February the 15th, 2022 - Croatia certainly loves to sit back and count the overnight stays during the tourist season, but as sustainable tourism becomes the direction in which more and more countries are heading in, how much can other countries look towards the Croatian eVisitor system for inspiration?
As Poslovni Dnevnik/Marija Crnjak writes, in the near future, EU member states will no longer measure their tourism results through arrivals and overnight stays being registered, but with the help of digital technologies and artificial intelligence, unique, standardised tools will be developed to monitor EU-wide social, environmental and economic impacts.
So far, the deadlines for the introduction of these new metrics haven't been defined, which will include changes in legislation and a number of new infrastructure solutions, but national tourist boards will play a key role in this.
The experience of the Croatian eVisitor system could have a significant impact on the process, as has since been learned. The plan for the introduction of new statistical methods for monitoring the results of tourism, with the introduction of sustainable solutions and digitisation is the most important topic of the just published report of the European Commission (EC).
It is a document that confirms the agreement of EU tourist boards to implement new tourism metrics and to give priority to both residents and tourists when it comes to tourism services, instead of harmfully imposing the number of nights as the only criterion for growth and development.
The report was created together with the destinations of the European Union and industrial players. Some analysts of global trends suggest it could be a turning point for the future of EU tourism, while others are skeptical about its future implementation, which has not yet been defined.
"We believe that European national tourism organisations should be the European Commission's main partner and play a major role in implementing these solutions in the coming years. While most have well-established tools to provide a wide range of key performance indicators related to the quantitative economic aspects of tourism, most still struggle with the lack of a broader picture of the impact of tourism,'' said Luis Araujo, President of the European Travel Commission.
He is convinced that expanding metrics and coordination at European Union level will significantly facilitate the sustainable transition of destinations. The Croatian National Tourist Board (CNTB) will also actively participate in the process.
"This is a document created in the context of pandemic-induced disorders and which, among other things, emphasises the need for more sustainable tourism and tourism that is more resilient to crises. Green and digital transitions stand out as key, especially in areas such as sustainable competitiveness, legislation and policy, technical solutions and infrastructure. Great emphasis has also been placed on the collection of other types of data, such as tourist traffic, as well as environmental, economic and social indicators.
In this regard, the ETC and national tourism organisations are already working to establish a single set of indicators that could monitor and compare European Union destinations in terms of the impact of tourism and tourism sustainability,'' the CNTB revealed.
They also added that the CNTB can contribute to the collection and processing of this data with existing solutions, such as the world's unique technological solution for monitoring and analysing tourist traffic, the Croatian eVisitor system, but also by developing new smart digital solutions and services and improving knowledge and skills, as well as the further development and management of tourist destinations and products.
They also added that various national documents that are being drafted, the Strategy for the Development of Sustainable Tourism until 2030 and the National Plan for the Development of Sustainable Tourism from 2021 to 2027 should also contribute to the process.
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