Towards a Green and Digital Transition for European Tourism

Abstract

The European Commission’s new industrial strategy launched in 2020 looked to lay the foundations for the twin transition to a green and digital economy. Within the same year, the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need to accelerate the green and digital development of specific sectors of the European Union’s economy. As tourism was arguably hit hardest by the pandemic, it became the first sector for which a transition pathway was developed. The European Commission’s report entitled Transition Pathway for Tourism, published in 2022, described the measures needed to accelerate the twin green and digital transitions within the tourism industry. This review paper focuses on the European Commission’s report and it includes an outline of the characteristics of the green and digital transitions; a brief outline of the review process; the results of a literature search, undertaken to provide an academic context for the paper; a summary of the European Commission’s report with a specific focus on the ‘green and digital transition’ (European Commission 2022a): some reflections on the green and digital transition of tourism; and a brief conclusion. Keywords: twin transitions, green transition, digital transition, tourism industries, Europe