Sustainable Tourism Law

SUSTAINABILITY AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN THE REGULATION 295 SUST INABILITY AND SOCIAL RESPONSABILITY IN HOSTING c.1. Urban planning: the last word The relation between tourism and urban planning, as well as its influence on the territory, is unavoidable. All tourism activities are carried out and located on the territory. If we want a sustainable tourism, the area where the tourism activity is going to be carried out requires higher levels of adequacy 70 . On the other hand, due to the peculiarities of tourism, an active intervention may be needed, mainly in rare and fragile territories with unique natural values or those being excessively exploited. In these cases, the concern about channelling rationally the tourist phenomenon is obvious 71 . From the perspective of the distribution of competences among the different public administrations, the significance of the local level has already been admitted (reserved for urban planning). Thus, the problems of neighbourhood coexistence arisen from the uncontrolled proliferation of this kind of accommodation are causing some city councils to not grant new licences on the grounds of the lack of an adequate environmental communication 72 . In this sense, the Galician decree provides that the city councils can limit the maximum number of tourist dwellings per building or area 73 . Likewise, it stipulates that the use as a tourist dwelling is not possible if it is prohibited by the land use planning of the area where it is located 74 . The Autonomous Community of Asturias forces the operating companies (that will be responsible for the compliance) to prove that the tourism use of the dwellings is not forbidden by the urban planning of the area where it is located 75 . Aragon requires, at least, a declaration of responsibility about the compatibility of use with the urban planning of the municipality 76 . Catalonia also requires a mandatory urban planning 77 report and establishes that the tourism use of the dwelling is not possible if it is prohibited by the land use planning of the area where it is located 78 . It should be noted that these references in the decrees regulating this kind of accommodation are being indiscriminately challenged before the courts by the 70 GARCÍA SAURA, P.J., Desarrollo sostenible y Turismo. Análisis del régimen jurídico medioambiental de la legislación turística española , Aranzadi, 2007. 71 SUAY RINCON, J., “Turismo y urbanismo: la ordenación turística del espacio. El caso de Canarias”, in BLANQUER CRIADO (Dir.). Ordenación y gestión del territorio turístico , Cañada Blanch, 2002, Valencia, p. 287. 72 Vid. De la Encarnación, A.M., El alojamiento colaborativo…, p. 23. 73 Art. 5.6 Decree Galicia. 74 Art. 41.5 Decree Galicia. 75 Art. 27.b) Decree Asturias. 76 Art 14.2.e) Decree Aragon. 77 Art. 8 Decree Catalonia. 78 Art. 68.6 Decree Catalonia.