The European Commission’s first-ever EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy marks an important milestone in establishing a common EU vision for a more competitive, sustainable, resilient and inclusive tourism sector.
The strategy sets out a comprehensive framework to strengthen the EU’s position as the world’s leading tourism destination, enhance the competitiveness of the sector and ensure that tourism develops sustainably while benefiting businesses, travellers and local communities across Europe.
For the bus and coach sector, the strategy marks an important step forward, notably through the Commission’s explicit recognition of the difficulties operators face in navigating fragmented urban vehicle access restrictions, alongside its ambitions for seamless multimodal connectivity, better access to rural and remote tourist destinations, and opportunities for future investment in multimodal transport hubs.
IRU General Delegate to the Permanent Delegation to the EU Raluca Marian said, “We congratulate Commissioner Tzitzikostas for his leadership in bringing forward the EU’s first comprehensive tourism strategy and for setting out an ambitious vision for the sector’s future. We particularly appreciate the attention given to concrete solutions for specific challenges faced by coach operators.”
“Buses and coaches have a fundamental role to play in making European tourism more sustainable, accessible and inclusive. We look forward to working closely with the Commission to turn this vision into concrete results,” she added.
A long-awaited solution
In this first-ever EU tourism strategy, the Commission explicitly recognises, for the first time, the difficulties faced by coach operators in navigating the myriad of local urban vehicle access restrictions.
Across Europe, operators face increasingly complex and fragmented rules, often accompanied by difficult-to-find or insufficiently transparent information. This creates unnecessary administrative burdens, particularly for international coach services and tourism operators.
IRU strongly welcomes the Commission’s recognition of this long-standing challenge and, importantly, its commitment to addressing it through a concrete initiative to improve access to information on urban vehicle restrictions. This represents a significant step towards the European one-stop shop for urban vehicle access information that the sector has long advocated.
“This is a particularly positive breakthrough for coach tourism. The Commission has recognised a very concrete problem that operators face every day: navigating a patchwork of local access rules, often without clear and easily accessible information,” said Raluca Marian.
“We now have an opportunity to move towards a genuine European one-stop shop, making it easier for coaches to access cities and for tourists to discover Europe,” she added.
Connecting lesser-known and remote destinations
The strategy aims to spread tourism more evenly across the EU, including to rural, remote and lesser-known destinations, ensuring that tourism generates economic opportunities beyond traditional hotspots.
“Buses and coaches must be at the heart of delivering this ambition. In many parts of Europe, they are the only collective transport mode capable of reaching tourist destinations, offering affordable and inclusive mobility without the need for extensive new infrastructure,” said Raluca Marian. “Whether serving destinations directly or connecting with rail and other transport modes, coaches are essential to making more of Europe accessible to everyone.”
The strategy also identifies opportunities for tourism investment through the proposed National and Regional Partnership Plans under the next EU budget. IRU calls for these investments to support coach terminals, parking facilities and multimodal hubs connecting coaches with rail and local public transport.
IRU stands ready to work with the Commission, Member States, regions and other transport stakeholders to ensure that buses and coaches are fully integrated into future tourism connectivity and investment priorities.
Turning the strategy into action
The EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy sets out a framework for further initiatives, including investment in tourism infrastructure and the establishment of a new EU Tourism Alliance to support its implementation.
IRU welcomes this collaborative approach and looks forward to contributing actively to the next steps, ensuring that the potential of buses and coaches is fully reflected in future policies and investment priorities.
Raluca Marian concluded, “Buses and coaches are among the EU’s most affordable, inclusive and environmentally efficient forms of collective transport. They offer a sustainable way to discover the EU, whether travelling directly to a destination or connecting seamlessly with rail and other modes.
“The strategy provides a promising foundation. We look forward to working with Commissioner Tzitzikostas, the European Commission and all tourism and transport stakeholders to ensure that coaches play their full part in delivering more connected, accessible and sustainable tourism across Europe.”
IRU and its members across the globe work with public and private partners to support sustainable tourism by advancing safe, efficient and green bus, coach and taxi networks.