Festa and carnival volunteers should get extra leave days, PL MEP says

Labour MEP Daniel Attard wants the EU to legislate for extra leave days for volunteers who “are the backbone of our intangible cultural heritage”.

“Many volunteers use their own vacation leave to build floats, fabricate fireworks and organise feasts. Instead of spending that time with family and friends like the rest of us, they are sustaining our traditions and identity instead,” he said.

Encouraging cultural volunteering is one proposal in a report about sustainable tourism. Creating an EU-wide hospitality skills pass and improving connectivity to lesser-travelled parts of Europe are other proposals put forward in Attard’s report.

Speaking to Times of Malta, Attard said cultural volunteering is more than just a “hobby” as it directly contributes to the cultural product of governments across the European Union.

Providing cultural volunteering leave across the EU would not only recognise the work of those who give up their free time to maintain national and European identities but also help address “the growing challenge of declining volunteering”.

In his report to the European Parliament’s transport and tourism committee (TRAN), Attard calls on the European Commission and EU states “to propose a baseline framework for leave that enables individuals to engage in cultural volunteering”.

Vacation days are a shared competence where the EU sets minimum standards while individual member states define the specific entitlements. The Working Time Directive mandates at least 20 days of paid annual leave for all employers while Malta, for example, offers more than that because of its 14 public holidays. 

He is also proposing an EU fund to support Europe’s heritage. Doing so could eventually pave the way for some enthusiasts to become professionals through a ‘Passion to Profession’ scheme.

In Malta, several key cultural events rely mainly on the work of volunteers, including float builders for carnival, festa organisers, people working in fireworks factories and the annual Good Friday procession across many towns.

Support for electric and hybrid ferries

The report also highlights how eight out of every 10 tourists visit only 10% of the globe’s destinations.

Geographic isolation, limited infrastructure, and the high cost and travel time required to reach them are among the reasons cited in the report.

To combat this in Europe, the report proposes improving cross-border rail travel across the EU and supporting electric and hybrid ferries with shore power for islands and peripheral territories.

Efficient transport connections can alleviate pressure on tourist hotspots and improve access to emerging destinations, the report says.

The report also calls for the introduction of an EU-wide skills card for the hospitality industry, which would document accredited training and professional experience.

It suggests that EU programmes such as Erasmus+ deliver training to those in the industry.

Those initiatives would help combat the EU-wide skills shortage in hospitality and tourism, the report says. 

Attard is the European Parliament's lead negotiator on Sustainable Tourism. 

Once amended and approved by the TRAN committee, the report will be taken to a vote in the parliament.