Sustainable Tourism Law

EVOLUTION OF SUSTAINABILITY IN THE EUROPEAN UNION TOURISM POLICY 131 partnerships and networks, assess the need for EU action on provisions for nautical tourism safety equipment, promote ecotourism using the European Eco-Management and Audit Scheme, implementation of the Protocol of the Barcelona Convention, promote strategies on waste prevention andmanagement, etc. CONCLUSIONS In short, tourism activity is the third most important socio-economic activity in the EU and generates almost 6% of its GDP, employing more than ten million people in the EU. It is a key economic activity in the world and also represents an alternative for the life of many small municipalities, aware of the fact that traditional jobs are disappearing. Satisfying the needs of tourists should not be a threat to the environment, nor to local regions, nor to the cultural legacy of each population. Over time, the “responsible tourist” model that prefers to consume local products, share and learn from the host community, contribute to the conservation and regeneration of ecosystems and respect diversity will prevail. In short, the twenty-first century tourist will reject destinations with poor environmental quality. The effort made by all public and private institutions (tourism companies) in favour of sustainable tourism policies is undeniable, but it is also true that progress is slower than desired. The European tourism sector faces the challenge of adopting a sustainable management, reducing the seasonality of demand and improving the quality of products and jobs. It is a fact that global society has started to take “climate change” very seriously, while other threats such as the outbreaks of “tourist phobia” will help implement rigorous measures committed to sustainability. The declaration of year 2017 as “International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development” by the United Nations is certainly permeating on a wider scale than other previous statements. In the EU there has been no explicit tourism policy that could be compared to other policies, such as the Common Agrarian Policy (CAP) or the regional policy. But different agencies have published distinct documents, which are aforementioned, that have set the basic guidelines of what could be termed as a Community tourism policy (BENGOECHEA). The lack of a specific legal basis for tourism prior to the Lisbon Treaty has not created any obstacles for the EU’s attempts to undertake a wide and diverse range of measures with an impact on the tourism sector.