Research study on Tourism and the sharing economy: challenges and opportunities

Client: European Parliament, Directorate General for Internal Policies, Policy Department B: Structural and Cohesion Policies, Transport and Tourism

The impacts, challenges and opportunities caused by the fast-growing sharing economy in tourism are assessed. The report describes the definition, size, and development of the sharing (or collaborative) economy, assessing the (dis-) advantages for the tourism sector, concluding with policy analysis and recommendations. Large parts of the sharing economy are affecting the tourism sector, although its share is very small. The main challenges are taxation and regulation; main opportunities are the innovative power and enhanced competition.