Figure 9.2
9.2
Process of strategic outlook formulation
The tourism industry today: portrait 2009 Chapters 2 to 8 of this report gave a clear picture of the structure, economic performance and competitive position of the EU tourism industry in general and the sub-sectors of “accommodation” and “tour operators and travel agents” in particular, as well as of the framework in which the tourism industry operates. These parts provide us with a good factual basis about the way the industry functions. The purpose of this section is to summarize the main findings from these analyses, through a number of observations. Those observations are the basis to start a substantiated evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the EU tourism industry in the year 2009.
9.2.1
Key observations ⇒
Key observation 1: Tourism industry as an engine of growth
Over the last decade, the EU tourism industry has become a sector of increasing importance in the European economy. As tourism demand in the EU has steadily increased, tourism enterprises have increasingly created both employment and turnover. Especially with regard to the employment of women, young people and the less skilled, the tourism industry plays an important role. Moreover, over the last decade the job creation rate in the EU tourism industry has been above the EU average.
FN97613 – FWC Sector Competitiveness – EU tourism-industry
148