BT4Europe welcomes the response from the European Commission services, on behalf of Commissioner Apostolos Tzitzikostas, to its recent letter advocating for the inclusion of a dedicated Business Travel Pillar in the forthcoming EU Tourism Strategy.
In its letter, BT4Europe highlighted that while EU tourism policy formally includes both leisure and business travel, policy discussions largely overlook the latter.
The association called for a more balanced approach, underlining that business travel is a strategic driver of Europe’s competitiveness, resilience and sustainability. Key requests included the recognition of business travel as a distinct category, the reduction of administrative barriers to professional mobility, and improved data to better capture its economic contribution across the Single Market.
BT4Europe is encouraged that the Commission explicitly acknowledged the importance of business travel within Europe’s tourism ecosystem.
In its reply, the Commission recognized the sector’s contribution to regional connectivity, economic resilience and sustainability, and confirmed that the proposal for a dedicated Business Travel Pillar brings “valuable considerations” at a crucial stage of the strategy’s development.
While the EU Tourism Strategy is currently being finalized, the Commission indicated it will make every effort to take these recommendations into account.
BT4Europe considers this response a positive and constructive step and looks forward to continuing the dialogue with the European Commission to ensure that business travel is fully integrated into a competitive and sustainable tourism framework for Europe.
