Search
Generic filters
Exact matches only

Frequently Asked Questions

Below is a list of frequently asked questions. If you have a question that is not on the list, feel free to contact us.

The European Travel Commission (ETC) is the organisation responsible for the promotion of Europe as a tourist destination in key long-haul markets.

Thirty-three countries.

EU Members: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain.

Non-EU Members: Iceland, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, Ukraine, San Marino, Serbia, Switzerland, Turkiye.

ETC has been operating for more than 75 years. It was established in 1948 and operates as a non-profit-making international organisation.

Thirty-six National Tourism Organisations (NTOs) of Europe handling national tourism promotion. The members elect a President, three Vice-Presidents, a Board of Directors, a Chairman of the Market Intelligence Group, a Chairman of the Marketing Group, a Chairman of Chapter Earth and Chairs of the six Operations Groups for revolving terms of two years.

In six major overseas markets: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Japan and USA.

ETC undertakes three basic activities: public relations, consumer advertising and trade promotion. Prior market research determines the choice of activities and campaigns in the overseas markets.

Overseas

The representatives of the overseas offices of the European National Tourist Offices (NTOs) operating in the various long-haul markets join together to form an ETC Operations Group and elect a Chairman. They decide on a programme of joint activities for the promotion of Europe for the year ahead, propose a budget, and seek local industry support.

In Europe.

This programme is submitted for approval to ETC’s Members in Europe, who meet twice a year (in Spring and Autumn) for a General Meeting.

ETC’s activities are financed by two main sources; members’ contributions calculated according to a set of agreed criteria and by funds granted from the European Commission.

Additional financial support for specific campaigns is raised overseas. Long-standing local industry support for ETC’s activities is proof of its credibility in the field.

Each Operations Group may hire the services of a public relations agency which is also responsible for raising local industry support. ETC’s strength is that it has very low running costs, and can therefore allocate the major proportion of its funds to its overseas activities.

ETC provides a Forum for the Directors of European NTOs to meet regularly and exchange ideas. ETC also focuses its efforts on various research and advocacy activities.

ETC’s role is to promote Europe as a tourism destination within Europe and in overseas markets. We are neither a tour operator nor a travel agency. Therefore, we do not offer services such as the issuing or booking of air tickets, arrangement of accommodation, visas etc.

The European Travel Commission is neither part of the European Commission nor an institution of the European Union. Information about the EU institutions can be found via the following link: www.europa.eu

Conducting research into various markets for tourism to Europe is a major activity undertaken by ETC on behalf of its members and, in some cases, for the industry at large. Studies, reports and other research resources which have been prepared or coordinated by the ETC can be found in our section Research Reports & Studies. Please use our contact form if you have additional questions regarding ETC research.

Statistical information about tourism to and within Europe can be found in our Quarterly Reports. ETC works in close collaboration with a number of other agencies who also provide other specific information you might find useful. Please do not hesitate to visit their websites. Links to these can be found in our Partners section . For statistics on country and city tourism in most European countries check out TourMIS (registration is free).

ETC is exclusively interested in European inbound tourism, i.e. visitors from overseas markets coming to Europe.

In this respect we would like to refer you to the consumer-oriented European travel portal visiteurope.com, where you will find useful travel information about all member countries, travel and accommodation planning tools, links to the official websites of the National Tourist Offices (NTOs) of the country that you are interested in and much more.

When it comes to planning ETC meetings it is the responsibility of the National Tourist Office (NTO) of the particular host country to organise all aspects of the meeting, including the conference venue. Therefore, we recommend contacting the NTOs in this regard.

Since ETC is a non-profit making organisation, we cannot provide financial means to support third parties.

For information about other tourism organisations we would like to refer you to the links provided in our Partners section.

The National Tourist Offices (NTOs) of the 34 European countries provide a photo gallery on our travel portal website visiteurope.com. You can access the image gallery here.

While the ETC corporate website provides information, research studies and statistical data mainly for professionals in the tourism industry, visiteurope.com serves as a platform for consumers who wish to find travel information about European countries they would like to visit.

If you have questions regarding your next visit to Europe, please have a look at visiteurope.com