HOTREC 74th General Assembly held in Tallinn...

TÜROB Vice President Armin Zerunyan attended the 74th General Assembly Meeting of the Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Cafés in Europe (HOTREC), held in the city of Tallinn, Estonia.

The HOTREC General Assembly began in Tallinn on 27 April with the opening speech by President Susanne Kraus Winkler. It continued with host Estonian Hotel Association President Loodma providing some information about Estonia.

The topics discussed on the first day of the General Assembly were as follows;

- The decisions of the Malta General Assembly and the reports of the last six months were evaluated.
- Iceland joined HOTREC and the Hotelstars Union.
- Bulgaria withdrew from HOTREC.
- TÜROFED's suspended membership was extended, and it was agreed that the outstanding payments should be made before the next General Assembly.
- The future of the sector and Europe's competitiveness in tourism were discussed.
- HOTREC's book direct campaign was raised again, and it was decided that the initiative should be revived by the member associations.
- The EU commission conducted a study on reservation websites and decided to penalize/shut down many sites due to misleading/false content.
- Current developments regarding the Collaborative Economy (short-term rental homes) were evaluated.
- Developments on food waste, nutrition, and nightlife regulations were evaluated.
- Developments on business and occupational safety were evaluated.
- Standards, VAT, and visa regimes were evaluated.
- Developments on alcohol strategy, Consumer Affairs, the Accessibility Act, and Sustainability were evaluated.