Parliamentary question: Subject: Impact of the economic crisis on the tourist

Subject: Impact of the economic crisis on the tourist industry and Community initiatives   

The severe impact of the economic crisis on the European tourist industry has now become apparent in the Member States with high levels of tourism and in the travel industry as a whole. According to the latest data from the Greek Institute of Tourism Research and Forecasting (ITEP), the number of arrivals of foreign tourists fell throughout almost all of 2008 (January to November). The fall in numbers, which ranged from -1.4 % in Greece, -1.3 % in Spain, -1.0 % in Italy to -0.6 % in Cyprus, indicates that 2009 will be an even more difficult year.

In the light of these figures and the gloomy forecasts for the future, how does the Commission intend to tackle the crisis which is directly affecting the tourist industry and related services more generally? How will it integrate and protect jobs and the competitiveness of the industry with the strategy it is promoting or with other initiatives it intends to take? As regards stepping up investment and reforms in support of SMEs affected by the economic crisis and lack of financial resources, will it also include enterprises in the tourist industry, given the ‘fragile’ seasonal nature of many of them?

According to the information received from Member States, the crisis seems to be hitting Member States differently or with a time lag, as several Member States still report positive tourism results for 2008. The impact of the present economic situation seems therefore to be slower on the tourism industry than on many other branches. Nonetheless, the financial crisis is starting to show its effects since the last months of 2008 and will, with high probability, have an impact on tourism in 2009.

As a first step, in order to have a clearer picture of the current economic situation and its impact on the European tourism demand, a Flash Eurobarometer survey will be conducted in February 2009. The survey will concentrate mainly on demand aspects such as:
—     general information on European tourists’ behaviour patterns;
—     information about changes in tourism spending (with a view to the current economic situation);
—     European tourists’ preferences for specific types of destinations (especially emerging ones);
—     outlook on holiday intentions for 2009.

In parallel, it is also envisaged to run a consultation of small and medium-sized tourist enterprises (SME), especially with the key industry sectors, in order to get more information how the industry perceives the situation. This survey will be conducted via the SME Panel of the Enterprise Europe Network.

Both survey results will then directly feed into the study on the competitiveness of the European tourism industry commissioned by the Commission in December 2008. Its draft final report should be available by July 2009.

Meanwhile, the preparatory action supported by Parliament is being launched in 2009 with one of the main objectives being to foster off-season tourism activities contributing to strengthening the competitiveness of SMEs. A budget of EUR 1 million has been voted by Parliament for 2009.

The Commission is aware that the European tourism industry is mainly dominated by SMEs and in particular small and micro enterprises, with about 2 million enterprises employing about 4 % of the total labour force in Europe (8 million jobs). The central role played by SMEs in the EU economy was clearly recognised in June 2008 by the adoption of the ‘Small Business Act’ (SBA) for Europe(1) which puts into place a comprehensive SME policy framework for the EU and its Member States. The SBA aims at improving the administrative and legal environment in which SMEs operate and at tackling the problems which hamper their development including the access to finance. Several initiatives are therefore planned at European level to increase the financial products offered to SMEs and to facilitate cross-border venture capital(2). In this framework the European Investment Bank has recently put together a package of EUR 30 billion for loans to SMEs.

Other opportunities are available for SMEs within the range of EU programmes(3). Moreover, in the field of state aids, the Commission has adopted a temporary framework which foresees the introduction of new compatible aid measures until 31 December 2010(4). The framework allows companies which are particularly affected by the lack of access to finance due to the financial crisis to benefit from temporary relief. SMEs in general are included among the potential beneficiaries in recognition of their particular importance for the whole economy in Europe. Thus, any such measures to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of the Member State as a whole may be declared compatible with state aid rules provided certain conditions stipulated in the framework are met. Any such measures have to be notified to the Commission which ensures swift decisions if the notifications are complete and closely mirror the framework.

(1)    http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/entrepreneurship/sba_en.htm
(2)    http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/entrepreneurship/financing/index_en.htm
(3)    An overview of the main EU programmes available for SMEs is offered by the European Portal for SMEs: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/sme/index_en.htm
(4)    http://ec.europa.eu/competition/state_aid/overview/tackling_economic_crisis.html

Source: European Parliament