A4-0299/96

Resolution on the Commission report on the evaluation of the Community Action Plan to Assist Tourism 1993-1995 - Council Decision 92/421/EEC (COM(96)0166 - C4-0266/96)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission report (COM(96)0166 - C4-0266/96),

- having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, in particular Articles 3(t) and 3b thereof,

- having regard to the Commission report on civil protection, tourism and energy (SEC(96)0496),

- having regard to the Commission reports on Community measures affecting tourism for 1993 ((OJ C 18, 23.1.1995, p. 159.)) and 1994 (COM(96)0029),

- having regard to the Delors White Paper on Growth, Competitiveness and Employment ((OJ C 91, 28.3.1994, p. 124.)) and the Commission Recommendation for the broad guidelines of the economic policies of the Member States and the Community for 1996 (COM(96)0211), as well as its own resolution of 19 June 1996 on the same subject ((OJ C 198, 8.7.1996, p. 115 .)),

- having regard to the results of the consultation ((DG XXIII, working document, Consultation on the basis of the Green Paper. A further step towards recognition of Community action to assist tourism, Forum on European Tourism, 1995.)) on the Green Paper on the role of the Union in the field of tourism,

- having regard to the conclusions of the Forum on European Tourism of 8 December 1995,

- having regard to the conclusions of the Presidency following the European Council in Florence on 21 and 22 June 1996,

- having regard to its resolutions of 11 June 1991 on a Community tourism policy ((OJ C 183, 15.7.1991, p. 74.)), 18 January 1994 on tourism in the approach to the year 2000 ((OJ C 44, 14.2.1994, p. 61.)), 15 December 1994 on Community measures affecting tourism in 1993 ((OJ C 18, 23.1.1995, p. 159.)), its decision of 13 December 1995 on the common position on the proposal for a directive on the protection of consumers in respect of distance selling ((OJ C 17, 22.1.1996, p. 51.)), and its resolutions of 13 February 1996 on the Commission's Green Paper on the role of the Union in the field of tourism ((OJ C 65, 4.3.1996, p. 34.)) and 13 March 1996 on the convening of the Intergovernmental Conference and the evaluation of the work of the Reflection Group and definition of the political priorities of the European Parliament in the light of the Intergovernmental Conference ((OJ C 96, 1.4.1996, p. 77.)),

- having regard to the Commission proposals on the review of the European Community programme of policy and action in relation to the environment and sustainable development 'Towards Sustainability' ((OJ C 140, 11.5.1996, p. 5.)) and on a Third Multiannual Programme for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the European Union (1997-2000) ((OJ C 156, 31.5.1996, p. 5.)),

- having regard to the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on Community measures affecting tourism in 1994 (COM(96)0029),

- having regard to the First Multiannual Programme to assist European Tourism 'PHILOXENIA' (1997-2000) ((OJ C 222, 31.7.1996, p. 9.)),

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the opinion of the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media (A4- 0299/96),

A. whereas the Community Action Plan to Assist Tourism 1993-1995 has been a useful starting point enabling the Community to undertake measures specifically related to tourism policy, despite its limited budget of ECU 18 million,

B. having regard to the undoubted social, economic, financial and environmental impact that tourism policy has on the European internal market in creating employment, particularly in small and medium-sized enterprises, and especially for categories most affected by unemployment, for example women and young people,

C. noting that at present in Europe tourism accounts for 5.5% of GDP and directly provides work for 9 million people, the equivalent of 6% of the labour force, and bearing in mind the growth forecast by the World Tourism Organization (WTO) which will see international arrivals increase to 100 million, making tourism the world's largest industry,

D. whereas, however, Europe as a tourist destination has been losing ground to other emerging market competitors, a situation which requires short-, medium- and long-term measures with a view to modernizing infrastructures, breaking away from the seasonal nature of tourism, monitoring the impact on the environment and combining efforts to promote Europe as a travel destination,

E. whereas the objectives underlying a Community tourist policy should be to promote economic growth and employment, improve economic and social cohesion and boost the concept of European citizenship,

F. whereas tourism is not only one of the most important industries in the European Union, but is also an activity of interest to all citizens, for whom it represents an irreversible social gain;

G. whereas it is vital that a specific title on tourism be included in the Treaty on European Union, establishing an independent European tourism policy that can coordinate and include tourism objectives in other European policies, yet without giving rise to increased bureaucracy and regulation,

H. whereas, with a view to the Dublin European Council, where a draft Treaty revision is to be submitted, it should be re-emphasized that tourism policy meets the objective of bringing the Union closer to its citizens, in that it can help achieve the goal of high employment, ensure more effective and more coherent environmental protection and promote a greater sense of European citizenship,

I. whereas tourism can make a substantial contribution to the economic convergence needed in order to establish economic and monetary union, by creating employment, redistributing wealth, and generating economic growth and infrastructures in backward regions; whereas, while strictly respecting the subsidiarity principle, the economic operation of the tourism sector should be strongly acknowledged at European level with regard to the major principles of sustainable development, as regards social, economic and environmental aspects, in order to prevent unfair competition and social dumping,

J. whereas the tourism industry as a major European industry is scarcely mentioned; moreover, its position as part of the internal market is ignored, especially in the development of European Union policies and programmes,

1. Welcomes and expresses interest in the evaluation by independent consultants of the partial results of the Community Action Plan to Assist Tourism 1993- 1995 - Decision 92/421/EEC, together with the recommendations put forward, and calls for this evaluation to be extended and updated once the projects for 1995 have been completed, so as to give an overall and definitive idea of what the Action Plan achieved;

2. Commends also the work done by the Tourism Unit in the Commission's DG XXIII, despite the budgetary and staffing constraints and the well-known internal administrative difficulties it faces;

3. Reaffirms, however, that the aim of establishing an action plan for tourism at European level was to illustrate the need for the European Union to adopt a genuine tourism policy in order to meet at the most appropriate level the challenges posed by the globalization of the tourism economy and the liberalization of tourist services established within the framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO);

4. Recommends, therefore, that the Intergovernmental Conference, which was asked by the Turin European Council of 8 March 1996 to prepare the reform of the Treaties to enable Europe to tackle the challenges posed by future enlargement and economic globalization, should seize this opportunity to provide the legal base for tourism policy in its Community and international aspects, in accordance with the principle of subsidiarity, that is vital to enable it to be coordinated and directed at European and national level within the framework of the internal market;

5. Considers that, with regard to the next action programme to assist tourism (PHILOXENIA), it is more vital than ever to ensure coordination and additionality in respect of measures taken by Member States in the tourism sector and those taken at European level, in order to take better advantage of the value added offered by European Union intervention;

6. Reaffirms that the European tourism industry, which is made up of workers and employers, is neglected and the protection of tourists needs to be improved;

7. Stresses also that measures should be geared more to the private sector, particularly SMEs, so as to provide better opportunities for growth and job creation and move towards sustainable forms of tourism, as called for in Agenda 21 (Rio de Janeiro, 1992);

8. Calls for the role and 'market positioning' of the DG XXIII Tourism Unit to be strengthened and suggests that it should be geared more towards coordination and collaboration between the various directorates-general responsible for different measures contributing to tourist development, as well as between bodies in the Member States responsible for tourism, notably through an increase in resources and qualified staff; calls also for the Tourism Unit to coordinate its own actions more effectively with those of other services in DG XXIII responsible for SMEs;

9. Calls for the measures that have been most successful to be continued, such as those to assist disabled persons or compile statistics on European tourism; stresses in particular the need to complete the measures to promote tourism, e.g. in Japan, and to coordinate them effectively with the National Tourism Offices (NTOs) and the European Travel Commission (ETC);

10. Calls for the introduction of pilot projects seeking innovative solutions to the holiday season congestion, a problem currently affecting many European destinations;

11. Stresses that the PHILOXENIA Programme represents a first step towards achieving a tourism policy and asks the Commission to draw up during the first half of 1997 the promised White Paper which should establish the importance of tourism and recognize it as a framework in which it is possible to provide employment and development;

12. Deplores the limited number of measures taken in a number of important policy areas such as staggering holidays, tourists as consumers, rural tourism, youth tourism, activity holidays, cultural tourism, conference tourism, incentive travel schemes and tourism for the elderly;

13. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the Committee of the Regions, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the regions of the Member States with exclusive competence for matters relating to tourism, the governments and parliaments of the countries of central and eastern Europe, the Russian Federation and the CIS, the governments and parliaments of the Mediterranean countries, the governments and parliaments of the Member States of the European Economic Area, the Government and Congress of the United States of America, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CCRE), the European Commission on Tourism, the European Travel Commission, the World Tourism Organization, the National Tourism Offices of the Member States (NTOs), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and the International Association of Tour Managers (IATM).