Sustainable Tourism Law

94 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM LAW We have seen the development of the concept of Sustainable Tourism from the Manila Declaration of 1980 to this very year, proclaimed by UNWTO as the International Year for Sustainable Tourism for Development. The Manila Declaration on World Tourism, the Charter for Sustainable Tourism, the World Code of Ethics for Tourism, and the World Charter for Sustainable Tourism constitute a body of principles that form a structured and persuasive set of values that we may consider as Sustainable Tourism Soft Law Principles. States and Legislators are now inspiring the formulation of Law and Statutes to be added to these principles 143 . These principles are also a reference for Court interpretation of existing Laws, Statutes and Regulations. These principles consequently enter in the various legal systems through Court decisions. The driving forces towards Sustainable Tourism – in the framework of Sustainability – are therefore three: public opinion, ecology and management. The convergence of these three elements will determine the Law, and therefore the future and possible success of Sustainable Tourism Law. The Role of Public Opinion And there is another element: public opinion. Public opinion – tourists – can make the difference. And the enterprise, the management of tourist enterprises, is responding, whether willingly or unwillingly. The examples are right in front of us. Hotels and resorts are more attentive to waste disposal 144 . They have more respect for tourist requests for sustainability 145 . It is common, today, to find in your hotel room a sign that recites: “ Dear Guest… you make the difference! A towel hanging means I will use it again ”. And 143 A good example is the influence of Soft Law in Environmental Protection, as referred by César Nava ESCUDERO, El Acuerdo de París. Predominio del soft law en el régimen climático , in Boletín mexicano de derecho comparado , 2016: “Cuna principal del soft law es el derecho internacional relativo al régimen de protección del ambiente, es decir, el derecho internacional ambiental”. On the same topic International environmental soft law collection of relevant instruments edited by W. E. BURHENNE selected and compiled by Marlene JAHNKE, Kluwer Law International. 144 With reference to waste management see Massimo SAITA – Maria Vittoria FRANCESCHELLI, The Role of Waste Management in the Green Economy: An Empirical Analysis of Economic Data of the Business , in AA.VV ., Sustainable Entrepreneurship and Investments in the Green Economy , Andrei Jean Vasile and Domenico Nicolò Editors, IGI Global, Hershey, 2017, page 169. 145 With reference to water consumption, see Christopher WARREN, Susanne BECKEN, Saving energy and water in tourist accommodation: A systematic literature review (1987–2015) , in International Journal of Tourism Research . 2017, Vol 19, page 289.