Insights & Inspirations｜Update on EU Transition Pathway and EU China cooperation

The “Europe-China Tourism Dialogue” was held in Hungary recently. Ms. Amaryllis VERHOEVEN, Acting Director in charge of Tourism, Textiles, Digital Transformation of Industry and Social Economy at the European Commission (DG GROW) , shared insights on the “Update on EU Transition Pathway and EU China cooperation”. Here is an extract of her speech.

In the wake of pandemic, the European tourism industry has faced unprecedented challenges. To aid in its recovery, the European Commission has brought together experts from the tourism and related fields to devise 27 specific action plans. These plans have seen extensive participation from EU member states and private enterprises. This is not merely a recovery process but a journey of collective innovation and transformation. This grand project of innovation and transformation commenced two years ago.

So, what are the results of these actions? In January of this year, we conducted a comprehensive review of these 27 action plans, accompanied by an in-depth evaluation of the actions taken by private enterprises. Through this process, we have indeed seen significant progress, particularly in the areas of digitalization and sustainability.

We shouldn’t say everything is already perfect, but we firmly believe that this process will continue to advance. We will continue to collaborate with our colleagues in the European tourism industry, reassess our priorities in the next European Commission, and evaluate our current status and future actions. All professionals in the European tourism industry view these actions as powerful catalysts — a bottom-up process of collective innovation and change. We will steadfastly continue along this path. Particularly, it is important to push digitalization as a crucial task. I must admit that the digital payment in Europe requires further development and improvement.

Tourism is one of the most important players in the global tourism sector. As the world’s most popular tourist destination, we are committed to maintaining this leading position, especially in attracting Chinese tourists. We need to enhance our dialogue and exchange with China to explore how we can make our tourism space more appealing to visitors from different countries and regions, thereby ensuring the long-term sustainable prosperity and development of the tourism industry.