CURRENT ACTIONS:
Creating a tourism ecosystem that is sustainable for local communities is a core principle of ETC’s vision. We are working with the European Commission to promote thematic, cross-border European tourism instead of purely geographic tourism. This will encourage travellers to explore lesser-touristed areas as well as those which are already well known. We are actively working with our members to manage tourism flows by encouraging travellers to visit off-season or in less-touristed regions. In doing so, we hope to alleviate the effects of overcrowding in popular areas while also benefitting smaller communities that stand to benefit economically and culturally from their international guests. We have also released many publications and organised webinars that discuss the issue of overcrowding and examine how this issue can be mitigated. The most recent of these was a webinar organised in October 2023 that focussed on using digital tools to monitor and manage the movement of tourists.

The economic benefits of tourism are most needed in many Eastern European countries, particularly the Baltic states, which have had their recovery from the pandemic severely impacted by the war in Ukraine. Countries previously relying on Russian tourists are now experiencing a much slower recovery than their Western European counterparts.

ETC is already a collaborator on several projects that support socially sustainable tourism, such as the Rail Tourism Awards and Destination of Sustainable Cultural Tourism Awards, both of which aim to draw tourists away from heavily touristed areas and inspire slow travel. The Rail Tourism Awards have a history of celebrating regional campaigns that encourage tourists to explore less-known regions and interact with local attractions and businesses. In 2023, the awards even awarded a specific category for Best Regional Campaign. The Destination of Sustainable Cultural Tourism Awards also does excellent work in promoting social sustainability by celebrating and preserving heritage, allowing communities to enjoy and benefit from their local history for years to come, and drawing in travellers to bring their economic and social benefits to the area. 

FUTURE ACTIONS:
ETC will continue to promote tourism in a way that promotes thematic tourism in less visited areas, in order to mitigate overcrowding and unlock economic and social benefits for small communities. We will also continue to educate our members on measures to control tourism flows and alleviate the effects of over-tourism. 

In Autumn 2024, we will launch a flagship campaign aimed at promoting responsible travel behaviour. Through this marketing effort, we will encourage tourists to ‘unlock an expected upgrade’ by visiting off-season, stepping off the beaten track and immersing themselves in the local way of life by using public transport and enjoying local products. 

In the coming years, ETC plans to pay particular attention to promoting those countries whose tourism industries have been severely impact by the conflict. We will allocate significant resources to promoting such destinations as safe and sustainable, and especially support their digital and sustainable transitions so that they can offer much in-demand services that will attract more overseas travellers.

We are committed to continuing our support for the Rail Tourism Awards and Destination for Sustainable Cultural Tourism Awards to continue promoting sustainable travel to less-touristed regions. 

OUTPUT:
Upcoming campaign promoting responsible travel behaviour. 
Publications and events on controlling tourism flows and mitigating crowding.
Additional funding to promote Eastern European destinations whose recoveries have been negatively impacted by the war in Ukraine.
Continued support for the Rail Tourism Awards and Destination of Sustainable Cultural Tourism Awards.

TIME:
ETC’s responsible travel campaign will be launched in Autumn 2024. 

In the coming years, we will continue to pay particular attention to diverting tourism flows to destinations still suffering from the effects of the war in Ukraine, or the impacts of any other crises which may disproportionately affect one region or another. 

Since 2024, we have already begun including additional metrics in publications to investigate tourists’ openness to adopting responsible behaviours. More sustainable KPIs and sustainability-focused research will be released in the coming years. 

The 4th edition of the Rail Tourism Awards and 7th Destination for Sustainable Cultural Tourism Awards will take place in Autumn 2024, further editions will continue annually at least until 2030.