Tourism Law in Europe

3 The public institution “Travel Lithuania” is a non-profit public legal entity with limited civil liability, the owner of which is the state, and the rights and obligations of the owner are implemented by the Ministry of Economy and Innovation. The role of municipalities in the development of tourism is also very important. In Lithuania, municipalities promote tourism business as a means of job creation and employment; implements the measures of the national development programmes implementing the objectives of the progress of the tourism policy through the municipal planning documents; prepares and implements public tourism and recreation infrastructure projects; establish municipal tourism information centre’s; plans and implements measures necessary for the protection of recreational territories, development of recreation and tourism activities in these territories, manages the accounting of recreational territories, approves regulations for the use of recreational territories and performs functions established in other legal acts regulating tourism activities (Article 36 of the Law on Tourism of the Republic of Lithuania). Lithuania has a permanent Tourism Council , which operates in accordance with the regulations of the Tourism Council approved by the Minister of Economy and Innovation. This Council examines the issues of tourism development and promotion in Lithuania, submits proposals to the institutions performing tourism management functions (Article 41 of the Law on Tourism of the Republic of Lithuania). There are also several non-governmental organisations in the tourism sector, such as the Lithuanian Countryside Tourism Association, Lithuanian Tourism Association, the Lithuanian Hotel and Restaurant Association, the Chamber of Tourism of the Republic of Lithuania and the National Association of Sanatoriums and Rehabilitation Institutions. The Lithuanian Countryside Tourism Association (LCTA) is national level association uniting 60% of countryside tourism service providers in Lithuanian, having more than 400 members. Main goals and activities of the association are to represent interests of the Association members at management institutions and other organisations, to coordinate the activities of the Association members developing rural tourism in Lithuania and to analyse the demand for rural tourism services within the country and abroad. LCTA also organises workshops, conferences, fairs, exhibitions, to prepare methodical means and information bulletins on