In a Communication issued today, the European Commission calls for an EU-wide drive to enhance the economic, social and…
In a Communication issued today, the European Commission calls for an EU-wide drive to enhance the economic, social and environmental sustainability of European tourism. The Communication Basic orientations for the sustainability of European tourism emphasises the need to ensure the consistency of various Community policies and measures affecting the sustainability of tourism and the competitiveness of the industry.
It also calls for pro-active co-operation among tourism enterprises, tourist destinations and national, regional and local authorities to address challenges such as growing demand and changing preferences whilst at the same time increasing revenues. The sustainability drive needs to address the social responsibility of tourism enterprises, the possibility for all citizens to participate in tourism, good employment opportunities in the sector and benefits from tourism activities for local communities.
It also entails preserving Europe`s cultural integrity, and incorporating environmental issues and protecting heritage resources in tourism measures. To stimulate efforts in this field, the Commission intends to establish a Tourism Sustainability Group, in which representatives from all territorial and administrative levels will set out guidelines for the sector.
Erkki Liikanen, European Enterprise Commissioner, said: Tourism is an important and expanding sector of the EU economy. It can help to sustain high and stable growth and employment rates. Good public and private governance is vital to sustain the progress of the sector. With destination-specific strategies, tourism activity can be realigned to meet new challenges and demands.
EU-wide initiatives include:
- stimulating the coherence and effective contribution of EU policies, and of complementary measures in the sphere of tourism;
- actively participating in global and international processes, interlinking with international governmental bodies, and bringing together the activities of major international players;
- practising and promoting the principles of good governance; and
- helping European, national, regional and local private and public stakeholders to assume their responsibilities for the sustainability of tourism production.
The Tourism Sustainability Group will have the task of drafting a detailed framework for action, which should allocate specific activities to the individual stakeholder groups. Specific initiatives, to be assisted by appropriate information tools and networks, will include activities that address tourism consumption patterns and enhance sustainability in the tourism value chain and destinations.
In a global context, the EU approach is to press for the sustainability of tourism to be addressed in policies on trade assistance to the developing countries. It also seeks reinforced co-operation with UN bodies and other international organisations with regard to tourism sustainability.
This initiative is a concrete follow-up to one of the ten measures that the Commission announced in its Communication `Working together for the future of European tourism adopted two years ago (see IP/01/1582).
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
