Attracting more than one third of all tourism business in Europe, coastal areas are important for growth and jobs, in particular for young people, since 45% of tourism workers are between 16 and 35 years old[11].

Member States such as Poland, the Netherlands or Germany would face more than €500 million of additional costs for the road transport of traded goods; Spain or the Czech Republic would see their businesses paying more than €200 million in additional costs; Border controls would cost the 1.7 million cross-border workers, or the firms that employ them, between €2.5 and €4.5 billion in terms of time lost; At least 13 million tourist nights could be lost, with a total cost of €1.2 billion; At least €1.1 billion of administrative costs would have to be paid by governments due to the need for increased staff for border controls.

T-476/12 Saint-Gobain Glass Deutschland GmbH v Commission || T-482/12 Internationaler Hilfsfonds e.V.c v Commission || T-498/12 Tourisme Consortium Loutraki SA Gouvernement local - Loutraki SA - Club Hôtel et Hôtel Casino Loutraki et Entreprises Touristiques AE v Commission

Measures should be taken to avoid structural unemployment in tourism businesses, so as to improve both the quality and the stability of employment and the profitability of companies.

The tourism sector has significant potential for the development of entrepreneurial activity, as the vast majority of tourism businesses are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The Commission has already proposed that ecolabels should now also be given to services; this proposal should encourage some of the major "users" of the coastal zone such as tourism operators to adopt more sustainable practices in order to acquire an ecolabel.