Tourism Law in Europe

5 provisions of the Constitution may be relevant to the tourism area. However, first of all the most actual provision of the Constitution is the freedom to move established in Article 32 of the Constitution 14 . The Constitution emphasises several aspects of the person’s right to move: the right to freely move inside and outside Lithuania, to live in Lithuania, provides safeguards for limitation of this right. Other provisions of the Constitution are also relevant to the tourism area, as for example provisions establishing the legal framework of national economy, i.e. establishing the freedom of individual economic activity and initiative, the obligation of the state to support economic efforts and initiative that are useful to society, by together allowing the state to regulate economic activity so that it serves the general welfare of the nation and enabling the state to protect the interests of the consumer (Article 46 of the Constitution); provisions ensuring freedom of culture and state support of culture, as well as protection of Lithuanian historical, artistic and cultural monuments and other culturally valuable objects (Article 42 of Constitution); as well as provisions safeguarding the natural environment, enabling a sustainable use of natural resources, protecting their restoration and increase (Article 54 of the Constitution). That and other related provisions are the main outlines determining the framework of regulation of tourism. Taking into account the peculiarities of tourism law, the Lithuanian tourism regulation is based on private and public law provisions which is consisted of several levels of regulation – the law and the secondary law (the rules approved by the Government and the rules approved by other institutions such as ministry or institution which is responsible for the implementation of tourism policy). The umbrella law in tourism area is the Law on Tourism, adopted in 1998. This law was the starting background in Lithuania for the formation of the regulation basis, reflecting the traditions of the Western countries in the field of tourism services 15 . The Law on Tourism reflects the regulation of the tourism as an economic activity, 14 This Article establishes: “A citizen may move and choose his place of residence in Lithuania freely and may leave Lithuania freely. These rights may not be restricted otherwise than by law and if it is necessary for the protection of the security of the State, the health of the people as well as for administration of justice. A citizen may not be prohibited from returning to Lithuania. Everyone who is Lithuanian may settle in Lithuania.”. 15 Bublienė,Danguolė;Navickaitė-Sakalauskienė,Ieva.ImplementationofthePackageTravelandLinkedTravelArrangementsDirective: Lithuanianexperience//CollectiveCommentaryontheNewPackageTravelDirective/editorsCarlosTorresetall.Estoril:ESHTE-Estoril HigherInstituteforTourismandHotelStudies,2020,p.983.