THE EUROPEAN TRAVEL COMMISSION (ETC)

The European Travel Commission (ETC) is the non-profit organisation responsible for the promotion of Europe as a tourist destination in third markets. Its 33 member National Tourism Organisations work together to build the value of tourism to all the beautiful and diverse countries of Europe through, in particular, cooperating in areas of sharing best practices, market intelligence and promotion.

About ETC

The main objectives of the European Travel Commission are to:

• Promote Europe as an attractive tourist destination.
• Assist member NTOs to exchange knowledge and work collaboratively.
• Provide industry partners and other interested parties with easy access to material & statistics regarding inbound tourism to Europe.

Members

1. Austria National Tourist Office (ANTOI), Austria
2. Wallonie-Bruxelles Tourism (WBT), Belgium and Toerisme Vlaanderen (TV), The Tourist Office for Flanders, Belgium
3. Ministry of Tourism, Bulgaria
4. Croatia National Tourist Board (CNTB)
5. Cyprus Tourism Organisation (CTO), Cyprus
6. Czech Tourism, Czech Republic
7. VisitDenmark, Denmark
8. Estonia Tourist Board- Enterprise Estonia, Estonia
9. Visit Finland- Finpro ry, Finland
10. German National Tourist Board (GNTB), Germany
11. Greek National Tourist Organization (GNTO), Greece
12. Hungarian Tourism Ltd., Hungary
13. Icelandic Tourist Board, Iceland
14. Failte Ireland, Ireland and Tourism Ireland Ltd., Ireland
15. Agenzia Nazionale del Turismo (ENIT), Italy
16. Latvia Tourism Development Agency (TAVA), Latvia
17. Lithuanian State Department of Tourism, Lithuania
18. Luxembourg National Tourist Office (ONT)
19. Malta Tourism Authority (MTA), Malta
20. Monaco Government Tourist and Convention Office, Monaco
21. National Tourism Organisation of Montenegro, Montenegro
22. Innovation Norway, Norway
23. Polish Tourist Organisation (PTO), Poland
24. Turismo de Portugal I.P., Portugal
25. National Authority for Tourism, Romania
26. State Office for Tourism, San Marino
27. National Tourism Organisation of Serbia (NTOS), Serbia
28. Slovak Tourist Board, Slovakia
29. Slovenia Tourist Board (SPIRIT), Slovenia
30. Turespana-Instituto de Turismo, Spain
31. VisitSweden, Sweden
32. Switzerland Tourism, Switzerland
33. Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Turkey

Activities

• Public relations
• Consumer advertising in selected overseas markets
• Trade Promotions
• Market Research
• Professional development for members (seminars, information exchange)
• Liaison with other relevant agencies (e.g; the European Commission's Tourism Unit (DG Enterprise), the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation & Development (OECD)

These activities are financed entirely by Members' contributions, calculated according to a set of pre-agreed criteria. Additional financial support for specific campaigns is raised in source markets from industry partners.

Partners

• European Commission: ETC collaborates with the Tourism Unit (Enterprise Directorate) and other Directorates in the context of the Destination 2020 initiative. Destination 2020 aims to promote Europe as a tourist destination and strengthen its competitive image in long-haul markets. The initative is designed to involve the entire tourism industry in defining a long-term strategy for Destination Europe.
• World Tourism Organization (UNTWO): ETC is an affiliate member of UNWTO and the two organisations signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2012, by which both parts agree to cooperate and implement joint activities in issues related to tourism and beyond with the aim to enhance the role of the tourism sector in general. Moreover, part of the Research program of ETC has been implemented in cooperation with UNWTO for the last ten years.
• European Tourism Association (ETOA): ETC and the European Tourism Association signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2009, and agreed on the common interest in promoting the value and quality of tourism to Europe, the carrying out of studies and surveys, and improving the efficiency of marketing activities.
• World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC): The WTTC works to raise awareness of Travel & Tourism as one of the world's largest industries, and therefore represents a natural partner for ETC in its mission to raise awareness and understanding among national European authorities and the general public of the importance of tourism and the need to ensure its development.
• Foundation for European Sustainable Tourism (FEST): ETC and FEST came together to collaborate towards sustainability in tourism and signed a Memorandum of Understanding in October 2014. The cooperation established guidelines concerning the promotion, dissemination and the application of the PM4SD in order to support destinations increasing their sustainable growth, disseminate a standard qualification in tourism management and increase mobility opportunities for tourism project managers.
• Airports Council International (ACI) Europe: ACI Europe is the European region of Airports Council International and represents over 460 airports in 45 European countries, handling over 90% of commercial air traffic in Europe. ETC and ACI Europe signed a Memorandum of Understanding in June 2015 by the force of which the two organisations will pursue policy alignment in order to face challenges related to enhancing the connectivity of European airports and thus facilitating an increase of tourism arrivals in Europe. Matters subject to cooperation include passenger facilitation, airport connectivity, airport capacity, intermodality and access to airports and promoting European destinations.