/ Interview with MEP Antoni Tajani, Vice-President of the European Parliament

MEP Antonio Tajani is currently the Vice-President of the European Parliament and a leading member of the European Parliament ITRE (Industry, Research and Energy) Committee. He also was Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Entrepreneurship and Industry between 2009 and 2014, a period during which he championed the cause of tourism.   1) The creation of a Tourism Intergroup, or the recent De Monte report on new concepts for the promotion for tourism shows that the European Parliament is now very much invested in tourism issues. How do you see the role of the European Parliament in developing further tourism-friendly policies? The European Parliament has always been very much involved in tourism policy, adopting a series of resolutions even before the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty. Treaty that acknowledged the importance of tourism and outlined that the EU should complement the action of the Member States, in particular by promoting the competitiveness of this sector. I think that the European Parliament, ‘the voice of the people’ has a fundamental role to play in developing tourism-friendly policies because tourism is something very concrete that every EU citizen can grasp. A policy that can get Europe closer to its citizens. 2) The strong rise of the collaborative economy in tourism is having a significant impact, as there are strong discussions on how to apply consumer protection and taxation rules to collaborative economy providers. The European Commission made a first contribution on this issue with a Communication on the collaborative economy, and the IMCO Committee is now also working on an own-initiative report on this issue. According to you, how should the EU, and in particular the European Parliament, approach this phenomenon? The collaborative economy is indeed a growing phenomenon that we will have to deal with. It has had a positive impact on tourism via easy access to a wide range of higher quality and more affordable services, but at the same time a negative one via unfair competition, reduction of job security, less tax revenues and a threat to compliance standards. I think the EU should embrace the opportunities created by, but also need to assess the impacts of the collaborative economy on the EU tourism industry. I think we must create a level playing field for all actors and make sure that public and consumer interests are properly reflected. 3) As you often pointed-out as Vice-President of the European Commission in charge of Enterprise and industry, tourism is one of the few sectors which constantly creates new jobs. What could be the role of the European Parliament to support job creation (especially for the young) in the tourism sector? Tourism is crucial for our Economy. It is responsible for 9% of our GDP and 24 million jobs, about 10% of our employment. But it is facing challenges in terms of skills, increased competition from emerging destinations and the emergence of new business models. I remain convinced however that it is essential to our economic recovery and to our future prosperity. Let’s not forget that 20% of the employees in the sector are aged below 25 and that this sector offers great possibilities with low barriers to entry, exposure to different cultures and transferable skills. The European Parliament will therefore always be a strong supporter of tourism policy and will do its best to provide the right conditions for this industry to succeed.