The food and drink sector is vital to Europe’s economic growth and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Its social and economic importance has been brought into clear focus by COVID-19. While the sector has showed remarkable strength to ensure safe food supplies and keep Europe’s citizens fed, some key parts of its supply chain have been severely impacted due to lockdown measures, not least the hospitality sector. With restaurants, bars and hotels closed for months and reopening for business at slow pace, the soft drinks industry has also been significantly affected and is now facing some challenges, including new consumer behaviours and growing concerns about health and environmental sustainability.
Joining forces with the hospitality sector to call on the EU institutions for a safe and sustainable recovery
As we recover from the COVID-19 impact, our industry has joined the #TogetherForHospitality campaign and has worked hand in hand with the hospitality sector to call on the EU institutions for supportive measures to ensure a safe, smooth and sustainable recovery.
On 27 April 2021, we joined the call for a stronger focus by the European Institutions on the hospitality sector’s swift and solid recovery. This was followed by another call on 9 June 2021 with 11 other hospitality and tourism associations to establish a multi-stakeholder dialogue at EU level to support the sector’s reopening and future recovery. The joint statement was published in the European Parliament magazine.
On 3 May 2021, we explained what our industry needs to continue to be competitive and sustainable in the wake of COVID-19 in an article on Travel Tomorrow.
