Sustainable Tourism Law

114 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM LAW development in rural, peripheral and underdeveloped areas. The facilities created for tourism purposes contribute to local development, while the jobs that are created or maintained may contribute to counteract industrial or rural decline. Sustainable tourism involves the preservation and rehabilitation of cultural and natural heritage, from art to local gastronomy or the conservation of biodiversity. However, the concentration of tourist activity in relatively short holiday periods (seasonality) and specific areas has caused negative effects on the environment (deterioration of natural resources through the destruction of forests and soil erosion, excessive occupation and coastal development, pollution of beaches, noise, removal of the cultural heritage and social customs, etc.). In other words, tourism has transformed geography and traditions. The Manila Declaration on World Tourism , approved by the World Tourism Conference on October 10, 1980, already acknowledged in paragraph 18) that tourism resources available in the countries are simultaneously made of space, facilities and values. The meeting of tourism needs shall not constitute a threat to the social and economic interests of the populations of the tourist regions, nor to the environment, especially the natural resources, or the historical and cultural sites. All tourist resources belong to World Heritage; that is why the Acapulco Document , approved in 1982, recommends thus the protection and preservation of the environment, the ecological structure and the natural, historic and cultural heritage of the country. During the eighties, we witnessed changes in the approaches and preferences of tourists when planning their trip. On the one hand, the duration of trips was reduced, and on the other hand, there were more offers to enjoy, emerging products (rural tourism, ecotourism, cultural tourism, active tourism, etc.) and tourist destinations. To these factors we must add the increase of ecological awareness in advanced societies. In almost all of them, there are concerns regarding issues such as “the hole in the ozone layer”, “the greenhouse effect”, “the desertification”, or the “biological biodiversity conservation”. The increase of tourist supply and demand is not unlimited in any tourist destination. If the limits are ignored, destinations will be seriously devalued and, consequently, tourist activity will be compromised (NAVARRO JURADO). It is not too far-fetched to predict that, in the not too distant future, only tourism businesses committed to sustainability will be viable. The protection of the environment and tourism are intimately linked. The twenty-first century tourist rejects crowded residential areas, dirt and noise, and looks for surroundings featuring remarkable qualities, which also applies to accommodations, leisure areas,