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2018
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2019 HOTREC ANNUAL REPORT
Providing solutions to better manage tourism
flows and promote sustainable tourism
With international tourist arrivals forecast to rise by 250 million over the next decade, some European tourism
destinations have encountered difficulties to manage ever increasing tourism flows. HOTREC decided to take
actions to help public authorities to address the challenges linked to the risks of ‘overtourism’ in some destinations.
To this end, HOTREC developed a position paper which points out the causes and the consequences of the
phenomenon for popular destinations, and presented key recommendations for policy and decision-makers on
how to tackle it.
Understanding overtourism: a multi-fact problem linked to
the management of tourism flows
The global rise in the number of travellers to and around Europe for the
purpose of tourism is positive for the European hospitality industry, as it
helps to create important economic opportunities and employment for local
populations and build bridges between cultures. However, it also represents
a challenge, as demand is often concentrated in a few destinations, which, as
a result, suffer from pressure on public infrastructures and the environment,
while the lack of available tourism accommodation indirectly makes the cost
of living rise.
HOTREC put forward 5 recommendations to help policy-
makers to better manage tourism flows
To sustain tourism and its numerous benefits to all stakeholders, HOTREC
offered 5 key solutions to policy-makers and public authorities, with the
view to better manage tourism flows and their consequences. The HOTREC
position considers that measures to tackle ‘overtourism’ shall be balanced in
order to preserve the sector’s important economic and social role.
In particular, HOTREC proposed five areas of action:
•
Tourism activity must be well governed: comprehensive data collection
is crucial to plan and manage a sustainable tourism policy. This includes
measuring short term rentals, which requires the registration of all hosts
with the local authorities, the collection of information on nights spent and
the obligation to pay all relevant local taxes (e.g. income tax, city tax);
•
The public and the private sectors must work together to spread the visitor
demand better throughout the year and the destination itself. Incentives
could pass through the promotion of less-visited destinations and that
seasonal businesses stay open for longer;
•
Help every visitor to become a responsible visitor;
•
Use dialogue and consultation between local residents, professional tourism
organisations and authorities to discuss common solutions;
•
As a last resort, consider applying thresholds on visitor capacity in short
term rentals.
HOTRECpositionwaswidely spread towardsEU Institutionsandstakeholders.
It is a clear example of a pro-active and responsible policy which offers
solutions to build a sustainable European tourism development.
HOTREC offered solutions to
better manage tourism flows
and contribute to sustainable
tourism development