Following the continuous involvement in all the preparatory consultations for the EU Tourism Strategy, at the beginning of 2026 the European Exhibition Industry Alliance (EEIA) participated in a series of high-level EU events and meetings, focused on the future of European tourism.

On 26th of January, the European Commission hosted the European Tourism Day 2026, bringing together industry stakeholders, policymakers and EU institutions to review recent policy developments and define priorities for the forthcoming EU Strategy for Sustainable Tourism. 

On the 27th of January, EEIA was invited, together with other stakeholders, European associations and National and international institutions, to take part in the "Shaping Destination Europe" stakeholder meeting at the European Commission — a dedicated forum for key players across the European tourism ecosystem to contribute to shaping the EU's strategic direction for tourism destinations.
EEIA used both occasions to highlight the relevance of business travel and especially Business events and exhibitions travel within the broader tourism landscape. As Europe's leading B2B platform sector — home to the majority of the world's top international trade fairs and a major driver of inbound business travel — the exhibition industry is a cornerstone of Europe's visitor economy, generating significant economic benefits for innovation and business for SMEs, as well as for host cities and regions. EEIA also called for collecting better statistics on the exhibition and events sector, highlighting the business events and business travel share separately within the tourism, travel and mobility statistics on EU and national level.