Tourism Law in Europe

least, we consider that a basic state legislation in Spain would be desirable, which would serve as guidance to the Autonomous Communities, which in turn would allow the approval and implementation of legislation in the institutions whose specialty justified that self-regulation. III. International Organisations It is not possible to ignore the harmonising role of state legislation played by international organisations, whose decisions and conventions bind the Member States to the point of forcing them to reform their respective Constitutions. In fact, to this day, international organisations harmonise the regulation of certain legal institutions in an almost sideways fashion. III.1. The World Tourism Organization The World Tourism Organization (hereinafter UNWTO) is the specialised agency of the United Nations in charge of promoting responsible, sustainable and accessible tourism for all. It has 159 Member States, six associate states and two observers. We must not forget that, sometimes, bureaucracy and legislation – especially when it is compartmentalised – constitute an insurmountable barrier for tourism: tourist contracting, hotels and extra-hotel accommodations, tourist transport, intermediation and so on. Of the 17 objectives pursued by the UNWTO, only number 17 – featuring the item “Alliance to achieve the objectives” – can come close to our suggestion that this international organisation can serve as a basis and stimulus for the approach to the Member States legislation regarding tourism. This objective is described as follows: Due to its cross-sectoral nature, tourism has the ability to strengthen public-private partnerships and to engage multiple stakeholders – international, national, regional and local – to work together to achieve the SDGs and other common goals. Indeed, public- private cooperation and partnerships are a necessary and essential foundation for the development of tourism, as is having a greater sensitivity regarding the role of tourism in fulfilling the post 2015 development agenda.