How sustainable is tourism in Europe?

Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE) provides clarity and publishes first study with overview of Europe-wide activities. Summary: There is still more to be done.

21 countries took part in the study, which was published as the European Tourism Going Green (ETGG) SME 2030 Report. They report on political framework conditions, country-specific strategies, their own campaigns and specific activities and instruments in tourism. Always with an eye on sustainability and with a special focus on SMEs. "Most countries are experiencing positive development. However, there is still a lot of potential to make tourism in Europe more sustainable and innovative," summarises Heike Dickhut, HNEE researcher and co-author of the study.

Example Germany: There is political will for more sustainability in tourism. For example, the federal competition for sustainable tourism destinations is a format that promotes and publicises sustainability concepts in the German tourism landscape. Most federal states focus on sustainability-related topics such as nature tourism, green mobility and local cultural heritage in their marketing, strategies and campaigns. However, the focus on sustainable goals varies from state to state. While the north, for example, has a clear focus on integrating the topic into its tourism strategies, it is not even mentioned elsewhere.
The report reveals these gaps. At the same time, it provides an overview of what individual countries have already achieved and are achieving with regard to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). "The ETGG SME 2030 Report can help tourism SMEs in many ways to implement sustainability activities more easily, better exploit innovation potential and increase competitiveness on the European market," summarises Prof. Dr Wolfgang Strasdas. He is Professor of Sustainable Tourism at HNEE and head of the ETGG 2030 project. In addition, science also benefits from this compilation. "For the first time, Europe-wide framework conditions and strategies for sustainable tourism have been brought together in one document. This will make work much easier for future research projects," says HNEE scientist Heike Dickhut.

About the "European Tourism Going Green (ETGG) 2030" project
The "ETGG SME 2030 Report" was produced as part of the project of the same name under the leadership of HNEE's ZENAT. The aim is to support small and medium-sized tourism enterprises (SMEs) on their path to greater sustainability. To this end, an online training and expert system is being developed and set up to give businesses access to expert knowledge and advisory services. In addition, SMEs can use the "RU Ready for Certification" app to implement sustainability in operational procedures and procurement processes and improve their socio-economic and environmental performance. One of the main objectives is to achieve sustainability certification for businesses and increase their competitiveness. These support programmes are being tested in nine tourism regions in six different countries with UNESCO cultural heritage sites and Natura 2000 areas.
Download the ETGG SME 2030 Report

Knowledge network of the participating partner universities
University of Tirana (Albania), BOKU - University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (Austria), Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski (Bulgaria). Kliment Ohridski (Bulgaria), University of Rijeka (Croatia), Cyprus University of Technology (Cyprus), Palacký University, Olomouc (Czech Republic), University of Southern Denmark (Denmark), Université de Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne (France), Individual sustainable tourism expert (Finland), Budapest Metropolitan University (Hungary), Individual sustainable tourism expert (Italy), Breda University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands), University of Information Technology and Management, Rzeszow (Poland), Individual sustainable tourism expert (Portugal), University Stefan cel Mare, Suceava (Romania), Russian State University for the Humanities Moscow (Russia), Mateja Bela University (Slovakia), University of the Balearic Islands (Spain), Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts (Switzerland) and Akdeniz University (Turkey)

Further information
- Criticism of national tourism strategy; HNEE press release from 27 April 2022 April 2022
- National Tourism Strategy BMWK - Dialogue Process National Tourism Strategy
- Tourism Research Innovation and Next Generation Learning Experience (TRIANGLE)
- Study "Building Blocks for the Regeneration of the German Tourism Industry" by the Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Protection (BMWK)
- Tourism Policy Report of the Federal Government