Economic Impact and Institutional Position of Tourism in The European Union

European Union, in its six decades history, developed not only by increasing the number of member states and expanding the volume of the jurisdiction, but also the significant progress have been made in deepening the integration by intensification of the existing and creation of new policies and cooperation forms. The common policies and various forms of cooperation are implemented in order to meet the objectives of the European Union. In a ten-year strategy, named Europe 2020 which is proposed by the European Commission, main aims: "smart, sustainable, inclusive growth", are to be achieved with more efficient coordination of national and European policy. Tourism is recognized as one of the most important activity of a contemporary society and economic growth on global scale and it has become especially important in European countries. In the European Union according to the World Tourism Organization in 2012 realized 38.7% of total international tourist arrivals and 34.2% of total international tourism receipts, which allowed the European Union to become the most visited tourist region in the world. Furthermore, the data show that that tourism has huge importance for the economy development in the European Union. The direct contribution of tourism to the economy of the European Union, World Travel and Tourism Council is estimated at 3% of total GDP and if we take into account indirect and induced contributions, the total contribution of tourism to GDP is estimated 8,4% of total GDP. However, the role and importance of tourism is not the same in all Member States. It should also be emphasized that the European Union does not lead directly a common tourism policy although different European policies have a considerable impact on tourism. Therefore there is a need to analyse the economic impact of tourism in the European Union as a region, focusing on the differences in the contribution of tourism to GDP of different countries. On the other hand it is necessary to explore the historical development as well as current institutional position of tourism in the European Union. Considering the importance of tourism to the economy of the European Union and its current institutional position this paper aims to answer the question whether the European Union needs a common tourism policy.