Nearly 100 participants gathered in Lyon at the invitation of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region and the Regional Tourism Agency, to exchange and work on the development of Tourism For All in Europe.
From 4 to 6 October 2021, members and partners of the International Social Tourism Organisation (ISTO) came together in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region to share their experience, opinions and reflections about a fair and sustainable Tourism for all in Europe.
The participation of European members of the organisation, as well as representatives of ISTO Africa and ISTO Americas, was significant in this first face-to-face event since the beginning of the pandemic.
The participation of representatives of different European institutions such as the Commission, the Parliament, trade unions and several public authorities was key for the forum.
Marie-Hélène Pradines, Head of the Tourism and Textiles Unit, DG GROW, of the European Commission, therefore presented an update on the present and future situation, with relevant information for the professionals on the financing of the tourism sector.
Presentations made by the European Parliament's Committee on Transport and Tourism, represented by its President, Karima Delli, during the Forum and its Vice-President, Istvan Ujhelyi, sparked numerous exchanges and helped to shed light on the Commission's priorities for tourism.
On the European trade union side, the Forum hosted Kerstin Howald from EFFAT and Jozéf Niemiec from the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), who met to discuss employment, the attractiveness of jobs, employee monitoring and access to holidays. It is worth reminding that ETUC published last summer the results of a study according to which 35 million European workers do not have access to holidays due to their low income.
It is worth mentioning that among the public authorities that have talked about responsible and sustainable tourism destinations were Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes (France), Azores (Portugal), Catalonia (Spain) and Scotland (UK).
Lastly, the commitment of the Presidents of ISTO and ISTO Europe, Isabel Novoa and Muriel Antoniotti, deserves to be mentioned. Both of them showed their engagement to the development of Tourism for All and to the need to pursue and strengthen the mission of ISTO.
For more information on the themes and presentations of the ISTO Europe Forum, please visit the event website.
