At GetYourGuide's Unlocked Summit in Berlin, GetYourGuide COO and co-founder Tao Tao joined Maja Bakran-Marcich, Deputy Director-General for Mobility and Transport, European Commission, for an in-depth discussion on the future of European tourism.
Key quotes from the Deputy Director-General from the conversation included:
- "Europe is setting new records with 3 billion nights booked in 2024, but only four countries handle 60% of all trips."
- "There is no other way to lower CO2 emissions from transport but to shift to rail."
- "If we lose young people from destinations, what will be left? Just stones with nobody there."
- "Tourism really has to contribute to local communities and vice versa. Without these local communities, we don't have tourism."
The discussion highlights GetYourGuide's commitment to working with destinations like Florence on sustainable tourism solutions, while exploring how technology and policy can better distribute tourism flows across Europe's hidden gems.
Watch the full conversation below and read the complete transcript to discover how industry leaders and policymakers are collaborating to ensure Europe remains the world's top travel destination while benefiting local communities.
Opening Remarks
Tao Tao: Good morning everyone. It's wonderful to see so many familiar faces. I'm very excited about this session. I think a good sign of a business growing up is when you start to have policy discussions at your summit, which shows the impact we have.
Who would have thought that 15 years ago, we'd be sitting here talking about what travel and tourism means for Europe and the region? I'm very excited about this panel because today we have a very special guest who came all the way from Brussels.
Mrs. Bakran-Marcich is the Deputy Director-General for Mobility and Transport at the European Commission. In her role, she's been the driving force behind Europe's strategy for safe, connected mobility, coordinating everything from investment to sustainable initiatives. Before this, she spent several years with the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs, managing the country's coordination of European Affairs. She also played a vital role in Croatia's journey to join the European Union while serving at the Croatian mission to the EU.
Today we'll focus on the road ahead and I'm eager to hear her and the Commission's views on what's next for tourism in Europe.
Europe's Tourism Leadership
Tao Tao: Let's start with the big question: In tourism, Europe is number one. How do we stay number one?
Maja Bakran-Marcich: Thank you for inviting me and for the beautiful introduction. How do we stay number one? It will be quite some work of a completely different type.
We are setting new records. In 2024, we had an unprecedented 3 billion nights booked, and this year we'll reach 3 billion again. We have 758 million international tourist arrivals in 2024 compared to 709 million to the rest of the world.
However, this recovery is uneven - there is still space in Europe. These numbers mostly reflect Western and Southern Europe, to some extent Northern. We have plenty of potential in Central and Eastern Europe, so we need geographical spread.
Key Statistics:
• Only four countries - Spain, France, Germany, and Italy - cater for more than 60% of all overnight trips
• One in three of these stays happen in July and August
• We need better geographical and seasonal distribution
How do we do it? Thanks to people like you adopting new technologies. Data remains key. Digitalization remains key. Connectivity is crucial - this is why for the first time, the Commission has a Commissioner for Transport and Tourism, because it's about connectivity and many other things.
People are at the center - skilled people with modern technologies. Tourism really has to contribute to local communities and vice versa. Without these local communities, we don't have tourism.
Policy Role and European Strategy
Tao Tao: You mentioned technology, data, and overtourism. Where do you see the role of policymaking and the Commission in facilitating, accelerating, or regulating?
Maja Bakran-Marcich: In mobility and transport, the Commission has core treaty competence to regulate. We also have significant financial instruments. Tourism is different - it's not a key treaty competence. In tourism, member states have the competence to organize themselves and pass regulations.
Our role is more of a soft role, but still significant. We are being pushed by all member states to step forward, lead, push, guide, finance, and regulate in some areas.
Major Development: For the first time, we have a Commissioner for Tourism, reflecting how recognized this industry is - bringing 7% of gross national value to our economy.
European Strategy for Sustainable Tourism:
• By spring (April-May), we will present the first European strategy for sustainable tourism
• Over summer, we conducted open consultation receiving over 1,000 inputs from various stakeholders
• The strategy will be a relatively short document outlining main challenges with solution suggestions
• We'll also provide guidelines for sustainable tourism
Transportation Infrastructure and Connectivity
Tao Tao: A lot of the EU's role is connective tissue for intra-European travel. What are your views on connecting hidden gem destinations and developing tourism corridors through improved high-speed rail networks?
Maja Bakran-Marcich: This is at the core of what we're trying to do in the Directorate-General for Mobility and Transport. We have suboptimal transport infrastructure in Europe, especially cross-border rail connections.
Current Challenges:
• Poor coordination among member states
• Aging infrastructure
• Different rail gauges (four different types across Europe)
• Complex signaling systems (34 different systems between Brussels and Paris alone)
Our Plan:
• Double the number of high-speed tracks by 2050
• Investment needed: €500 billion by 2050
• High-speed rail at 250 kilometers per hour linking all capitals
• Current budget proposal increases allocated financial instruments by 100%
Additional Issues:
• Rail travel is currently twice as expensive as air travel (2023 Greenpeace report)
• No multimodal ticketing system yet available
• Only 10% of rail traffic is cross-border
Environmental Impact: Taking the train from Amsterdam to London saves 93% of carbon dioxide emissions compared to flying. There is no other way to lower CO2 emissions from transport but to shift to rail.
Public-Private Partnerships
Tao Tao: We have many small and medium-sized businesses in the room. How should businesses think about engaging with policymakers? What's your view on ideal public-private partnerships?
Maja Bakran-Marcich: What's extremely interesting for us is to follow the type of public-private partnerships you're engaging with, like your partnership with Florence. We want to follow what's working and learn from best experiences.
These partnerships bring modernization and modern technologies. You help destinations and destination managers with your wealth of information, knowledge, and experience. At the same time, organizations like yours must learn from destinations and local communities about what worked and what didn't.
This is the right way forward, but there won't be one single solution because each destination is specific. The overall goals are similar, but we need to stay in touch and exchange best practices.
Timeline: We still have about half a year until the strategy is released, and the real work begins during implementation when we try to get better and better.
Future Opportunities and Threats
Tao Tao: Looking ahead to the next decade and 2050 when everything's connected by train, what are the biggest opportunities and threats for European tourism?
Maja Bakran-Marcich:
Opportunities:
• We are the number one destination with something special - history, heritage, proximity
• People want to see world heritage sites
• The European way of life, gastronomy, and culture that people appreciate
Challenges:
• Competition is growing - our share is slowly falling (from just above 50% to slightly below 50%)
• We don't have the financial firepower like competitors from the Gulf to subsidize events and air travel
• We must preserve heritage sites for the next generation
• Investment in local communities and small-medium enterprises (90-95% of tourism sector enterprises)
• Investment in skilled workforce and young people
Critical Point: If we lose young people from destinations, what will be left? Just stones with nobody there.
Workforce and Education
Tao Tao: On workforce, the biggest bottleneck is licenses for tour guides, and smart young people who can tell stories are leaving. How can we ensure Europe remains attractive for young people in this profession?
Maja Bakran-Marcich: In our public consultations, stakeholders are talking about education and skilling - not only in digital tools and technologies but also in storytelling areas.
European Tourism Academy: One of our flagships will be a virtual European Tourism Academy where tour guide issues and young people staying in destinations will be prominent.
Internal Market Challenge: We have an internal market where tour guides from one member state should be able to guide groups in another member state. But you'll never get the experience from a local person who grew up knowing every corner of the destination.
Balanced Approach: Some member states are introducing grades - general tours or bus commentary, then handing groups to local guides who can combine history, gastronomy, and local knowledge.
Audience Questions
Question 1: Transportation Alternatives
Dennis (Istanbul travel agent): What about Eurolines bus connections as an alternative to waiting for trains?
Maja Bakran-Marcich: By 2050, with high-speed rail, what happens after you arrive is crucial. We're investing in urban mobility - transforming urban and rural areas so you can use public transportation, bikes, or walking to reach further points of interest. This transformation is happening before our eyes.
Question 2: Sustainability Metrics
Ana (Chase Travel): Everyone has different definitions of sustainability. Have you thought about markers for success in sustainable European travel?
Maja Bakran-Marcich: Indicators are a long debate we're having. One flagship deliverable of our strategy will be modernizing current tourism statistics regulation (from 2016, almost 10 years old).
Timeline: About two years to have modern statistical rules. We can finally retire "number of nights" as a metric and move to real indicators and satellite accounts. From that, we can derive what is sustainable and what is not.
Managing Tourism Flows and Local Acceptance
Tao Tao: How do we balance economic benefits with local acceptance, especially regarding overtourism in urban areas?
Maja Bakran-Marcich: This is the core issue, and there's no silver bullet solution. It's a love-hate relationship - I know this from Croatia.
Successful Example - Dubrovnik:
• Five years ago, multiple cruise ships arrived simultaneously, making the old city impassable
• They started issuing slots for cruise arrivals
• Problem solved through stakeholder cooperation and flow management
• Not everyone can come at the same moment
Key Factors:
• Management of flows at the core
• Working with stakeholders (cruise industry, etc.)
• Ensuring local communities benefit from tourism profits
• Preventing profit from being "sucked out" of destinations
Closing Remarks
Tao Tao: Thank you for painting a picture where by 2050, I can take the train to Brussels and then to Antwerp, and have a tour guide from France guiding me through Brussels. To that vision, we can shake hands.
All the businesses in this room are local businesses, so the money stays in destinations - paying local folks, renting local boats, paying local bus drivers. That's very much the future. We need to draw attention to successes, like our work with Florence to stop alcoholic tours, similar to managing cruise flows.
Maja Bakran-Marcich: We look forward to continuing these conversations and discussions as we work on the strategy, adopt it, and implement it together.
