Brussels, 20 June 2012 – “Is the hospitality industry valued enough in EU policy making?” asked industry leaders to Vice-President of the European Commission Antonio Tajani, in a well-attended event organised in the European Parliament by HOTREC and hosted by MEP Antonio López-Istúriz. Reacting to the fact that the European hospitality industry, together with the other tourism industries, is the 3rd largest industry in Europe (5% of EU GDP) and critical to competitiveness, future development and creation of jobs, Commissioner Tajani agreed that “the hospitality sector is of major importance for Europe and it is essential to support it at EU level.”
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From the left to the right: MEP A. López-Istúriz, HOTREC President K. Nyström, HOTREC ExCom member M. Cordesius, Vice President A. Tajani, HOTREC ExCom member M. Luthe
During this conference, leading industry representatives stressed that the economic importance of the European hospitality industry should be duly taken into account in the EU policy decision-making process. The hospitality sector alone contributes yearly with around 200 EUR of value added to the European economy. It is composed by 1.75 million businesses, which provide 10 million jobs (4.6% of employment) and it is one of the few sectors which are creating jobs nowadays (around +3% in the last years).
However, this industry considers that its interests and concerns are often overlooked by the different EU policy areas and political and legislative initiatives do not always give sufficient consideration to their impact on hospitality businesses, the great majority being SMEs (99% of the sector - 92% being micro enterprises) and as such, extremely vulnerable to unbalanced policy decisions.
Consequently, the President of HOTREC*, Kent Nyström, called on the EU institutions to “give full recognition to the importance of the hospitality industry and full consideration of its interests and concerns in the entire EU policy decision-making process”.
MEP Antonio López-Istúriz supported HOTREC demands and pledged for “tourism to irrigate all our economies, policies and actions”.
*HOTREC represents the hotel, restaurant and café industry at European level. The sector counts 1,7 million businesses, with almost 92% of them being micro enterprises employing fewer than 10 people. The industry provides some 9,5 million jobs in the EU alone. HOTREC brings together 43 National Associations representing the sector in 26 different European countries.
For further information: www.hotrec.eu
This press release to download:
HOTREC_PM_120620_ep_event_with_commissioner_tajani
