SWOT ANALYSIS OF THE EU TOURISM INDUSTRY

Strengths

• Existence of attractive tourist destinations such as Paris, Rome, Barcelona, London, Amsterdam
• Cultural diversity
• High convenience for travel and highly developed tourism facilities
• Tourism as an engine of growth and employment
• Adequate resources to create high quality products
• Strong distribution network with different contacts with customers
• Variation in supply
• Existence of strong accommodation facilities and tour operators
• Stability and safety of Europe as a tourism destination
• Wide range of large and small festivals and events
• Niche products particularly heritage and culture

Weaknesses

• Highly seasonal use of facilities and labour
• The age ratio is older than other regions in the world
• High turnover of staff
• Unattractive marketing strategies of tourist destinations in Europe
• Inefficient quality of services in Europe compared to other regions in the world
• Insufficient co-ordination of value chain
• Low innovation and lack of regular and high quality statistics
• Insufficient managerial skills
• Inflexibility to cope with changes in tourism demand
• Low labour productivity

Opportunities

• Integrated web marketing
• Potential tourism marketing budget increase when combined in EU and national levels
• Cultural tourism potential
• Growing income levels in developing countries
• Changes and development in ICT
• Demographic change (growing middle and older age market)
• Increasing importance of environmental concerns
• Potential demand for innovative products
• Develop rural experiences and unusual venues to attract new audiences in leisure and business markets
• Encourage more characterful serviced accommodation and a unique range of local dining facilities.

Threats

• Too much focus on marketing, not enough on product development
• The effects of visa restrictions on touristic mobility
• Fragmented nature of tourism trade
• High levels of global competition
• Lack of appropriate educational programmes
• Existence of low cost business models in many enterprises
• Bureaucratic difficulties in regulatory framework
• Insufficient access to finance
• The sensitive characteristic of tourism (in case of economic crisis or slow down)
• Global warming and climate change