Sustainable Tourism Law

128 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM LAW and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions “ Europe, the world’s No 1 tourist destination – a new political framework for tourism in Europe ” [COM (2010) 352 final] ( With this communication, the European Commission intends to encourage a coordinated approach for initiatives linked to tourism and define a new framework for action to increase its competitiveness and its capacity for sustainable growth. It therefore proposes a number of European or multinational initiatives aimed at achieving these objectives, drawing in full on the Union’s competence in the field of tourism as introduced by the Lisbon Treaty ). Within the framework of the EU Spanish Presidency (First semester 2010) an informal Meeting of Ministers was held in Madrid 7 (April 14, 2010). A document known as “Madrid Declaration” was submitted under the motto “Towards a socially responsible tourism model” , with the aim of achieving a new scope of action between the different countries of the Union, deepening in areas such as the effective protection of consumers of tourist products by harmonizing the protection rules, considering the existence of a multiplicity of languages, regulations and legal systems 8 . This Communication, which incorporated the Madrid Declaration, allows the display of the strategies the European Union shall follow with regard to tourism policy. The Commission submits 21 actions that are grouped into four axes: 1) stimulate competitiveness in the European tourism sector 2) promote the development of sustainable, responsible and high-quality tourism, 3) consolidate the image and profile of Europe as a collection of sustainable and high-quality destinations and, 4) maximise the potential of EU financial policies and instruments for the development of tourism 9 . To stimulate competitiveness in the European tourism sector, a series of actions deserve to be highlighted: a) In order to stimulate competitiveness in the European tourism sector it is foreseen to: 1) Develop a coherent strategy for diversifying the promotion of tourist services and capitalise on Europe’s common heritage, particularly by creating a European heritage label, alongside actions such as European Heritage Days or the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage and 2) Encourage the integration into tourism strategies of ‘natural’ heritage, which will also benefit from labelling initiatives. 7 http://www.mityceu2010.es/j-reunion-turismo/es/index.php. 8 Vid. INSTITUTO DE TURISMO DE ESPAÑA Hacia una europolítica en turismo. Avances durante la presidencia española del Consejo de la Unión Europea , en Estudios Turísticos, núm. 184, 2010. 9 Vine. Opinion of the Committee of the Regions(OJEU n° C 104 of 02/04/2011 p. 0013 - 0017) and Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee (OJEU n° C 376 of 22/12/2011 P. 0044 - 0050).