Europe leads in international tourism, with countries like France, Italy, and Spain getting around 38% of global arrivals in 2021. Recognizing tourism’s role in a greener and digital EU economy, the European Commission initiated the Digital Europe Programme, which introduced the DATES project – a unique EU-level program aiming to develop a secure tourism data space.

The DATES project will form the basis for the European Data Space for Tourism, a domain-specific data space part of a larger common European data space, integrating data from various sectors. These data spaces aim to boost the tourism industry’s competitiveness and sustainability through voluntary data sharing.

The transversal nature of tourism allows DATES to connect with other sectors, lending it significance. A workshop titled ‘Towards a data space for tourism‘ attracted over 200 participants from the tourism sector, reinforcing the project’s importance. Held online and hosted by Intellera Consulting and AnySolution, the workshop outlined DATES’s goals, data needs, and potential solutions to business problems.

Several industry figures presented at the workshop, such as Giovanna Galasso from Intellera Consulting, Dolores Ordoñez from AnySolution, and Jean-François Cases from Amadeus, offering insights into the benefits of a data space. Participants discussed various business challenges and associated data types in breakout rooms focused on topics like tourism sustainability, market analysis, tourist engagement, and service planning.

The workshop’s findings will inform the DATES project’s development of the European data space for tourism use cases. It’s a pivotal project for Europe’s tourism sector, which accounts for over 50% of global tourist arrivals and is the EU’s third-largest economic sector. The workshop proved a successful first step towards a groundbreaking data sharing initiative.