Google Pledges to Aid Travel Recovery in Europe
The European Travel Commission (ETC) has attracted Google as an associate member to help drive the tourism sector’s recovery this year.
The Google-ETC collaboration will help build the digital capabilities of tourism organisations in Europe through tailored training events for members, equipping them for digital transformation and market agility.
It will also guide policy and decision-making in the tourism sector through joint research and thought leadership initiatives.
ETC and Google will exchange insights to promote sustainable travel, drive tourism growth, and provide an economic boost to Europe through joint-marketing services, webinars and events, and research projects.
The membership announcement builds on a 2017 Google destination marketing organisation partnership scheme to encourage and train DMOs to use data and insights to understand how to target their travel offerings.
ETC executive director Eduardo Santander said: “We are thrilled to welcome Google as an associate member of our organisation at a time when our role in promoting European tourism is more important than ever.
“A significant announcement for the European tourism sector, Google’s membership will allow us to work together towards a brighter, stronger future for travel in Europe, for the benefit of all Europeans.
“The promotion of sustainable growth in the European tourism sector is at the core of the ETC’s strategy and we believe that Google’s membership will allow both organizations to work better on this common objective.”
Diego Ciulli, Google’s government affairs and public policy senior manager, added: “We are proud to join the European Travel Commission, we look forward to working together to contribute to the travel sector recovery in Europe.
“The travel landscape changes quickly, and we are committed to continuing to provide digital skills training, data insights, and tools to help travel and tourism organisations adapt their offerings to meet new travel demands.”
Source: Travel Weekly