Today, several stakeholders of the EU tourism ecosystem took an important step to ensure trustworthy and reliable online reviews and ratings of hotels and other types of tourism accommodation, by endorsing the ‘Code of Conduct for Online Ratings and Reviews for Tourism Accommodation’.
The new guidelines Code aims to achieve greater transparency and reliability of online reviews for consumers and businesses in the tourism sector. This initiative will help distinguish between authentic reviews from guests who have stayed at experienced a location and those who have not, making tourists more informed when booking their holidays.
Initiated by the EU, the Code of Conduct has been co-created by stakeholders from the tourism ecosystem, particularly accommodation providers and online platforms.
Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism said: “Reliable online reviews are essential for trust in tourism. With this new Code of Conduct, we are raising the bar across Europe, ensuring that only genuine guests can leave reviews. This means clearer, fairer, more trustworthy, more transparent, and more reliable information for everyone. It is a win for travellers, a win for tourism accommodation providers, and a step forward for a more resilient tourism sector.”
