The European Court of Auditors (ECA) published a report with the conclusions on the results of touristic projects co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The report shows that all of the projects examined provided positive results in one form or another and furthermore, 98% of projects continuing to be operational at the time of the audit.

ECA published the conclusions on whether European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) co-financed tourism projects were effective after doing a wide survey in nine Member States encompassing 26 regions. The audit concluded that all of the projects examined provided positive results in one form or another, with the majority being successful in several respects. In addition, the sustainability of project results was largely assured, with 98% of projects continuing to be operational at the time of the audit, and 94% of created or maintained jobs still existed at the end of the audits.

On the other hand, the EU support was instrumental in the projects being undertaken in 74% of the cases, and caused them to be modified in a further 20% of cases. 6% of the projects would have gone ahead without the EU funding. Based in these conclusions, the ECA makes a series of recommendations in its special report to enhance the use of ERDF funding. For instance, the Commission should encourage member states’ managing authorities to ensure that suitable objectives, targets and indicators are established at the grant application and decision stages to enable the selection of projects which are likely to be the most efficient, and to serve as a basis for the subsequent evaluation of the results they deliver.

Between 2000 and 2006, €4.6 billion in EU funds were allocated under the ERDF for physical investments in tourism. Tourism is the third largest economic sector worldwide and the largest service industry in the European Union (EU). The industry generates more than 5% of EU Gross Domestic Product, with approximately 1.8 million businesses employing an estimated 5.2% of the total labour force (9.7 million jobs), and even more when related sectors are taken into account.