MTÜ CEO: the highest-level European tourism event was a success

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 11. 18. 09:00

Budapest brought the government and market players of European tourism to a common platform, they concluded a successful and important event – said László Könnyid, CEO of the Hungarian Tourism Agency (MTÜ), at the closing press conference of the 23rd European Tourism Forum in Budapest on Wednesday.

He emphasized: tourism has now become the engine of competitiveness, one of the most important driving forces of economic growth, not only in the European Union but also in Hungary.

The importance of the sector is shown by the fact that its contribution to the national economy was almost 13 percent, and more than 10 percent of the revenues of the central budget are generated by tourism-related consumption and employment.

he said. In the first nine months, 14 million guests spent 35 million guest nights in Hungary, the former increased by nearly 10 percent, while the latter corresponded to a 5 percent increase, he indicated.

He reiterated that the top priority of the Hungarian presidency is strengthening competitiveness, and climate change and sustainability were also discussed at the 23rd European Tourism Forum. The participants agreed that accurate data on the sector is needed, for example, to manage “overtourism”, because there is no effective planning without reliable data and measurability, said the CEO.

Since the labor shortage affects the entire Union, the causes and possible solutions of the labor shortage felt in the sector were discussed at the forum. Based on the numbers, many young people are ready to work in tourism in the EU, he noted. In addition, the importance of improving working conditions, training, and retraining was also focused on.

Artificial intelligence was also a topic, because according to the participants, the sector cannot help but take advantage of the possibilities of AI, but at the same time, appropriate regulation and ethical frameworks are necessary to minimize risks.

According to László Könnyid, the work of the participants contributes to tourism continuing to occupy an important place in the economy. He added: sustainable, digital and people-oriented tourism in Europe is a shared vision.

According to Marie-Helene Pradines, head of department of the European Commission, many important issues were discussed and a successful conference was concluded. He said that the sector has 3.5 million businesses and employs more than 20 million workers across Europe. He called the sector indispensable for long-term competitiveness.