The topic examined how the EU Tourism Data Space is unlocking the power of data to shape the future of travel and transform the way tourism is planned, managed, and delivered across Europe. Drawing on the monthly article “Unlocking the Power of Data: How the EU’s Tourism Data Space is Shaping the Future of Travel”, the webinar “Unlocking the Power of Data to Shape the Future of Travel”, and the onlinr discussion “The EU Tourism Data Space: how it affects the tourism ecosystem across the EU?” in November 2024, the focus was on showcasing how data sharing and interoperability can support collaboration, innovation, and more informed decision‑making across the tourism ecosystem.

Key themes included:

• The role of the EU Tourism Data Space in enabling secure and trusted data sharing among tourism businesses, destinations, and public authorities
• The use of data on visitor behaviour, tourism flows, mobility, and sustainability to improve tourism planning, destination management, and service design
• The contribution of data‑driven approaches to supporting sustainability, resilience, and competitiveness across the European tourism ecosystem
• The use of tourism-related data to better understand tourism dynamics and respond to changing demand

The initiatives showcased illustrate how data sharing and the EU Tourism Data Space are being applied in practice across the tourism ecosystem, including:

• DEPLOYTOUR – Deployment of the European Tourism Data Space, AnySolution, EU co-funded project developing and deploying a shared tourism data space to enable secure data sharing and support data‑driven decision‑making and innovation across the tourism ecosystem.
• Dubrovnik Visitors System, Dubrovnik Development Agency (DURA): A real‑time visitor monitoring system supporting crowd management, urban planning, and sustainable tourism in Dubrovnik while ensuring GDPR compliance.
• Carbon Footprint Tool for Tourism, Breda University of Applied Sciences: A data‑based tool combining tourism, transport, and emissions data to help destinations assess and manage the carbon footprint of inbound tourism.
• TOURiLab FIWARE iHub, MNX Online: A collaborative innovation hub encouraging SMEs to share data and co‑create digital solutions for more sustainable and connected tourism ecosystems.
• Task Force on Data Spaces, Big Data Value Association (BDVA): A cross‑sector network promoting trusted data‑sharing frameworks and collaboration relevant to the development of tourism data spaces.
• CyclOps – Enhancing data life cycle management: EU-funded project developing automated tools for efficient data management, interoperability and reuse, including tourism applications.

Stakeholder stories showcased initiatives point to a growing shift towards data‑driven approaches as a core enabler of the digital and green transition in tourism. The European Tourism Data Space (ETDS) was also recognised as a key enabling framework for reducing data fragmentation, enhancing interoperability and trust, and supporting more coordinated, sustainable, and resilient tourism development across Europe.

Key conclusions and emerging trends include:

• Fragmentation of tourism data remains a key challenge, with interoperability, data quality, and trust continuing to limit wider data sharing across destinations and actors.
• Practical, pilot‑based implementation is gaining momentum, with destinations, hubs, and EU‑level projects demonstrating how shared data can improve planning, sustainability, and resilience.
• Support mechanisms are becoming increasingly important, including competence centres, innovation hubs, and networks that help destinations and SMEs build data governance and analytical capabilities.
• Growing focus on sustainability and demand management, with data increasingly used to monitor visitor flows, assess environmental impacts, and support evidence‑based policy decisions.
• Stronger cross‑sector collaboration is emerging, linking tourism with transport, mobility, environment, and digital data ecosystems to create more integrated and future‑oriented tourism models.