European Representatives Discuss Sustainable Tourism, Post-Pandemic Travel and War in Ukraine Ahead of Summer Season
In the 103rd General Meeting of the European Travel Commission (ETC), the representatives discussed the tourism sector in the European country following an almost two-year-long pandemic, in addition to the ongoing war in Ukraine, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
These discussions are considered especially important as research from ETC has revealed that nearly 77 per cent of Europeans have travel plans between April and September of this year, with more than half of those (56 per cent) planning to travel to another European country while 31 per cent opt for domestic travel.
In addition, Mariana Oleskiv, Chairperson of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine (SATD), attended the meeting, during which she received support with a complimentary membership for three years – implemented with access to all resources, research data and practices to help Ukraine’s tourism recovery after the war.
Nonetheless, ETC’s priority during this meeting remained sustainability, noting sustainable practices in tourism are core forces in the sector, as the crisis in the ongoing pandemic, rising entry prices and the war in Ukraine rage in the 27-nation-bloc.
“It has been encouraging to see the brightest minds in the sector come together to strategize on the geopolitical and environmental issues that will impact us for the months and years ahead. It is also symbolic that we are hosting our discussion on sustainability in Slovenia, which has been at the forefront of the green transition in European tourism,” Luis Araujo, ETC President, said, thanking Slovenia for its hospitality and for demonstrating its sustainability practices.
On the other hand, Iona Stermicki, the Acting Director of the Slovenian Tourist Board, said that her team had done a lot to raise awareness for sustainable tourism, as a total of 90 per cent of all Slovenian tourist arrivals are generated by the country’s green destinations.
Among the most popular green destinations in Slovenia are Bela Krajina, Nova Gorica, Soca Valley, Krsko, Kamnik, Brda, Kranja and Podcetrtek, which make Slovenia the European country with the highest number of green destinations.
“Of course, it will require us to work even more sustainably, in a connected, high-quality, innovative way together with our European partners and the European Travel Commission,” Stermicki noted.
The top ten clean green destinations in Europe, as Forbes describes, are Denmark, Luxembourg, Switzerland, France, Austria, Finland, Sweden, Norway and Germany.
