INE joins the Active Tourism Coalition to strengthen the role of inland waterways in Europe’s Sustainable Tourism future
02 March 2026
INE is pleased to announce that it has joined the Active Tourism Coalition, a network of 20 European organisations advocating for stronger recognition of active tourism in the EU’s future tourism policies.
Active tourism refers to accessible physical activity for mobility, recreation and leisure. It includes cycling, walking, hiking, and water-based activities, enabling visitors to experience destinations at a human scale. This form of tourism delivers low environmental impact, high social value, and fosters strong connections with local landscapes, cultures, and communities.
In preparation of the upcoming EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy, the Coalition presented a number of proposals to ensure that active tourism plays a central role in shaping a more resilient and sustainable tourism ecosystem.
Several of these proposals are directly relevant to INE and the inland navigation sector, including:
• Recognition and promotion of active tourism in and along inland waterways and waterway routes, highlighting their potential as sustainable mobility and recreation corridors.
• Integrated development of cycling and walking routes connected to waterways, strengthening multimodal, low-carbon tourism networks across regions.
• Sustainable management of waterways, balancing tourism development with environmental protection and biodiversity objectives.
• Climate resilience of tourism infrastructure, ensuring waterways and related infrastructure are adapted to climate impacts such as droughts and flooding.
• Support for rural and regional development, leveraging waterways as drivers of local economies and community-based tourism.
These priorities strongly align with INE’s contribution to the EU Sustainable Tourism Strategy, which emphasized waterways as multifunctional infrastructure that can contribute to creating a sustainable, competitive, and resilient tourism model.
By joining the Active Tourism Coalition, INE reinforces its commitment to positioning inland waterways at the heart of Europe’s sustainable tourism transition.
Read more about the Active Tourism Coalition HERE.
