Travelling with Mr Eddy Liegeois, Head of Unit Transport Networks, DG MOVE, European Commission
Introduction to the series
Welcome to our interview series, where we explore the critical intersection of tourism and transport during increasing scrutiny for both industries.
Europe has long been the world’s most popular travel destination. With a population of 475 million, it attracted 600 million inbound tourists in 2022[1]. It is also one of the most popular destinations for Europeans themselves.
On one hand, this is good news because tourism significantly contributes to Europe’s economic prosperity. On the other hand, most tourist trips rely on air and car travel, the two most polluting modes of transport. This dependence leads to the tourism sector’s high carbon emissions.
While travel remains a beloved part of life, the environmental sustainability of tourism has become a pressing concern. Key questions arise: What actions are different stakeholders taking? Where do the real bottlenecks lie? And most importantly, what is the path forward?
One thing is certain — there is an urgent need for cooperation, aligning the worlds of tourism and transport closer together to tackle these challenges. A significant milestone has been achieved with the appointment of a new Commissioner for Tourism and Transport, signalling a fresh focus on sustainable solutions.
In this series of interviews, conducted by Breda University of Applied Sciences and NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences during March- April 2024, as part of the “Travelling with” project, funded by the Centre of Expertise in Leisure, Tourism and Hospitality, we seek to answer these questions. Through conversations with a diverse range of stakeholders, we uncover the latest developments in tourism and transport, highlighting the crucial roles various actors play — or must play — in the collective effort to decarbonise travel.
Nina Nesterova, Professor of Sustainable Tourism and Transport at Breda University of Applied Sciences interviews Mr Eddy Liegeois, Head of Unit Transport Networks at DG MOVE, European Commission. In this interview, they discuss how DG MOVE supports sustainable tourism support sustainable tourism and transport agendas and what are the important cross-sectoral cooperation areas to further accelerate green transition of tourism and transport.
[1]Inbound tourism in Europe - statistics & facts | Statista
Eddy, to what extent is tourism integrated into the sustainable transport and TEN- T planning policies and processes?
“Tourism is a very important industry as a lot of citizens are travelling for leisure. Within DG MOVE we are not working on specific directive regulations dealing with tourism transport, and there is no specific unit dealing with it [Editor: at the time of the interview, tourism was not under the responsibility of DG MOVE]. However, our policies address the tourism industry. For example, with our work on the market access regulations, we promote more efficient operation of transport modalities and are trying to reduce the price of transport. By building infrastructure, in particular cross-border infrastructure, we promote more efficient and faster transport, which benefits all the transport infrastructure users travelling both for business and leisure purposes. Since 2004, we have had an established passenger rights framework for all transport modes; in November 2023 we proposed to revise this legal framework which will benefit all passengers, including those travelling for tourism.
Thus, different policies contribute to efficient, resilient and sustainable transport for all users.”
Tourism heavily depends on car and air transport, the most polluting modes. Air travel is challenging to decarbonise and is excluded from national carbon budgets under current legislation. Is the European Commission working on policies to reduce reliance on long-haul and frequent flying?
“In 2020 the European Commission adopted the Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy[1] which explains our philosophy in terms of mobility and transport. This policy has two main lines. First, we focus on the promotion of alternative transport modes; for example, we consider that we should aim at collective travel of under 500 km to be performed by train. Second, we also work on the decarbonisation of each transport mode. We are convinced that if we want to maintain mobility for citizens, we will continue relying on air transport, road transport and shipping. That is true that for certain transport modes, that is a more difficult task, but we are moving on with it. For example, we have the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that applies to aviation, resulting in the environmental and social costs of aviation on the environment and climate being reflected in the cost of services. We also have the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (2023)[2] and ReFuelEU Aviation Regulation (2023)[3], which sets mandatory sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) blending targets for aviation fuel suppliers, establishing the requirements for the airlines to use SAFs.
That is clear that aviation will have to decarbonise, and it will take some time and investment. The EU regulator did set the scene for the future decarbonisation of this transport mode.”
How else the European Commission can support decarbonisation of the aviation sector?
“We must put in place a combination of measures to achieve the desired result. Uptake of SAFs is one that we are working on very hard, for example, by putting in place an alliance of industry partners to promote the production and import of SAFs in the European Union. I would also mention the importance of research. The Horizon Europe research program is a very important one. It includes a component on clean aviation, putting forward a joint undertaking on clean aviation, ensuring that both European policy and industry stakeholders jointly contribute with resources on the development of more energy-efficient aircrafts.
Next, the Single European Sky (SES) initiative is a European Union program aimed at improving the efficiency, capacity, and safety of air traffic management (ATM) across Europe, which will further contribute to the reduction of aircraft fuel consumption. At this moment, unfortunately, it falls a little bit aside in terms of ambitions and requires further cooperation and a shared responsibility between the EU and its Member States.”
What would be the viewpoint of the European Commission on the possibility of some needed disruptive measures, like capping airport capacity in order to cut the emissions from the aviation sector?
“We are not against disruptive measures however we are not in favour of policies which simply forbid a mode of transport. We rather believe in policies giving incentives to decarbonise a transport mode or to change the transport mode user’s behaviour. Next to our work on the decarbonisation of air transport, we are also implementing policies which will contribute to the decarbonisation of the airports. For example, the airports which are part of the TEN-T network will have to develop railway connections, providing passengers with an alternative to take a train instead of connecting short-haul flights. The TEN-T regulation (2024)[4] also establishes that air conditioning for aircraft while at the airport will be provided by the airport through electricity.”
One of the main objectives of the revised TEN-T regulation is to increase the number of passengers travelling by rail in Europe, through the development of competitive and seamless speed rail. How do you think we really need to reach a breakthrough in the development of seamless cross-border rail transport?
“Rail transport is at the core of the TEN-T network development and will continue to be important, both for passenger and freight transport. 75 to 80% of the Connecting Europe Facility funding program is currently allocated to rail projects. Within the revised TEN-T regulation we try, through the infrastructure standards, to improve the speed of rail by the development of the high-speed connections between the European capitals. Next, we focus on the improvement of the cross-border connections as those are often a weak point in terms of available investment.”
Next to rail, coach transport offers an opportunity to replace air and private car tourism travel. Are there any foreseen policies to address electrification of the coach transport in Europe?
“Coach is a transport mode that we should promote in tourism, providing an alternative to a private car. Here, I would refer to the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (2023), which addresses this question and imposes the development of alternative fuels infrastructure for cars with a clear focus on electrification of the fleet. It also addresses the development of alternative fuel infrastructure for heavy vehicles, trucks and coaches, both by the development of charging stations and considering hydrogen development. For heavy vehicles, contrary to light vehicles, there are still some discussions on the best technology. In practice, we see more and more industry initiatives to electrify trucks and coaches. The Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (2023) establishes a clear path for the development of charging infrastructure on public roads, which is relevant to promoting the use of electric transport to tourist attractions and destinations.”
Some large European ports are questioning the future of cruise shipping, as research shows that the environmental, social and financial costs of cruise shipping largely outweigh often marginal economic benefit at destination. What is the view of DG MOVE on future cruise shipping in Europe?
“That is not the role of the European Commission to say that there should be fewer cruise ships and that people should choose another way to go on holiday. Cruise shipping is an important industry. At the same time, that is true that we need to reconcile this type of tourism with cities where these ships are calling to ports. We are taking measures that should hopefully improve the situation: for example, by working on the development of low and zero-emission fuels for maritime transport. There are already obligations for blending with more sustainable fuels for the ships calling at the European Union ports. Another important initiative is the provision obligating the use of onshore power supply (OPS) or zero-emission technologies in ports, that has an objective to reduce the impact of these ships on the local air quality.”
In this relation, how to mitigate potential pressure on the local electric grids in the port cities?
“Indeed, if we want to connect everything to the grid: trucks, fast charging stations, short-sight electricity in ports – the pressure on the local grids would be high. Thus, DG MOVE needs to work closely with DG ENER and also improve the cooperation at the national level between public authorities, electricity providers, transmission system operators, etc. Member states will have to set up plans to ensure that electricity grids will accommodate this increased demand.”
Continuing the conversation about cooperation between different sectors, how would you describe the cooperation between DG Move and tourism mobility stakeholders or tourism policymakers?
“Whenever there is an initiative, for example, a legislative initiative, we have an interservice group meeting with DG GROW colleagues responsible for tourism to make sure that the interests of the tourism industry are reflected in our proposal [Editor: at the time of the interview, tourism was not under the responsibility of DG MOVE].”
Does DG MOVE directly cooperate with tourism industry stakeholders?
“Yes, for example, on the question of passenger rights, where we have direct contact with the tourism industry and organisations representing passengers.”
Which actions tourism industry can undertake to accelerate transition to the sustainable transport in Europe?
“I think that is important to increase awareness of the transport mode users - tourism travellers – on the impact of their travel trip on climate and environment, on the carbon footprint they leave behind. Hopefully, through awareness raising, we may be able to convince them that by making certain choices the impact on the environment and climate will be reduced.”
What is your vision on the future of tourism mobility?
“I would say sustainability is a key word for the future development of tourism. We need to make tourists aware of the impact they make when travelling. And encourage organisers of travel and transport operators to decarbonise transport. That is not an objective of DG MOVE to curb mobility, be it for business or leisure. We recognise the importance of mobility, considering mobility being a right. So, we have to contribute to sustainable and efficient mobility by promoting a high-quality transport service. That’s fair that people want to travel fast. Tourists do not want to take two days to arrive at their destination. Fair enough, so let's offer them good services and at the same time green services.”
[1] European Commission. (2020). Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee, and the Committee of the Regions: Sustainable and Smart Mobility Strategy – Putting European transport on track for the future (COM/2020/789 final). Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:52020DC0789
[2] European Parliament and Council. (2023). Regulation (EU) 2023/1804 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 September 2023 on the deployment of alternative fuels infrastructure, repealing Directive 2014/94/EU. Official Journal of the European Union. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/1804/oj/eng
[3] European Parliament and Council. (2023). Regulation (EU) 2023/2405 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 October 2023 on ensuring a level playing field for sustainable air transport (ReFuelEU Aviation). Official Journal of the European Union. Retrieved from https://eur-lex.europa.eu/eli/reg/2023/2405/oj
[4] European Parliament and Council. (2024). Regulation (EU) 2024/1679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 on Union guidelines for the development of the trans-European transport network. Official Journal of the European Union. http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg/2024/1679/oj