7th European Tourism Forum 2008 - Bordeaux / France

Social dialogue in the European tourism sector?

The 7th European Tourism Forum was organised on 18 and 19 September 2008 in Bordeaux, under the title “The European Tourism Offer: Quality and Sustainability vis-à-vis Demand Trends”. Three workshops dealt with the topics: Europe’s Adaptability to World Tourism Demand Trends; Integrating Competitiveness and Sustainability Criteria in the Adaptation of the European Tourism Offer; Towards Qualitative Tourism Employment in the EU.

Gabriele Guglielmi, Chairman of the ETLC, as moderator of Panel 2, and François Ballestero, ETF Secretary for Civil Aviation, as speaker in Panel 3, as well as several other trade union representatives, stressed in their interventions the importance of the social dimension of sustainability in tourism. To stay competitive, the tourism sector has to be made a more attractive sector to work in, if the current labour shortages in some of the tourism sectors shall be overcome.

The Commission supported the trade union request for a European social dialogue in the tourism sector, and DG Enterprise signalled readiness to investigate, in cooperation with DG Employment, the possibilities to establish such a dialogue between the main stakeholders.
The Commission will table the proposal to the EU Member States in early 2009 to elaborate a multi-annual work programme for European tourism.