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ETC launches strategic foresight study to help Europe’s tourism adapt to change

Knowledge documents

25 September 2025

ETC launches strategic foresight study to help Europe’s tourism adapt to change

Adventure tourism

Coastal, maritime and inland water tourism

Cultural tourism

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The image shows a grand library interior, with tall wooden bookshelves stretching into the distance and high arched ceilings. Rows of books are neatly arranged along both sides of a long hall. The architecture and layout suggest a historic European library, possibly in an academic setting.

The European Travel Commission (ETC) has published a new strategic foresight report, Future Proofing European Tourism Through Scenario Planning and Strategic Foresight, which explores how European tourism can navigate global shifts like climate change, demographics, technology and geopolitics. The article includes many recent data and scenarios, and we encourage reading the full study on the ETC website.

Content source
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Publishing org

European Travel Commission

Related Organisation(s)

European Travel Commission

Topics
Geographical descriptors

EU-27

Organisation Type

Academic / Research and VET Institutions

Destination Management & Marketing Organisations

  • Specific types of tourism

    • Adventure tourism

    • Coastal, maritime and inland water tourism

    • Cultural tourism

    • Ecotourism

    • Education tourism

    • Festival tourism

    • Gastronomy tourism

    • Health and medical tourism

    • MICE tourism

    • Mountain tourism

    • Religious tourism

    • Rural tourism

    • Sports tourism

    • Urban/city tourism

    • Wellness tourism

  • Transition Pathway Strategic Areas

    • Best practices, peer learning and networking

    • Circularity of tourism services

    • Governance of tourism destinations

    • Green Transition of Tourism Companies and SMEs

    • Tourism strategies

  • Business activities

    • Activities of amusement parks and theme parks

    • Activities of associations and other organisations supporting tourism

    • Air passenger transport

    • Camping grounds, recreational vehicle parks and trailer parks

    • Events catering and other food services

    • Festivals, cultural and entertainment activities

    • Gardens and nature reserves activities

    • Holiday Housing / Apartments and other short stay accommodation

    • Hotel and similar accommodation

    • Mobile beverage services

    • Mobile food services

    • Museums

    • Operation of historical sites

    • Other

    • Other accommodation

    • Other amusement and recreation activities

    • Other food and beverage services

    • Other holiday reservation services

    • Other tourism transportation activities

    • Rail Passenger transport

    • Recreational and sport activities

    • Restaurants, cafes and bars (Food and Beverage serving activities)

    • Road passenger transport

    • Tour operator activities

    • Travel agency activities

    • Water (sea, coastal and inland) passenger transport

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Europe’s tourism sector faces a rapidly changing global landscape, where pressures such as climate change, digital disruption, demographic shifts, and regulatory challenges are becoming increasingly significant. To help destinations, tourism organisations, and government bodies navigate uncertainty, ETC has published a strategic foresight study that does not attempt to predict one future, but rather explores multiple plausible scenarios leading up to 2035.

The study outlines the key driving forces likely to shape future tourism—such as climate, generational demand, regulatory environment, labour and skills, and technological acceleration—and presents scenario narratives to show how different combinations of those forces might unfold. It then proposes strategic actions that are robust across several possible futures, including enhancing resilience, promoting cooperation, supporting small and medium-sized players, integrating innovation, and adaptive planning.

This foresight report is designed with decision-makers in mind: national tourism bodies, destination managers, policymakers and stakeholders who need to make long-term strategies today under uncertain conditions. The goal is to equip them with guiding frameworks, tools and policy options that stay relevant across shifting contexts.

For those interested in diving deeper into the scenarios, methodology, case studies and strategic recommendations, the full report is available for download from the ETC website.

 

#Reports #Sustainable tourism #Destination management 

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