing various European regions were present at both days.

Soon we will upload a short report on the two events!