Sustainable Tourism Law

APPELLATIONS OF ORIGIN IN TOURISM 515 since the 1980s the Autonomous Communities have given official support to typical products that meet certain quality standards. As a result, it is possible to find a heterogeneous set of denominations that range from sui generis guarantee brands to generic denominations. This scenario shows the need to systematize the regulation of this legal institution at the different territorial levels. This way, in addition to offering greater legal certainty, the functions of the AO that contribute to sustainable development could be enhanced and will be examined in the following section. IV.4. Functions A review of the literature on appellations of origin shows that there are a number of unanimously recognised functions. With no room for questioning, the AO provide information on the origin of the products and indicate their characteristics and quality. Authors such as Montero (2016) attribute an individualizing function to it, with respect to a certain category of products; and a function of guarantee and origin, which ensures the existence of certain common characteristics linked to a territory. This same author also highlights and differentiates a unifying function of the goodwill that these products have among consumers. This function is quite similar to that of well-known trademarks, whose protection extends beyond the principle of speciality. On the other hand, authors such as Ceballos (2017) stress that the functions of the AO should be extended to the promotion of the cultural, landscape and environmental elements associated with the products they protect. This way, the aim is to influence the decision-making process of consumers and to create a link with the appellation of origin that goes beyond the product and reaches the territory, its history and the people who live there. In other words, the promotion of the AO should include the enhancement of the social and cultural elements of the territory. This would increase the potential of AO to have an impact on the sustainable development of the geographical area concerned. At the same time, it would encourage the inclusion of other actors that develop support and/ or complementary activities, e.g. catering, accommodation, museums, routes, leisure activities, among others. The recognition and implementation of these functions implies highlighting the public nature of this legal institution, which is not usually the case. According to Ceballos (2017), one of the functions of appellations of origin is to defend a set of non-commercial interests, including the heritage, history, environment, traditions, culture and landscape of a specific geographical area. All of them,