The European Parliament hosted and HTI attended a high-level conference in Brussels on 27th of September 2017, as a celebration of the International Tourism Day. Mr Antonio Tajani, President of the European Parliament underlined that Europe is the first tourism destination in the world and said that the „next budget should be more overtly political and reflect the concerns of ordinary people, such as the need to combat unemployment. In its own – initiative resolution adopted on the basis of the De Monte report, the European parliament is calling for the next budget to incorporate a specific fund for tourism“.
Conference conclusions will be relevant for the preparation of a new generation of funds from 2020, which will significantly increase finance for tourism. There for health tourism niche will also have more accessible budget line.
The EU is investing in the long-term sustainability of Europe as the number one destination for world health tourism.
HTI Conference 2018 will continue to promote the idea of the need for branding Europe as the top global destination for health tourism and the establishment of the European health tourism umbrella association.
The next EHTI – European health tourism industry summit will bring together leaders from European and international institutions, associations and industry to share views on repositioning EU as a prime health tourism destination.
