The European Commission is planning to boost tourism in the EU with initiatives such as giving grants for "tourism exchanges" and promoting package tours to multiple European destinations.
The plans were set out during the first ministerial tourism conference held in Madrid last week.
The Commission's Vice President Antionio Tajani, who is handling the tourism portfolio, said that following the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, the EU executive would be launching a new tourism policy that will include various initiatives aimed at further boosting the European tourism industry, already considered a major economic pillar.
One of the ideas mentioned by Commissioner Tajani is to prolong the peak tourism season by creating a new "tourism exchange programme" similar to the ones already in place for students.
"The idea is that the EU will start giving grants to potential tourists so that they start travelling and taking their holidays in the shoulder months instead of summer when demand is already high," a Commission official said yesterday.
"One of the problems the tourism sector across the EU faces is seasonality whereby during some months in winter there is no tourism demand with the consequence that jobs have to be shed and facilities close. Through our initiatives we want to extend the tourism season to an all year round experience so that we create more jobs and trade," the official said.
In Malta, many hotels and related facilities experience a sharp dip in activity during the winter months. A few establishments shut their doors while others retain a skeleton staff in order to just break even.
"Seasonality represents a significant issue for the competitiveness of tourism. In this context, I plan to promote concrete initiatives in order to prolong the high season," Mr Tajani said.
In accordance with the EU's new powers under the Lisbon Treaty, EU ministers at the conference approved a number of concrete initiatives to be launched in the coming years.
A tourism observatory is to be set up in order to collect more detailed statistics on the sector at European level.
An agreement was reached on the definition of a new indicator system for sustainable tourism destinations to highlight those that offer high-quality services while respecting the environment.
Commissioner Tajani said the EU was also planning to negotiate tourism partnerships with non-EU countries such as China, Brazil, Russia and India.
The aim is to offer package tours involving visits to different countries on the continent. This should facilitate the arrival of new tourists in Europe and help to prevent visits that concentrate exclusively on a single EU country.
Malta was represented at the Madrid conference by Tourism Parliamentary Secretary Mario de Marco.