European parliament recommends establishment of financial line for tourism

The European Parliament has made a recommendation to the European Commission's Economic and Financial Committee for the establishment of a special financial line for tourism in the next multi-annual financial framework, Croatia's Tourism Ministry reported on Thursday, considering this to be a sign of support for Croatia and Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli's initiative for setting up such a financial line. "In its report the European Parliament has recommended to the European Commission Economic and Financial Committee to form a special financial line for tourism in the Multiannual Financial Framework for the period after 2020. The EP emphasised the importance of a single European tourism policy, underscoring that it can significantly contribute to growth and job creation in the EU," the ministry said.

It recalled that in February, Minister Capelli presented a Croatian government initiative to establish a single European fund for tourism and a tourism task force within EU institutions, and that the initiative was positively received by a large number of European countries.

The initiative is very important for Croatia as one of the leading tourist destinations in Europe and it will create numerous financial and development opportunities for Croatia's tourism, Minister Cappelli said.

After presenting its initiative to the European Commission, Croatia presented it to other EU member states - Malta, Bulgaria, Austria, Italy, Germany, Slovenia and Slovakia, which showed significant interest in it. An official declaration is expected to be signed in that regard.

Tourism is one of the fastest growing economic activities in the EU and has a great impact on growth, society, development and employment, the ministry said.

Tourism secures 24 million jobs in the EU, which means that every eleventh person is employed in a job directly related to tourism, and in 2016 tourism and travel accounted for 10.2% of the EU's GDP, the ministry said.

(Hina)

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