Sustainable Tourism Law

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM AND CONSUMER PROTECTION 109 • the consideration of tourism‘s potential to contribute directly or indirectly to the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and in particular with regard to inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all, sustainable consumption and production and the sustainable use of oceans and marine resources, as well as the terrestrial ecosystem; • the commitment to uphold the rationale of reconciling environmental protection, economic development and the fight against poverty in a sustainable manner, as formulated by the United Nations in 1992 at the “Earth Summit” of Rio de Janeiro, expressed in Agenda 21, adopted on that occasion and reiterated by the “Earth Summits” of Johannesburg in 2002 and Rio in 2012 (Rio + 20); or • the aim to promote responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. These recitals give the impression that sustainability is a key focus of the Convention. However, a legal analysis must not confine itself to the recitals but has to consider the binding provisions as laid down in the Articles of the Convention. For the purpose of this article, I can only pick out a few examples on how the provisions of the Convention influence the balance between consumer protection and sustainability. V.2. These provisions, inter alia, state that tourism activities should be “conducted in harmony with the attributes and traditions of the host regions and countries and in respect for their laws, practices and customs” 23 . This is one of the examples of vague and programmatic wording without clear criteria for an effective enforcement: „harmony“is a soft term which is difficult to define and therefore even more difficult to enforce. Even more disconcerting seems a further provision requiring tourists not to commit any criminal act when travelling or any act considered criminal by the laws of the country visited 24 . Do we need an international convention to enforce local criminal laws against tourists? Or, is it the aim of the Convention to „export“ the concept of what is considered a criminal act in a country receiving a tourist to the country of origin of the tourist? Both aspects are problematic but 23 Article 4 paragraph (2). 24 Article 4 paragraph (5).