Sustainable Tourism Law

SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN THE DANUBE REGION 699 the third energy package, the “Green for Growth Fund Southeast Europe” and the Europe 2020 Strategy 42 . (3) To promote culture and tourism, people to people contacts – as the most international river basin in the world, the Danube features numerous touristic and heritage highlights. These include world class cities along the Danube River as well as attractive landscapes (e.g. the Delta as a UNESCO World Heritage Site). They range from the developed tourism destination of the Austrian Wachau to emerging destinations such as the Iron Gate, the Carpathians and the Delta. In terms of history and culture, people throughout the Danube region have a shared heritage. As appropriate, the strategy should use these ties as levers to promote further cultural and civil society cooperation. The regional and local level has an important role to play in this context. The implementation of this priority can also facilitate the tourism development potential in the whole Danube region through the development of joint touristic products and promotional policy. In line with international conventions in the field of culture (with special reference to the UNESCO Conventions) culture can promote values of inclusiveness, openness, and acceptance of the other based on mutual respect 43 . Protecting the Environment in the Danube Region – Environmental aspect is taken into account in many sectors covered by this Strategy, either voluntarily or, when that is not the case, through legislative requirements (e.g. Environmental Impact Assessment Directive, Birds or Habitats Directives, etc). Nevertheless, a specific pillar dedicated to the environment in the Danube Strategy focuses on three Priority Areas: (1) To restore and maintain the quality of waters – water management is a central issue to the Danube Region, especially since water does not recognise borders and its management requires strong coordination and cooperation across countries and across sectors. This is a key practical aspect, illustrating the territorial cohesion objective now enshrined in the Lisbon Treaty. Such coordination is already facilitated through the 42 Ibid, p. 18, 19. 43 Ibid, p. 26.