Euro-barometer on Tourism shows that fire safety in hotels is not an issue in Europe

HOTREC Press Release

Brussels, 13 February 2014 – HOTREC, the business association representing the European hospitality industry, welcomes the findings of the Euro-barometer on European tourism published today, which attests that hotels in Europe are perfectly safe. "This clearly shows that fire safety in hotels is not an issue in Europe and that the efforts of the hotel industry and the existing legislation are working very well” said Kent Nyström, President of HOTREC.

The Euro-barometer published today by the European Commission on "preferences of Europeans towards tourism” shows that tourists consider hotel accommodation to be safe in Europe. Indeed, 95% of the thousands of respondents to the euro-barometer were satisfied with the safety of their accommodation, while none ever experienced a fire-related problem in a European hotel.

The European hotel industry considers that this result unambiguously proves that the large amount of existing fire-safety legislation works very well and that there is simply no need for any new legislation at EU level, especially as the hotel industry also promotes the use of best-practices. "The results speak for themselves: European hotels are safe, existing rules work well, therefore one can wonder if there is a real need for further discussion on hotel fire safety at EU level” further commented Mr. Nyström. Indeed, the results of this Euro-barometer come at a moment when the European Commission reflects on the merits of a possible Green Paper on the topic.

What is HOTREC?

HOTREC represents the hotel, restaurant and café industry at European level. This industry includes around 1,8 million businesses, of which 99% are small and medium sized enterprises (91% of them micro enterprises, i.e. employing fewer than 10 people). These businesses make up some 59% of industry value added. The hospitality industry provides some 10.2 million jobs in the EU alone. Together with the other tourism industries, the sector is one of the largest industries in Europe. HOTREC brings together 42 national associations representing the sector in 27 different European countries.

For further information: www.hotrec.eu

PRESS CONTACT: Alexis Waravka, Public Affairs Manager, +32(0)2 513 63 23, hotrec@hotrec.eu

HOTREC Press Release: Euro-barometer on Tourism shows that fire safety in hotels is not an issue in Europe

Quelle: HOTREC