Ministers will sign a common declaration in which they commit to supporting "measures and initiatives encouraging the extension of the high season in tourism," according to the draft text.
The text is due to be adopted in Madrid during the EU's first ministerial meeting on tourism since the sector fell under EU competence with the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty last year.
The initiative aims to "contribute to the fight against seasonality and to the maintenance of tourist employment in the off-season," it adds.
Most of the almost 10 million employees of the EU tourism industry tend only to work during certain periods of the year due to the intrinsic nature of the business, which is linked to weather conditions and public holidays.
"Seasonality represents a significant issue for the competitiveness of tourism. In this context, I plan to promote concrete initiatives in order to prolong the high season," European Commission Vice-President in charge of Industry Antonio Tajani will say today during a tourism forum in Madrid, which will bring together the main stakeholders in the sector ahead of the ministerial meeting.
Tourist exchange programme
Among these initiatives is the launch of a kind of 'Erasmus for tourists', inspired by the EU's successful exchange programme for students.
"Young people, over-65s and persons with reduced mobility or low income will receive financial support to go on holiday in low-season periods," explained a Commission official in charge of the dossier.
Northern Europeans could go to Southern Europe in winter, while Mediterranean citizens might move to Northern Europe during the hottest months of the year, according to the plans. The idea comes from a Spanish project which contributed to significantly increasing tourism in the low season by favouring cross-regional exchanges. Spain is now the EU leader in the tourism sector.
Along these lines, ministers will commit to prolonging the high season by "encouraging holiday trips and tourist exchanges in low season," reads the draft document.
EU tourism policy
In accordance with the EU's new powers under the Lisbon Treaty, ministers will also commit to a number of concrete initiatives to be launched in the coming years.
A tourism observatory is to be set up in order to collect more detailed statistics on the sector at European level. "It should be a sort of Eurostat dedicated to tourism," an EU official explained. This is expected to help operators to plan their work more effectively by adapting it to emerging trends.
Ministers will also agree on the definition of "an indicator system for sustainable tourism destinations" to highlight destinations and resorts which offer high-quality services while respecting the environment. "It will resemble to the Blue Flag Programme," which classifies the cleanest beaches and marinas in over 40 countries, an EU official explained.
The EU is also planning to negotiate tourism partnerships with non-EU countries such as China, Brazil, Russia and India. The aim is to offer package tours involving visits across different countries on the continent. This should facilitate the arrival of new tourists in Europe and help to prevent visits that concentrate exclusively on a single EU country.
