European HorizonGBTA touts business travel with EU tourism policymakers and stakeholders in Brussels EU TOURISM STAKEHOLDER EVENT:GBTA Country Director for Italy Fulvio Origo engages with policymakers and stakeholders in Brussels.
What is new: On 27 and 28 May, GBTA Country Director for Italy Fulvio Origo travelled to Brussels to attend the European Commission’s EU tourism stakeholder event. During his trip, he also had the opportunity to meet with several key policymakers and stakeholders: Delphine Grandsart, Senior Research at the European Passengers’ Federation (EPF) and Henkjan Oomen, Transport attaché at the Permanent Representation of the Netherlands to the EU, to discuss the EU’s priorities for the travel sector.
Fulvio discussed with EPF the topic of passenger rights as the EU is working on a review of the existing legislative framework. EPF outlined its position, calling on Member States to clarify, uphold and make more easily enforceable the Air Passenger Rights Regulation, while not diminishing key consumer rights. During the meeting with Mr. Oomen, Fulvio covered the importance of business travel in terms of volume and as a multiplier for the economy and pushing the travel sector towards sustainable practices. In terms of sustainability, Fulvio shared GBTA’s Acceleration Challenge. Mr. Oomen posited that competitiveness was now taking over sustainability as a priority at the EU level. Furthermore, on the topic of multimodality, he highlighted the challenges the EU has faced in keeping operators on the same page and complex issues with liability.
At the EU tourism stakeholder event organized by the European Commission, the upcoming EU Strategy for Sustainable Tourism dominated the discussion. It is set to be presented in 2026 and aimed at enhancing the competitiveness and sustainability of the sector. In addition, there were also discussions regarding advancing single ticketing and multimodal travel solutions to make tourism more accessible. Issues including unbalanced tourism, climate change adaptation, biodiversity and housing, will be address in the EU strategy. Why it matters: GBTA’s meetings in Brussels were an opportunity to place business travel at the heart of the EU’s policymaking for the travel and transport sector and make sure its priorities are considered by the EU. The upcoming EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy will guide the Commission’s work towards making the tourism sector more sustainable. The Commission will, however, want to balance different priorities, including making the sector more competitive, as competitiveness is the overarching theme of the second Ursula von der Leyen-led European Commission.
GBTA has contributed to the European Commission’s Transition Pathway for Tourism. The Pathway is an EU initiative to identify areas of measures for the green and digital transition of the tourism sector, and improving its resilience. In addition, GBTA will respond to the recently published consultation about the Strategy to ensure that business travel is considered as part of it. |
GBTA pushes the boundaries for next generation of SAF SUSTAINABLE FUELS: GBTA, along with over 50 companies from the aviation and energy sectors, has signed an open letter urging European national governments to allocate funding for an e-SAF pilot auction. Electro-Sustainable Aviation Fuel (e-SAF), also known as Power-to-Liquid (PtL) fuel, is a type of sustainable aviation fuel produced synthetically using renewable electricity, green hydrogen, and captured CO2.
What is new: On 12 June, GBTA cosigned an open letter coordinated by Project SkyPower and supported by more than 50 leading companies across the sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) value chain, calling on EU national governments to jointly commit funding to a pilot e-SAF tender. This tender would use a double-sided auction mechanism to help scale e-SAF (sustainable aviation fuel produced from clean electricity) across Europe.
The EU has already recognised e-SAF as a key pathway to decarbonising aviation, with the ReFuelEU Aviation regulation mandating increasing levels of e-SAF blending starting in 2030. Despite this political momentum, none of the planned e-SAF projects in Europe have reached Final Investment Decision (FID) even though Europe hosts around 60% of the world’s planned e-SAF capacity. That’s why over 50 companies and associations urged EU governments to act as soon as possible and co-fund a pilot e-SAF tender using this double-sided auction mechanism — and in doing so: - Kick-start a self-sustaining e-SAF market, using available funds now to avoid market delays
- Secure e-SAF volumes for domestic routes, protecting industry from penalties linked to unmet mandates
- Demonstrate Europe’s cleantech leadership, creating a compelling proof point for global markets
Why it matters: A developed market for e-SAF in Europe would substantially aid the business travel sector to reduce its emissions while remaining efficient and competitive. The sector is ready to support sustainable fuels and while EU legislation has set mandates for airlines to achieve in coming years, production is still limited. |
GBTA and IBTA advocating for France, Spain and Portugal to improve international rail connections EU RAIL CONNECTIONS: Business travelers ask for better rail connections On 12 June, business travel associations GBTA and IBTA and rail company Transfesa logistics joined several NGOs including Transport and Environment to support better international rail connections between France, Spain and Portugal. In an open letter to the governments of the three countries, they argued that choosing to travel by train instead of by plane can reduce emissions more than 90% for some connections but that the lack of competitive international connections between France, Spain and Portugal complicates the efforts by businesses operating in those countries to fly less, and choose less polluting modes of transport like the train. Specifically, they asked to advance the implementation of the European TEN-T regulation, to create financial incentives and public guarantees to help rail operators acquire interoperable cross-border rolling stock, and to champion the EU initiative for an ambitious Single Digital Booking and Ticketing Regulation to enable seamless booking of cross-border and multi-operator rail journeys. Why it matters: Spain and Portugal have long suffered from weak rail links to the rest of Europe and scarce connections between each other, thus making flying the most efficient option for international travel and increasing emissions from the travel sector. Further investment in international train connections would make it easier for business travelers to choose more sustainable options |
GBTA marks 40th anniversary of the Schengen Agreement with travel sector partners BORDER MANAGEMENT: GBTA published a joint statement with eu travel tech, and the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER) celebrating 40 years of Schengen and asking the European Commission to digitalize and modernize travel procedures, as well as better protect passenger rights to ensure businesses can thrive and remain competitive for decades to come.
What is new: On 16 June, GBTA marked the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Schengen Agreement, which led to the creation of the borderless Schengen Area, allowing citizens to travel across 29 European countries without any border controls.
For business travellers, the Schengen Area has been a major success story, cutting red tape for businesses and creating a free movement area that covers more than 450 million people. The business travel sector celebrated its success in a joint statement with eu travel tech, and the Community of European Railway and Infrastructure Companies (CER). However, it called for the Schengen Area to be better enforced, through a wider digitalization of travel procedures and better protection of travellers’ rights, making travel even smoother and more secure. Additionally, the three organisations underlined that it is essential to focus not only on borderless travel in principle but also on enabling seamless, fast and reliable connections in practice through high-speed rail links. Why it matters: The statement and video, featuring GBTA Europe Advisory Board members Ben Park and Julia Sullivan comes on the back of a broader campaign launched by the European Commission to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Schengen. While Schengen has grown and become more integrated in the past four decades, with the latest members being Romania and Bulgaria, countries that joined in 2025, several countries have implemented internal border checks to tackle irregular migration. At the same time, the Commission and Member States are working towards the rollout of digital border systems such as the Entry/Exit System and the European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), that will allow clear and early indications of eligibility to enter the Schengen zone for all travelers. |
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