FU-TOURISM brings together policymakers, tourism leaders and SMEs at the European Parliament to discuss the future of European tourism
- The FU-TOURISM Final Event addressed competitiveness, sustainability, innovation, connectivity and the role of SMEs in the future of European tourism.
- Policymakers, tourism organisations, businesses and SMEs gathered at the European Parliament in Brussels.
Brussels, 9 September 2026. The FU-TOURISM Final Event, “Shaping the Future of Sustainable and Competitive Tourism in Europe: Innovation and SMEs”, brought together policymakers, tourism organisations, business representatives and SMEs on 8 September at the European Parliament in Brussels to discuss the future of European tourism.
Hosted by MEP Borja Giménez Larraz, and organised by Finnova, the event highlighted the importance of tourism for European economies and territories as a driver of jobs, investment and opportunities, as well as the need to strengthen competitiveness, sustainability and innovation.
“We should look at tourism as an opportunity that needs to be managed well,” said Giménez Larraz in his closing remarks. He stressed the importance of balancing the needs of visitors and residents and ensuring that tourism creates value for local communities.
Giménez Larraz also highlighted the importance of connectivity, particularly for rural, island and peripheral regions, linking better transport and digital connections with economic development and territorial cohesion. “Tourism can also be a tool for keeping our territories alive,” he said.
The discussions also covered sustainable tourism policies, destination management, territorial cohesion and rural tourism, as well as the green and digital transition, new business models and the support needed by tourism SMEs to remain competitive.
The event featured contributions from MEP Nikolina Brnjac; Juan Manuel Revuelta, CEO of Finnova Foundation; José Antonio Gil Celedonio, Industry and Tourism Attaché at the Permanent Representation of Spain to the EU; Dorota Tomalak, European Committee of the Regions; Frederico Martins, Eurochambres; Eduardo Santander, European Travel Commission; Fabian Haybach, SMEunited; Niki de Schryver, COSH!; Karel Vanderheyden, Camprea; Bulut Bağcı, World Tourism Forum Institute; George Mavros, Airbnb; and Carolin Wehrhahn, Booking.com.
The event also marked an important milestone for FU-TOURISM, a three-year EU-funded project supporting tourism SMEs in their green and digital transition. Through its Acceleration Programme, 60 SMEs in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Greece, Poland and Spain were selected to receive financial support, mentoring, training and business support.
About FU-TOURISM
FU-TOURISM – Future-Ready Business Support Ecosystem for Tourism SME Transition to Green and Digital Resilience is funded under the Single Market Programme (SMP-COSME), with approximately €4 million in EU funding. The project runs from September 2023 to September 2026 and supports a greener, more digital, resilient, innovative and competitive European tourism ecosystem
