Sustainable Tourism Law

SUSTAINABILITY: THE PATH FROM STOCKHOLM TO THE EUROPEAN CHARTER 651 criminal insecurity (arrest, kidnapping, and so on) and on the basis of recent crisis assessments to put forward measures to ensure a rapid and coordinated response for the protection of European tourists and for the support of operators affected by such events”. Another one of the important aspects is theCouncil Recommendation of 22December 1986 on fire safety in hotels 60 and to promote at EU level voluntary standards concerning measures to improve the safety aspects of tourism services. §§§ New sustainable tourism activities Points 21 through 38 focus precisely on the new initiatives for sustainable tourism, from which stands out the Commission’s proposals under the subject 61 . The protection of environmental resources is one of the characteristics of tourism, shedding light on the dangers of mass tourism 62 . In regions of high and short term touristic flows occurs a flotation of workers in the tourism sector. In order to correct it, a coordination of national legislation in matters of vacations is imposed, causing a lower flow in access routes and touristic infrastructures to “achieve a more efficient and sustainable deployment of human resources by reducing seasonal fluctuations in employment levels”. The capture of new demand outside high season 63 , the ageing of the population allied to the right to tourism of all European citizens and the contribution of itinerant tourism, such as touring caravanning as a way of reducing mass tourism, are other aspects shown by the European Parliament. In the field of new initiatives in terms of sustainability, we have the Commission’s initiative Agenda 21 for European tourism and the creation of the Sustainable Tourism Group, the role of education for responsible tourism, the request for dissuasive penalties to agencies and hotel chains which encourage sexual tourism and child exploitation, the Barcelona process 64 , the eco-labelling and, at last, tourism occupying an important place in strategies for employment and combat against social exclusion. 60 OJ L 384, 31.12.1986, p. 60-68. See also the Report from the Commission on the application of the Council Recommendation of 22 December 1986 on fire safety in existing hotels (86/666/EEC). 61 COM (2003) 0716. 62 “which, in terms of the uncontrolled growth of transport and reception capacities and of seasonal fluxes, represents a threat to local natural and socio-economic balances; calls on the Commission, in this context, to study and report on the effectiveness of certain formulae already being applied (such as moratoria) or of other new formulae to tackle and offset these imbalances; calls on the Commission to put initiatives which can remedy the current imbalance between destinations which have reached maximum congestion levels and others which receive little publicity and yet are of major environmental, or historical and artistic significance, situated in the same tourist region” point 23. 63 Business tourism, congresses, medical and thermal tourism are what make occupation possible throughout the year. 64 Exchange and formation of professionals in the economic activity of tourism in the Mediterranean area.