Sustainable Tourism Law

EVOLUTION OF SUSTAINABILITY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION TOURISM POLICY 119 declared 1990 as European Year of Tourism (EYT), by Decision 89/46 CEE, of December 21 1988 (January 21, 1989), according to the proposal of the Commission [COM (88) 413 final], subsequently modified in relation to its budget [COM (88) 803 final]. The objectives of the European Year of Tourism are: to prepare the arrival of a great space without internal borders (taking advantage of the integrating role of tourism in the creation of a Europe that belongs to its citizens) and highlight the economic and social importance of the tourism sector. To achieve these objectives, a programme of coordinated actions was elaborated between the Community, themember states and private organizations, aimed especially at: 5) Promoting greater knowledge among the citizens of the member states, particularly young people, about the cultures and life-styles of the other member states. 6) Promoting a better distribution of tourism over time and location while respecting the quality of the environment, particularly by encouraging the staggering of holidays and the development of alternatives to mass tourism, and of new destinations and new forms of tourism . 7) Promoting intra-Community tourism, particularly by facilitating the movement of travellers and tourism from third countries to Europe. In March 1991, the Commission presented the Report on the results of the European Year of Tourism [COM (91) 95 final], which made quite a positive assessment on the fulfilment of the intended objectives. The Report recognizes that environment awareness was one of the most important purposes of that year. Many pilot projects contributed to the elaboration and promotion of a “soft” and ecological tourism and made the different tourism actors aware of the importance of environmental conservation when developing infrastructures and tourist services. All in all, support was given to the creation of information networks to encourage the sharing of experiences in this sector. Finally, the European Parliament in the Resolution of 13 July 1990 on the measures needed to protect the environment from potential damage caused by mass tourism, as part of the European Year of Tourism , urged the member states and the Commission to coordinate policies on tourism and environmental protection and, at the same time, asked the Commission to condition the granting of funds to tourism projects that were in compliance with environmental protection. In the same context, the Resolution of June 12, 1991 on the danger to the natural