Background and rationale 

Tourism is one of Europe’s most dynamic sectors, contributing significantly to cultural exchange, economic growth, and regional development. In an increasingly competitive global environment, Europe’s challenge is not a lack of attractiveness, but the need for greater coherence, visibility, and strategic use of tourism as a shared European asset, for both international and intra-European travel.

While national and regional destination brands remain strong and diverse, the concept of Destination Europe has been developed over the past 15 years through EU support, assisted in the implementation by the European Travel Commission (ETC). This work has shown that collective European branding can amplify reach, support multi-country travel, and reinforce shared values, without diminishing national or regional identities.

This workshop will provide a focused space to allow stakeholders to brainstorm around a shared understanding and policy framing of Destination Europe and to generate structured input for the EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy.  

Objectives and expected outcomes 

The workshop aims to: 

• Discuss Destination Europe and its added value as a shared European asset, in view of feeding into the EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy.
• Clarify the purpose and scope of Destination Europe, both for external and intra-European travellers, while remaining complementary to national and regional brands.
• Discuss practical principles for cooperation and complementarity between different levels of stakeholders. 

 Programme highlights

08:30-09:30 Registration and welcome breakfast

09:30-09:45 Opening remarks by Mona Bjorklund, Director, European Commission, DG MOVE

09:45-10:00 Framing the Opportunity of Brand Destination Europe by Jeremie Feinblatt, Principal at Resonance

10:00-10:10 Results of the public consultation on the EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy

10:10-10:30 Destination Europe - 15 years of joint action and key results, by Eduardo Santander, CEO, European Travel Commission
10:30-11:00 Networking coffee
11:00-12:30 Interactive workshop and break-out sessions 
12:30-13:00 Closing plenary and key takeaways

13:00-14:00 Networking lunch

Please note that registration for the "Workshop on Branding Destination Europe" is open until 17th January. Ensure your participation by registering before the deadline to join key stakeholders in discussions on enhancing Europe's tourism branding and strategy.

#Sustainable tourism #EU Tourism Strategy #Cross-regional cooperation #Destination management #Stakeholder engagement