Press releases

spiritsEUROPE stands ready to support hospitality & tourism businesses

17 March 2021 - Today, spiritsEUROPE launches its #WeStandReady campaign and calls for coordinated actions that will lead the way to a safe re-opening as well as to a sustainable and long-term recovery of the hospitality and tourism sectors in Europe.

It has been a year since Europe’s bars, restaurants and cafés had to close their doors. As a result, the hospitality and tourism sectors are faced with enormous challenges and the prospect of indefinite closures. Businesses and workers cannot wait any longer and are in urgent need of practical assistance.

The past year has shown that Europe needs clear and coordinated action as well as a vision for how the sectors can recover and grow again. Only by working together will we be able to reopen bars, cafés and restaurants in a sustainable way. To support these aims, spiritsEUROPE believes that we need to work towards achieving the following objectives:

• Develop an EU Task Force and Recovery Fund bringing together cross-sector representatives as well as national Ministers and the European Commission
• Provide operators with the best guidance on how to open safely, which fully reflects everything we have learned about COVID over the past year
• Support the development of a vision for long-term recovery

Commenting on the launch of #WeStandReady, Ulrich Adam, Director General of spiritsEUROPE, said:

“The hospitality and tourism sectors do not just support millions of jobs in Europe, they are part of our heritage and often form the backbone of our communities. Hospitality - and the whole supply chain - need to be put at the heart of the EU recovery fund and national recovery plans. In the short term, operators must be provided with the best guidance on how to operate safely to ensure a sustainable reopening strategy. All this needs to happen while we work on a vision for long-term recovery.”

In this spirit, spiritsEUROPE recently joined the Tourism Manifesto alliance and the Hospitality alliance to develop concrete solutions to the pressing problems of the hospitality and tourism sectors.

“We are proud to work with our partners across the hospitality and tourism sectors to develop concrete solutions and help businesses and workers get the practical supports they need. Through #WeStandReady, we want to reiterate our willingness to do so and hope that others will follow our call”, Ulrich Adam added.

In the coming months, spiritsEurope and its members pledge to:

• Listen to our customers and support the hospitality sector however we can, as key value chain partner
• Help them get the support from policymakers that they need
• Champion ‘safe socialising’ that recognises the unique nature of hospitality settings
• Collaborate with stakeholders on a sustainable vision for hospitality post-pandemic
• #WeStandReady, count us in!

With our partners we are working towards the sustainable reopening of Europe’s hospitality sector. Join our movement to ensure a bright future for workers, communities and our culture.

NOTES TO EDITORS

For further information, please contact: Ulrich Adam, Director General - Tel: + 32 (2) 477636751 - adam@spirits.eu

• spiritsEUROPE proudly represents the EU spirits sector, one of Europe’s most valuable agri-food export sectors and, with it, the interests of 29 associations of spirits producers as well as 10 leading multinational companies.
• To read more about our #WeStandReady campaign, please follow: https://westandready.eu/