Sustainable Tourism Law

644 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM LAW The main objectives in the field of good public and private governance with the goal of achieving sustainable tourism are: Annex 2 – Major objectives regarding good private and public governance for sustainable tourism • The integration of sustainable tourism development into overall economic, social and environmental development strategies. • Integrated sector policies and overall coherence across all levels. • Multilateral environmental agreements and sustainable international trade policies. • The development and adoption of corporate responsibility reporting and sustainability accounting in both the public and private sectors. • Using Local Agenda 21 specifically for tourist destinations, including at regional level. • The use of value chain and destination development monitoring and indicator systems. • Participation of citizens, both as consumers and in the workplace. Another challenge is a balanced approach to the three pillars of sustainability. Competitive and socially responsible touristic enterprises, opening tourism to all citizens and good employment are some of the aspects specifically mentioned on the document of the Commission. Another challenge follows, the one concerning sustainable consumption patterns in terms of activities concentrated in restricted periods of the year, generating saturation of the infrastructures and reducing the quality of the services. On the other hand, tourism development has depended, for about seventy years, on non-ecological aerial and road transportation, anticipating how the demographical changes will generate a different demand, like cultural tourism. Today, the price factor, the quality and image of the destination determine the consumer’s choice, which still reveals little interest for sustainability issues, however it is believed that a sustainable mindset will be formed with sustainable consumption patterns. This progressive awareness of the consumer flows can be seen in the message of the State Secretary of Tourism in the Sustainability Report 2008 of Turismo de Portugal: “Facing the growing awareness and demand of consumers in matters of sustainability and environmental preservation, particularly on our main issuing markets, our touristic industry will remain strong, a generator of