Sustainable Tourism Law

506 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM LAW The first section of the report argued that sustainable development ‘is a guided process which envisages global management of resources so as to ensure their viability, thus enabling our natural and cultural capital to be preserved’. In addition, this document promoted tourism as an active part of the sustainable development strategy and as a management tool to ensure the sustainability of the resources, on which it depends (UNWTO, 1995). Another international reference instrument for the tourism sector in this field is Agenda 21 for theTravel andTourism Industry: Towards Environmentally Sustainable Development. Shortly after the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), the World Tourism Organization (WTO) and the Earth Council jointly developed this action programme focused on tourism. It outlines practical measures for the public and private sectors to implement the goals agreed at the Earth Summit. The requirements for sustainable tourism outlined in the aforementioned document included guidelines for the three dimensions of sustainable development. At the environmental level, the overall quality of the destination’s environment had to be maintained and ensured and, if necessary, measures should be taken to improve it. From an economic point of view, the level of satisfaction of tourists should be maintained and raised as a means of ensuring the continuity of the tourism industries. In the social area, a proposal was made to distribute the benefits equitably among all members of society. Although sustainability in tourism has played an important role in academic debates, it has not always been reflected in the tourism plans and policies of the destinations. However, the importance of the issue remains undisputed, an example of which is that in 2017, UNWTO will dedicate the year to sustainable tourism for development. This celebration is aimed at supporting a change in policies, business practices and consumer behaviour towards the Sustainable Development Goals. To this end, the role of tourism in the fight against poverty and the promotion of intercultural understanding were promoted. The aforementioned guidelines are one of the references taken into account for the analysis of the role of appellations of origin as a tool for sustainable tourism development. However, before addressing the technical-legal issues, it is essential to examine the issues from an economic context that determine its regulation.