Author: Mediterranean Observer

Contribute to the European-funded Tourbit’s project Tourism 4.0 industry roadmap. Tourism 4.0 powered by cutting-edge technologies like Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Internet of Things (IoT), and Blockchain among others, promises a paradigm shift towards personalized, immersive, and sustainable travel and tourism experiences. However, unlocking the full potential of this revolution requires a collaborative […]

The European Commission has today designated Booking Holdings, the parent company of Booking.com, as a gatekeeper platform under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Booking.com now has six months to comply with all the do’s and don’ts as a gatekeeper. HOTREC strongly supports the official designation. European hoteliers are confronted with far too many unfair business […]

The European Commission has designated Booking Holdings, the parent company of Booking.com, as a gatekeeper platform under the Digital Markets Act (DMA). Booking.com now has six months to comply with the DMA’s requirements. Booking Holdings has been preventing hotels from offering better prices on their own channels and not sharing sufficient data with hotel partners. […]

The European Travel Commission’s recent report, “European Tourism Trends & Prospects,” highlights ongoing growth in Europe’s tourism sector, demonstrating resilience despite economic challenges and high prices. In early 2024, Europe’s tourism saw foreign arrivals and overnight stays exceed 2019 levels by 7.2% and 6.5%, respectively, continuing the recovery from 2023. This growth is driven primarily […]

The successful recovery efforts post-Covid-19 were fuelled by the digital transition, which played a pivotal role in revitalising the sector after the downturn it faced during the pandemic. With the goal of strengthening the sector and ensuring resilience over the next decade, the EU has been actively promoting increased digitalisation uptake within travel and tourism […]

This week, several EU organisations co-signed a statement on the revision of the Package Travel Directive (PTD). The signatories represent a broad spectrum of stakeholders from the tourism supply chains including travel organisers, intermediaries, and service providers such as accommodation, attractions, and transport. The statement focuses on the ‘package’ definition and the limitation of prepayments.

This week, the first EU tourism forum on climate change was held in Rhodes, Greece, whereby the European travel and tourism industry met to discuss the impact of climate crises on the sector. A landmark joint declaration was signed to commit to a more sustainable and resilient tourism industry in the future. Key commitments from […]