Since the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty on 1 December 2009, the European Union has the new role to promote the competitiveness of its tourism sector, its sustainable and quality-based development and the visibility of Europe as an outstanding tourist destination. These objectives, as highlighted by the Commission at the European Tourism Day, have key elements to be achieved by the promotion of “Cultural routes”.

Cultural routes and their contribution to tourism development have focused the Conference entitled "The role of European Heritage and cultural itineraries in the renewed European tourism policy", held in Brussels in occasion of the European Tourism Day 2010. European cultural routes have been highlighted as an authentic pan-European touristic product, which can be further developed into a comprehensive package, benefiting the industry and Europeans alike.

Reduce the concentration of tourists in few sites and promote new touristic destinations, overcome seasonality by proposing a new model of tourism and strengthening EU citizenship through the discovery of our common heritage are objectives that could be achieved through this new model of tourism as was pointed out by the Commission in its Communication "Europe, the world's Nº 1 tourist destination, a new political framework for tourism in Europe", where the need of promoting cultural itineraries is specifically mentioned.

The Cultural Routes programme launched by the Council of Europe in 1987, already had as initial concept to demonstrate in a visible way, by means of a journey through space and time, how the heritage of the different countries of Europe represented a shared cultural heritage. Examples of such routes include the Iron Curtain Trail, the Phoenician Route, the route of the Olive tree, and others.

Besides, twenty five tourist destinations from across Europe will be awarded the title of “2010 European Destination of Excellence in Aquatic Tourism” in Brussels. Scenic waterside locations in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Slovenia and Turkey will receive the European Destination of Excellence (EDEN) award due to the innovative approaches and sustainable manner in which they managed and promoted their tourism offer.

In the margins of the conference two Memoranda of Understanding for jointly take on board some initiatives in the tourism filed:

• Italy and France, which could soon be joined by UK and Switzerland, signed a memorandum that engages them to develop a common long-term strategy for the protection and promotion of cultural routes, starting with the "Via Francigena", an ancient pilgrimage going from Canterbury to Rome.
• Spain, Italy and France also agreed on a "European Passion" logo for the joint marketing of their tourism offer in the BRIC markets.