Press Release: Tourism: Commission proposes joint efforts to increase sustainability

The European Commission issued a Communication, 'Basic orientations for the sustainability of European tourism', on 21 November 2003. The Communication calls for an EU-wide drive to enhance the economic, social and environmental sustainability of European tourism and 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.

http://ec.europa.eu/comm/enterprise/services/tourism/tourism-publications/coms/sustainability.pdf http://ec.europa.eu/comm/enterprise/services/tourism/tourism-publications/coms/sustainability.pdf

http://ec.europa.eu/comm/enterprise/services/tourism/index_en.htm http://ec.europa.eu/comm/enterprise/services/tourism/index_en.htm

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