A public consultation on maritime and coastal tourism has been launched last week at the joint initiative of Vice-president Antonio Tajani, Commissioner for Industry and Entrepreneurship, and Maria Damanaki, Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. Indeed, in the context of the Europe 2020 Strategy, and in particular the Blue Growth concept (sustainable growth from oceans, seas and coasts), coastal and maritime tourism will have an important role to play, requiring a thorough analysis and involvement of all interested parties.
Therefore, the consultation aims at defining whatactions can be envisaged to reap the full potential of a sustainable and smart coastal and maritime tourism. More specifically, the three main axes of the questionnaire are:
I – How to render maritime and coastal tourism more competitive?
II – How to address environmental implications of tourism and its socio-cultural aspects?
III- How to stimulate tourists from third countries to visit Europe and encouraging EU nationals to discover coastal regions?
All stakeholders are invited to submit their comments and suggestions by 9 July 2012.