The EU and the tourism sector: Controversy at HITT

Dear Insider,

The EU was at HITT – represented by two experts seeking to forge links with the tourism, hospitality and AI sectors. They didn’t make political PR speeches; instead, they spoke plainly. Nevertheless, some participants levelled very sharp criticism at Dr Misa Labarile and Mihaela Lafont. Conversely, the representatives of the European Commission acknowledged the EU's mistakes and gave a sober assessment of what is actually feasible within this system. Both urged the sector once again to speak out – only then would it be heard.

Misa spoke about the EU tourism strategy, which has been in the pipeline for 25 years and is finally due to be published by the end of July as a frame work. The bitter realisation: Tourism and hospitality have so far NOT featured at all on the Commission's agenda as strategically important sectors! Excuse me? How is that possible after 25 years of lobbying by European hotel associations?

A new door is currently swinging wide open for the industry: the topic of AI. To begin with though, the IT and AI specialists among the HITT participants engaged in a heated debate with Mihaela about the EU’s lack of competitiveness. However, Mihaela from the EU AI Office also highlighted new avenues for greater cooperation: Among other things, a Tourism Data Space is currently in the pipeline, and the AI Office is inviting the industry to help shape the next steps.

© hospitalityInside.com. Dieser Artikel ist urheberrechtlich geschützt. Sie dürfen ihn unverändert für nicht kommerzielle Zwecke weiterverbreiten, wenn Sie "hospitalityInside.com" und ggf. den Autor als Quelle nennen und er mit diesen Bedingungen für eine weitere Verbreitung erlaubt und gekennzeichnet wird. Falls Sie Inhalte für werbliche Zwecke nutzen möchten, fragen Sie bitte bei uns an.

Verwandte Artikel

The good old business model: Keep your feet on the ground

8.5.2026

Dear Insider,

Today, I’m making a case for conservatism. At a time when statistics for the German hotel industry show that it has the highest number of insolvencies in the economy, it was refreshing to speak to Yoram Biton of Leonardo Hotels. "Making a profit these days isn't easy at all," he notes soberly. "It's hard work." That’s why Leonardo is growing only gradually; franchising costs too much money and only the rent cover counts. This operator’s business model is ‘stay grounded and disciplined’. Yoram reviews the P&L with each area manager every month.

Some investors lack one of these qualities. This week, Deka Immobilien announced the new operator for the W Amsterdam: Corendon. The company is based in Turkey, has a background in tourism, and is now running its first luxury lifestyle hotel. But without the restaurants. Liran Wizmann will be allowed to continue running these. It’s all set out in the contract, but of course it’s confidential. So the former operator, who owes Deka Immobilien €23 million in rent, will remain a business partner? In any case, a lack of transparency in communication raises even more questions. My eight questions (inter alia, how Deka Immobilien will guarantee its investors that it will regularly receive rent) was dismissed with four sentences. Don't investors have any questions at all?