Google joins European Travel Commission to foster skills and strengthen European tourism recovery

Google has joined the European Travel Commission (ETC) as an Associate Member to help drive the European tourism sector’s recovery in 2021 and strengthen the sector as an engine for economic growth, employment and regional development for all Europeans.

ETC has been working for years to boost sustainable tourism development in Europe, raising awareness of European lesser-known destinations and highlighting the benefits of local experiences and off-season travel. As part of their mission to be a trusted source of information, Google helps the tourism sector through insights and tools for destination marketing organisations (DMOs) to reach potential visitors during their travel planning journey. Today’s membership announcement builds on the 2017 Google DMO Partnership Programme launched at the Destinations International Annual Conference to encourage and train DMOs to use data and insights to understand how to target their travel offerings.

The Google-ETC collaboration will help build the digital capabilities of tourism organisations in Europe through tailored training events for ETC’s members, equipping them for digital transformation and market agility. It will also guide policy and decision making in the tourism sector through joint research and thought leadership initiatives. As part of their work to support the travel and tourism sector, Google launched the UNWTO and Google Tourism Acceleration Programme[1] to foster digital transformation and skills towards the recovery of the sector in Europe. Working together, ETC and Google will exchange insights to promote sustainable travel, drive tourism growth and provide an economic boost to Europe through joint-marketing services, webinars and events, and research projects.

Eduardo Santander, executive director of the European Travel Commission said: “We at ETC are thrilled to welcome Google as an Associate Member of our organisation at a time when our role in promoting European tourism is more important than ever. A significant announcement for the European tourism sector, Google’s membership will allow us to work together towards a brighter, stronger future for travel in Europe, for the benefit of all Europeans. The promotion of sustainable growth in the European tourism sector is at the core of the ETC’s strategy and we believe that Google’s membership will allow both organisations to work better on this common objective.”

“We are proud to join the European Travel Commission, we look forward to working together to contribute to the travel sector recovery in Europe. The travel landscape changes quickly, and we are committed to continue to provide digital skills trainings, data insights and tools to help travel and tourism organisations adapt their offerings to meet new travel demands.” said Diego Ciulli, Google’s government affairs & public policy senior manager.