Lidija Bajarūnienė — European Tourism Governance Award 2026 © European Hotel Awards 2026
BOARD’S CHOICE 2026 — Tourism leadership increasingly depends on cooperation
European tourism is shaped by forces that rarely stop at national borders. Transport, climate, visitor flows, digital markets, economic cycles and geopolitical change all affect destinations simultaneously. Effective tourism policy therefore requires more than promotion. It requires coordination, evidence, continuity and the ability to build common direction between institutions.
Lidija Bajarūnienė, Vice-President of the European Travel Commission, receives the European Tourism Governance Award 2026 from the European Hotel Awards for a career connecting national tourism policy, European cooperation and international representation.
European Tourism Governance Award 2026
Lidija Bajarūnienė — Vilnius, Lithuania
Vice-President — European Travel Commission
European tourism governance increasingly depends on coordination across institutions and borders © European Travel Commission
Governance beyond visitor numbers
The success of a destination can no longer be understood through volume alone. Tourism creates value when it supports economic activity while remaining compatible with local communities, resources and long-term destination quality.
This requires a more sophisticated form of governance. Public institutions and tourism organisations must be able to analyse demand, coordinate stakeholders, manage resilience and make choices about how growth is distributed and sustained.
Lidija Bajarūnienė’s professional experience in tourism policy and international cooperation places her directly within this evolution.
Promotion can create demand, but resilient destinations also need coordination, shared intelligence and long-term policy.
The European Travel Commission provides a framework for cooperation between national tourism organisations © European Travel Commission
From national experience to a European perspective
Her career includes more than two decades of experience in tourism policy, international cooperation and communication, including leadership within Lithuania’s national tourism development structures. This background connects practical destination experience with the broader policy discussions taking place at European and international level.
As Vice-President of the European Travel Commission, that perspective contributes to cooperation between national tourism organisations and to a shared understanding of the challenges facing European destinations.
The value of such leadership lies less in individual visibility than in the ability to connect institutions, knowledge and priorities over time.
International representation connects national priorities with shared European tourism objectives © European Travel Commission
Why tourism governance matters to hospitality
The European Hotel Awards recognise tourism governance because hotels do not operate in isolation. Their performance depends on destination reputation, accessibility, public-private cooperation, market knowledge and the resilience of the tourism ecosystem around them.
European Tourism Governance Award 2026 therefore expands the EHA perspective beyond the hotel itself while remaining directly connected to hospitality. It acknowledges the institutional work that helps create stable conditions for travel and for the businesses that receive travellers.
By recognising Lidija Bajarūnienė, the European Hotel Awards highlight a form of leadership based on cooperation and continuity — qualities that are increasingly important as Europe seeks to balance competitiveness, sustainability and the long-term value of tourism.
Official 2026 laureate film
https://youtu.be/pLt_MSXzChUM
Discover the Main Awards dedicated to excellence across European hospitality and visit the Hall of Fame to explore previous laureates.
Tags: European Hotel Awards, European Tourism, European Tourism Governance Award 2026, European Travel Commission, Lidija Bajarūnienė, Lithuania, Tourism Governance, Vilnius
