Europe is having a remarkable summer. According to the European Travel Commission, 82% of Europeans plan to travel between April and September this year, the highest level recorded since 2020 and a full ten points up on last year. One third of all the tourism nights Europeans spend in a year are compressed into July and August alone. And behind almost every one of those nights stands a small business: the EU's core tourism industry is made up of 2.3 million businesses, mainly small and medium sized enterprises, employing around 12.3 million people and contributing 10% of the EU's GDP.
Right now, those businesses are flat out. The family hotel is fully booked, the harbour cafe is turning tables, the tour operator is answering enquiries late into the evening. Peak season is when a tourism business earns its year.
It is also when a quiet problem stays hidden.
Across Europe, a growing number of the owners serving this record demand have no plan for who takes over when they step back. It is easy to see why. In July there is simply no time to think beyond the next changeover day. When the season ends, the off season is swallowed by recovery, repairs and preparation for the next one. Succession is important but never urgent, so it slides another year. And another.
The consequences only become visible when it is too late. Research at European level shows that succession is often not prepared in time, and some family businesses simply close when ownership changes. When that happens in tourism, a destination does not just lose a company. It loses jobs, local knowledge built over decades, and a piece of the character that made people want to visit in the first place.
There is a generational twist to this summer's figures too. Young Europeans are driving the record demand, with travel intentions among 18- to 24-year-olds up 21% on last year. The next generation is arriving in force as customers. The question is whether they will also arrive as owners.
Here is the good news: the same seasonal rhythm that makes summer so demanding gives tourism businesses something most sectors lack, a natural planning structure. Succession does not need a spare month. It needs a season used deliberately.
It could look like this.
October, one conversation. Once the rush has passed, sit down with the people who matter, whether that is family, a long serving colleague or a trusted advisor. Nothing formal. Just the question of what the next five years should look like.
November, one readiness check. Take the NextGEN Tourism Digital Succession Readiness Assessment. In a short-guided session, it shows you your real starting point, the strengths you did not know you had and the gaps that need attention.
Winter, one module. Work through a part of the training package that matches your biggest gap, whether that is financial and legal planning, preparing a successor, or communication between generations.
Spring, one decision. Before the bookings build again, agree a single concrete step for the year ahead and put a date on it.
One conversation, one assessment, one module, one decision. That is a succession plan taking shape, fitted around the rhythm of a real tourism business rather than fighting against it.
This summer, Europe's family run tourism businesses are proving once again how much the continent depends on them. The best way to honour that is to make sure they are still here, still family run and still thriving, for the summers to come.
Explore the Succession Readiness Assessment Tool and training resources on the NextGEN Tourism Knowledge Hub.
Sources: European Travel Commission, Monitoring Sentiment for Intra-European Travel, Wave 24 (2026); Eurostat, Seasonality in Tourism Demand; European Parliament, Fact Sheet on Tourism.