ETC president: Risk of tourism travel should be on individuals not countries

European Travel Commission (ETC) president Luis Araujo said in Dubrovnik on Thursday that in the present pandemic conditions that are challenging to European tourism the risk of travel should be on the individual and not on countries.

Araujo chaired a meeting of the ETC's Board of Directors, the oldest and strongest international tourism association in Europe which comprises 33 national European tourism organisations.

The key is for people to understand the significance of tourism in European countries which annually host more than 700 million tourists. Now is an opportunity for challenges of the future, which needs to be more sustainable and digital and more focused on people and their activities. With its fast opening and tourism recovery in these challenging times, Croatia is an example to other European countries. Now is the time for greater support to national tourism organisations and to promote clear rules to open up countries, said Araujo.

He said that European countries have managed to increase tourism turnover this year, primarily due to domestic guests, while countries dependent on air traffic fared worse. Countries that made decisions fast and understood the significance of tourism had better results, Croatia is a brilliant example in this regard, Araujo said.

ETC executive director Eduardo Santander said that tourism is at a turning point and needs to maintain a strong spirit of cooperation.

The director of the Croatian Tourist Board and ETC vice president, Kristjan Staničić, said that Croatia was among the best in managing this year's tourism season, which is the result of decisions by the government and the overall tourism sector.

The ETC is a Brussels-based association of national tourism organisations. It was created in 1948 to promote Europe as a tourist destination to long-haul markets outside of Europe. Croatia has been a member of the ETC since 1997.

(Hina/FaH) 

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