Sustainable Tourism Law

486 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM LAW That would give us the basis to promote legislation based on sustainable tourism. To understand this phrase, we must take into account what was established in the Sustainable Tourism Charter signed in Lanzarote in 1995: “ 1. Tourism development shall be based on criteria of sustainability, which means that it must be ecologically bearable in the long term, economically viable, as well as ethically and socially equitable for the local communities. (…) 11. Environmentally and culturally vulnerable spaces, both now and in the future, shall be given special priority in the matter of technical cooperation and financial aid for sustainable tourism development. Similarly, special treatment should be given to spaces that have been degraded by obsolete and high impact tourism models. ” From there and from other meetings such as the one in Djerba, Tunisia, many more slogans emerged that serve as a basis for sustainable tourism and a challenge for the development of the legislation that will make it possible. The legislation has been delayed, so we must at least invoke the principles that help us solve the problems that arise in the operation of tourism. They help us satisfy those 1.3 billion international tourists who travel the world every year and, of course, the tourism receiving regions. In light of the above, I will mention eight principles that lead in the direction of guaranteeing the generalized expectations of tourists. These principles were recurrent in more than one thousand contracts of civil matter, from providers of tourist services grouped into seven categories of analysis: transport, accommodation, food and beverages, attractions, tourists, operators and activities. The duration of this exercise was two years, 2005-2007, in Cancun and the Riviera Maya, Mexico. Below, we will describe the eight principles identified. Principle of accessibility. We start from a perspective whereby in society no one is excluded from social communication. Therefore, any person anywhere in the world can have the expectation of enjoying tourism and, thus, it must be taken as fact that no one is excluded. That is, in this society one can have access to movement by land, air and sea in any direction, and in a condition of equal rights. In view of that, tourists expect that the law will allow and govern such access to their right to practice tourism as they intend. The challenge is that the law should provide the necessary conditions for everyone intending to practice tourism to be considered within the law. Principle related to Information. This is an essential principle for social communication, since in tourism it builds expectations among tourists for them to be concerned with their own satisfaction. This principle is related to the