The tourism sector in the Grand Duchy is currently worth nearly 5.3% of GDP and directly employs 8,000 people; on Friday, the Luxembourg government gave the green light for the setting up of an Economic Interest Grouping for carrying out tourism promotion of the country.
The analysis of the current situation revealed that the potential for operational synergies between tourism stakeholders, public and private, is not fully exploited.
A greater interaction between the National Office of Tourism (ONT), the regional tourist offices (RTOs) and other private sector players is necessary so that the common interests of all stakeholders are better represented and considered.
The main measures to ensure optimal governance for tourism coordination include an extension of the role of the ONT as a contact point with a strengthening of its role as national coordinator. It is also a professional representation of each regional RTOs through acting as single point of contact for municipalities or unions and the ONT.
For the ONT to play a full role of a coordinating body in the future, it is necessary to give it the legal form of an Economic Interest Grouping, enabling greater organisational flexibility and collaboration of stakeholders around their common interests. The constituent members of the new EIG are: the State, represented by the Ministry of Economy; regional tourist offices; Luxembourg City; Chamber of Commerce and the private sector as well as the accommodation sector. The EIG will be administered by a board of managers. The name chosen for the future EIG is "Luxembourg for Tourism".
