The EU and the tourism sector: Controversy at HITT
Dear Insider,
The EU was at HITT – represented by two experts seeking to forge links with the tourism, hospitality and AI sectors. They didn’t make political PR speeches; instead, they spoke plainly. Nevertheless, some participants levelled very sharp criticism at Dr Misa Labarile and Mihaela Lafont. Conversely, the representatives of the European Commission acknowledged the EU's mistakes and gave a sober assessment of what is actually feasible within this system. Both urged the sector once again to speak out – only then would it be heard.
Misa spoke about the EU tourism strategy, which has been in the pipeline for 25 years and is finally due to be published by the end of July as a frame work. The bitter realisation: Tourism and hospitality have so far NOT featured at all on the Commission's agenda as strategically important sectors! Excuse me? How is that possible after 25 years of lobbying by European hotel associations?
A new door is currently swinging wide open for the industry: the topic of AI. To begin with though, the IT and AI specialists among the HITT participants engaged in a heated debate with Mihaela about the EU’s lack of competitiveness. However, Mihaela from the EU AI Office also highlighted new avenues for greater cooperation: Among other things, a Tourism Data Space is currently in the pipeline, and the AI Office is inviting the industry to help shape the next steps. ... More
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