The European Commission, represented by Vice-President Antonio Tajani and the Federative Republic of Brazil, represented by Minister Patriota signed the "50000 tourists" Joint Declaration [74 KB] during the Fifth European Union-Brazil  Summit in Brussels on 4 October 2011.
Tourism is a key sector of the European economy. It comprises a wide variety of products and destinations and involves many different stakeholders, both public and private, with areas of competence very decentralised, often at regional and local levels.
The EU tourism industry generates more than 5% of the EU GDP, with about 1,8 million enterprises employing around 5,2% of the total labour force (approximately 9,7 million jobs). When related sectors are taken into account, the estimated contribution of tourism to GDP creation is much higher: tourism indirectly generates more than 10% of the European Union's GDP and provides about 12% of the labour force.
The Lisbon Treaty acknowledges the importance of tourism outlining a specific competence for the European Union in this field and allowing for decisions to be taken by qualified majority. A specific article on tourism specifies that “the Union shall complement the action of the Member States in the tourism sector, in particular by promoting the competitiveness of Union undertakings in that sector