Strengthening Tourism Resilience - Key Results from the European Commission 'Crisis Management and Governance in Tourism' project

The European Commission “Crisis Management and Governance in Tourism” project, funded by the Single Market Programme, aimed at strengthening the EU tourism ecosystem resilience by improving its governance and mechanisms for resisting, managing, and mitigating future crises.
The project was structured as follows to achieve these objectives:
Stage 1: Analysis of governance models and crisis management mechanisms in the tourism ecosystem
Analysis of the impact different crisis events had on the tourism ecosystem. This aimed to identify vulnerabilities and understand relevant aspects of governance structures and processes and how they can be supplemented with better mechanisms.
Stage 2: Assisting tourism authorities and sectors to improve tourism governance and resilience
Provision of advisory services to fifty-five destinations and cross-border professional associations, with the support of carefully selected tourism experts. The aim was to enhance these organisations’ capacity for crisis prevention, management, and mitigation, leveraging on established guidance and collaboration material.
Stage 3: Best practices and learning material
Using the knowledge developed in previous stages, recommendations and best practices were developed as well as user-friendly learning material to enhance resilience and crisis response skills across the tourism ecosystem.
The project has delivered impactful results to enhance the resilience of Europe’s tourism sector. Key achievements of the project are available at the project’s website, namely:
Final Report: a detailed analysis including policy recommendations and best practices, available also on the EU Tourism platform;
eLearning Modules: a series of 10 training modules on EU Academy to build expertise in crisis management.
Promotional Tools: a multilingual video, testimonials, and a project flyer, all accessible in 24 EU official languages;
Success Stories: real-life case studies showcased the project’s impact, such as governance improvements in Austria, enhanced crisis management in Italy, and innovative strategies adopted by Montenegro’s National Tourism Organisation.