European Tourism in Transformation: From Transition to National Sustainability

The European Commission published, on 28 May 2025, the second progress report on the Transition Pathway for Tourism. In just three years since the initiative began, there are advances on multiple fronts: 529 commitments from 240 organisations in 36 countries, focused on governance, green transition, digitalisation, inclusion, and skills. Also noteworthy are legislative support instruments and collaborative platforms such as EU Tourism, open data, and the Together for EU Tourism (T4T) hub. However, challenges remain regarding the climate, pressure on local communities, and the need for robust data systems.

The European Agenda for Tourism 2030 – the EU's major strategic framework

This Agenda, approved on 1 December 2022, structures a multi-annual plan to make tourism green, sustainable, resilient, and digitalised, with special emphasis on green mobility and public transport as key pillars. There are five priority domains:

• Enabling Policies and Governance
• Green Transition
• Digital Transition
• Resilience and Inclusion
• Skills and Support for Transition

The 2025 progress report complements this Agenda, highlighting how commitments directly fuel the execution of proposed objectives — mainly in the green, digital, and training pillars — and reinforcing the role of the T4T platform as an engine for joint mobilisation.

Tourism Strategy 2027 – national alignment with the European vision

In Portugal, the Tourism Strategy 2027 (ET27), approved in 2017, marks a long-term national strategic benchmark, with five structural axes: valuing the territory, boosting the economy, enhancing knowledge, generating networks and connectivity, and projecting Portugal to the world.

Furthermore, it defines very concrete goals by 2027:

• Economic: 80 million overnight stays and €26,000M in revenue;
• Social: reduction of seasonality, doubling of qualifications in the sector, and positive impact on local populations;
• Environmental: that more than 90% of companies adopt energy, water, and environmental management efficiency.

This national strategy fits perfectly into the principles of the European Agenda by prioritising environmental sustainability, digitalisation, and training, but adapting these ambitions to the Portuguese context, focusing on territory, heritage, and social involvement.

Synergies in practice – how everything intertwines

 Green transition: the EU report highlights the role of directives such as the Nature Restoration Act and Corporate Due Diligence, which reinforce SME sustainability. At the national level, this echoes energy and environmental efficiency goals for more than 90% of companies, reinforcing clear synergies between regulation and implementation.

 Digitalisation and innovation: the EU Tourism platform and open data drive sustainable digitalisation. In Portugal, this momentum can be complemented by actions that value assets such as wine tourism, events, and well-being — strategic assets of ET27 — to amplify innovation and competitiveness.

 Training and skills: the European Pact for Skills aims to train 7.5 million professionals by 2030. Portugal responds with the goal of doubling qualifications in the sector by 2027. Both initiatives converge on developing human capital as the foundation of the sustainable transition.

Governance and inclusion: the European Agenda's multi-annual plan advocates inclusive policies with broad participation. T4T, as a collaborative platform, sustains this spirit. Meanwhile, the national strategy seeks to extend tourism throughout the territory and the year, promoting social inclusion and cohesion.

Conclusion

The European Commission's 2025 report is not just a balance sheet — it is a mirror reflecting the ambitions of the European Agenda for Tourism 2030 and the Tourism Strategy 2027. Both instruments are interconnected, making European and national tourism greener, more digital, inclusive, and resilient.

At Yunit, we support companies in the tourism sector on this path of adaptation through an integrated offer ranging from tourism framework diagnosis and economic-financial viability assessment to the development of business plans and support in applications for programmes such as Portugal 2030 – Productive Innovation or the Support Line for the Qualification of Supply (LAQO).

We combine technical rigour and practical experience to help companies design projects aligned with green and digital transition policies, ensuring sustainability, innovation, and access to funding. Our goal is to transform ambitions into solid investments that reinforce the competitiveness of Portuguese tourism and project the sector into the future.