Kefalogianni to Attend EU Meeting for Tourism Ministers in Brussels

Greek Tourism Minister Olga Kefalogianni will be joining her European counterparts in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, to attend the Informal Council of European Tourism Ministers during February 20-21.

Organized by Brussels as holder of the presidency of the Council of the EU, the meeting will be chaired by Walloon Minister for Tourism Valerie De Bue.

The Belgian presidency will lead the discussion on the EU’s need to focus on a strong, resilient, and inclusive green and digital transition for tourism.

“Tourism is facing shared challenges and opportunities across the Union, which are impacting its development, such as sustainability, seasonality, increasing tourism flows management while maintaining quality of life in destinations, innovation and digitalisation, skills and the sector attractiveness for workers… The tourism sector calls for the attention of all European partners and the formulation of an ambitious vision to accelerate its transition,” the Belgian presidency said in an announcement.

According to the Belgian presidency, the reopening and recovery of the tourism ecosystem represent “an opportunity” to leverage the post-COVID-19 recovery phase towards a green and digital transformation for a more resilient tourism ecosystem.

The Belgian presidency is committed to realising the vision outlined in the Council Conclusions on a European Agenda for Tourism 2030, aimed at fostering sustainable prosperity in the sector, in accordance with the goals of the transition.

The transition pathway for tourism, published in February 2022 by the European Commission, serves as a common roadmap at the European level in this regard. Through its co-creation process and integrated approach to tourism strategies, it aims to outline the necessary measures and achievements to accelerate the ecological and digital transitions and improve the resilience of the tourism ecosystem.