Social tourism

Social tourism comprises programmes, projects and campaigns that aim to ensure the right to holiday and access to tourism to all population groups, including young people, families, senior citizens, low-income earners and individuals with limited physical capabilities.

EU-Commission and Social tourism

The Tourism Unit of the European Commission's Directorate General Enterprise and Industry’s organised for the third time a conference on social tourism, following the success of the previous two Conferences held in January 2006 and February 2007, which in turn were followed by a workshop session held in June 2007. The 2008 event was organised in collaboration with the Bureau International du Tourisme Social (BITS), and was held in Brussels on the 23rd April 2008.

Link to EU-conferences

link to web 2006 SOCIAL TOURISM - Conference "Tourism for all : State of the play and existing practices in the EU"

link to web 2007 SOCIAL TOURISM Workshop on Social Tourism "

link to web 2008 SOCIAL TOURISM Conference "Social Tourism in the EU : Youths and Senior Citizens"

The International Bureau of Social Tourism (BITS)

is an international nonprofit-making organisation set up in 1963 to promote access to leisure, holidays and tourism for as many people as possible and to encourage the implementation of this objective and of the related means by the actors sharing this responsibility, namely States, social players and operators. The mission of BITS is also to promote sustainable tourism based on solidarity which ensures that the local populations draw some benefit and which respects the natural and cultural heritage.

link to web Welcome on the BITS Website

link to web Bienvenue sur le site du BITS

link to web Bienvenido al sitio web de BITS

EFFAT – BITS Study on employment in the social tourism sector in Europe

The International Bureau of Social Tourism (BITS) and the European Federation of Food, Agriculture and Tourism Trade Unions (EFFAT) have joined forces to carry out a study on employment in the social tourism sector in Europe.

The conduct of the survey has been entrusted to the Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire Tourisme, Territoires Sociétés (LITOTES) at the Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), which has prepared a two-part questionnaire.

The first part (Section A), targeting organisations active in the social tourism sector nationally, regionally and locally, aims to draw up an overview of social tourism and the jobs it creates in each country, focusing specifically on accommodation.
The second part (Section B) focuses specifically on managers of social tourism accommodation (holiday centres and villages, inns and welcome centres for young people, campgrounds, etc.) and aims to drill down deeper into employment-related information for each accommodation facility.