EUROSCI minicourse: The European Union and the tourism industry

Tourism employs 12 million people in Europe (more than 5% of employment), and inbound tourism contributes with 356 billion euro in revenue to the European economy. European Union policy can greatly affect tourism: reduced VAT rates for food, Schengen visa requirements, the regulation of flight delays, roaming charges, or the Erasmus+ programme, are just a few examples of how EU policy can affect the tourism sector. The tourism industry is well aware of this and tries to influence EU legislative, executive and judicial decisions in a number of ways, from elections to lobbying campaigns. For such attempts to be successful, it is essential to be aware of how the political system of the EU works.