Sustainable Tourism Law

THE BINDING FORCE OF LEGISLATIVE INSTRUMENTS 179 V. HOW TO STRENGTHEN THE BINDING FORCE OF THE NORMATIVE INSTRUMENTS IN THE MATTER OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM? Soft Law is not part of a binding regime. Therefore we advocate the strengthening of the binding force of legal instruments at three levels: a) At the international level : through the ratification of international conventions or treaties which show a high degree of State commitment. For example, the UNWTO Convention on Tourism Ethics (2017) converts the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism (1999) into a binding document to advance the ethical components of tourism. The document covers the responsibilities of all stakeholders in the development of sustainable tourism, providing a framework that recommends an ethical and sustainable modus operandi including the right to tourism, freedom of movement for tourists and the rights of employees and professionals. Nevertheless, the adoption of a Convention does not imply an immediate obligation for the Member States. States should express their consent to be bound by the Convention. When ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to the Convention, a State Party shall take all necessary measures, in accordance with their national laws and practices, in order to implement the requirements in the standards of the Convention. The Scope and articles of the Draft UNWTO Convention for the Protection of Tourists and the Rights and Obligations of Service Providers (2017) are a good example of it: II. Scope of the Guidelines: The adoption of a text by the 22nd session of the General Assembly will not imply in any way an immediate obligation for member States to comply with the provisions of the corresponding Convention. Accordingly, if a final text is adopted by the General Assembly, it will be up to any member State, if it so wishes and in accordance with its constitutional procedures and practice, to express its consent to be bound by a Convention through the deposit of an instrument of ratification, approval, acceptance or accession to the Secretary-General of the UNWTO.