A4-0297/96

Resolution on the report 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 (Council Decision 92/421/EEC) (COM(96)0029 - C4-0125/96)

The European Parliament,

- having regard to the Commission report (COM(96)0029 - C4-0125/96),

- having regard to Articles 3(t) and 3b of the EC Treaty,

- having regard to Council Decision 92/421/EEC on a Community action plan to assist tourism ((OJ L 231, 13.8.1992, p. 26.)),

- having regard to the Commission Green Paper on the role of the Union in the field of tourism (COM(95)0097 - C4-0157/95),

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

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

- having regard to the Opinions of the Economic and Social Committee of 15 September 1994 (94/C393/25) on Tourism ((OJ C 393, 31.12.1994, p. 168.)) and 14 September 1995 (95/C301/15) on the role of the union in the field of tourism - Commission Green Paper ((OJ C 301, 13.11.1995, p. 68.)),

- having regard to the Opinion of the Committee of the Regions of 2 February 1995 (95/C210/17) on a policy for developing rural tourism in the EU regions,

- having regard to the Barcelona Declaration and work programme adopted following the Euro-Mediterranean Conference held in Barcelona on 27 and 28 November 1995 ((Bulletin of the EU 11-1995, p. 149.)) and the Council Resolution of 13 May 1996 (96/C 155/01) on Euro-Mediterranean cooperation regarding tourism ((OJ C 155, 30.5.1996, p. 1.)),

- having regard to Council Directive 95/57/EC of 23 November 1995 on the collection of statistical information in the field of tourism ((OJ L 291, 6.12.1995, p. 32.)),

- having regard to the study on the protection of tourists carried out in November 1995 by Parliament's Directorate-General for Research (PE 165.611),

- having regard to Parliament's 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 proposals concerning distance contracts ((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.)), 13 March 1996 on the convening of the IGC, evaluation of the work of the Reflection Group and definition of the political priorities of the European Parliament with a view to the Intergovernmental Conference ((OJ C 96, 1.4.1996, p. 77. )), 6 June 1996 on the Common Transport Policy Action Programme 1995-2000 ((OJ C 181, 24.6.1996, p. 21.)),19 September 1996 on minors who are victims of violence ((Minutes of that sitting, Part II, Item 8.)) and 19 September 1996 on the disaster at 'Las Nievas' campsite in Biescas (Spain) ((Minutes of that sitting, Part II, Item 13(a).)),

- having regard to Agenda 21 adopted at the end of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (Rio de Janeiro, 1992),

- having regard to the report by the Committee on Transport and Tourism and the opinions of the Committee on Economic, Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy and the Committee on Culture, Youth, Education and the Media (A4-0297/96),

A. whereas the definition of tourism adopted by international organizations such as the OECD and the WTO covers all journeys for the purposes of recreation, business, study and health which exceed 24 hours and whereas the tourist market is therefore dedicated to the creation and consumption of goods and services needed by people moving outside their normal place of residence, irrespective of the reason,

B. whereas the movement of tourists throughout the world increased by 3.8% in 1995, with a 7.2% increase in receipts, accounting for a turnover of some US dollars 372 bn, and it is estimated that, at this rate of growth, the tourist market will double in size in less than 20 years,

C. whereas, in the European economy, tourism accounts for approximately 5.5% of GDP and provides direct employment for some 9 million people (6% of jobs in the EU),

D. whereas Europe's share in the global tourism market is declining,

E. whereas there are close links between tourism and other sectors of the economy and whereas for many regions and countries tourism represents the only source of income,

F. whereas, given this economic and social data, it is short-sighted to persist in the belief that it is not necessary to include, in the revised EU Treaty, a specific section on tourism, taking into account its Community and international dimensions, and establishing a common policy, in the context of the internal market, as a fundamental aim of the European Union,

G. having regard to the fragmentation of the sector and the insufficient exploitation of its potential from the economic, health, natural and artistic points of view,

H. whereas the tourism industry probably depends more than any other on common policies which determine the quality of life of tourists, the range of services offered and the protection of our natural and cultural heritage,

I. whereas the demand for tourist services is closely linked to the infrastructure of the transport networks,

J. whereas common policies for the tourism industry must be based on the economic, employment, social and environmental sustainability of tourism,

K. whereas the potential offered by tourism for combating unemployment and creating new jobs depends on being able to count on the full support, including economic support, of the European Union,

L. whereas given the large increase in the number of senior citizens with ever greater expectations and quality of life, as pointed out in the Commission's report on the demographic situation in the European Union in 1995 (COM(96)0060), tourism for senior citizens may constitute a means of combating seasonal variations and would provide a source of stable employment in the tourist sector,

M. whereas tourism makes an important contribution to economic convergence and plays an active part in spreading knowledge of the various national cultures, creating at the same time a strong European identity,

N. having regard to the positive impact which a single European currency will have on Community tourism,

1. Underlines its position, already stated a number of times, that a legal base for a tourism policy must be introduced in the forthcoming reform of the Treaty on European Union in order to give this policy the institutional legitimacy which, given its strategic importance in economic, employment, and social terms for the European Union, this sector requires;

2. Hopes that a subcommittee on tourism will be set up, without delay, under the auspices of Parliament's Committee on Transport and Tourism, in accordance with Rule 141 of its Rules of Procedure, to examine the wide range of issues relating to this sector which is at present neglected;

3. Congratulates the Commission on the document it has presented describing the Community measures arising directly from the Community action plan to assist tourism, set out in Council Decision 92/41/EEC, and the other Community measures affecting tourism but taken within the framework of other European Union policies; calls, therefore, for the report on 1995 to be submitted as soon as possible, in accordance with Article 5 of that Decision;

4. Calls on the Commission to draw up an annual report of this nature with annexes containing global economic data on the resources allocated by the European Union to initiatives directly related to tourism;

5. Also takes the view that this report should in future be divided into two chapters, the first concerning the following key elements of a European tourism policy, i.e.:

- treating tourism as a European industry with concern both for the entrepreneurs and the employees and improving the global competitiveness of this industry with the objective of creating additional jobs as a result,

- improving the quality of tourist services;

- diversifying, rationalizing and optimizing tourist activities and products,

- incorporating the concept of sustainable and balanced development into tourism,

and the second concerning the three main areas of interest to the tourism industry i. e.:

- developing firms, in particular small and medium-sized enterprises,

- protecting and satisfying the tourist-consumer;

- protecting our natural and cultural heritage;

6. Emphasizes the need for a horizontal approach to incorporate the tourism dimension into other Community policies, by setting up units in the Commission services which contribute to the development of tourism (agriculture, transport, environment, social policy, competition, small and medium-sized enterprises, etc.) with the task of monitoring the application of the principles of a tourism policy at European level; stresses the need for the tourism unit in DG XXIII to perform, in addition, the overall role of coordinating the activities pursued by the national agencies operating in the sector;

7. Considers that there is a need to step up action to promote intra-Community tourism by young people, bearing in mind that this population group consists of the future generations of European citizens who will be called upon to complete the development of the political and cultural ties beyond those established by the European Union;

8. Notes the importance of properly planned and managed rural tourism to rural development and to supporting rural communities, and maintaining their ways of life;

9. Emphasizes that the Community's role in the field of tourism should not be to over-harmonize legislation but should instead be to ensure coordination and closer cooperation between European institutions, national, regional and local authorities, industries in the sector, and those representing the socio-economic interests of tourist-consumers and workers in the industry, with a view to helping Europe take up the challenges posed by the development of the global economy in general and global tourism in particular;

10. Stresses the importance of tourism for the peripheral and ultra-peripheral regions of the European Union and calls for the adoption of positive measures to encourage tourism and the provision of services in these regions, not least in order to lighten the tourist pressure on the places in greatest demand (e.g. art cities);

11. Stresses the fact that tourism must be recognized as an industry and accorded the appropriate resources for its enhancement; the tourism industry is of vital importance for the creatiuon of employment in the Union, especially through its high proportion of small and medium-sized companies and the possibilities it opens to young people, and women in particular, to find employment in the sector; also strresses that the tourism industry will significantly prosper from the completion of the single market, as well as from the introdction of the single currency; hence the Commission's efforts should focus on measures to ensure the completion of the single market; points, lastly, to the importance of a favourable legal and financial environment for companies involved in the tourism industry;

12. Considers tourism as an important factor for the creation of improved conditions for growth in less-favoured areas, in industrial decline and rural regions; it can also help in achieving sustainable development and enable the fight against social exclusion in the Union to be effective;

13. Remarks that the tourism industry experienced a rapid development worldwide in 1994, while Europe's market share shows a steady downward trend; as the conditions for further growth on the demand side are very favourable, it is important that the European tourism industry harness this demand to the European supply; to do this it has to be competitive;

14. Deplores the fact that no appropriations have been provided for social tourism (Action 8), even though measures initiated the previous year were completed in 1994;

15. Considers that there is a need to step up special action to promote tourism by the elderly; such programmes can be organized during the 'low season' at little cost and with greater ease, bearing in mind that this population group is not restricted by the working calendar and would thus help the tourist trade at times of the year of low occupancy;

16. Believes there is a need for greater attention to be paid to the interaction between cultural policy and tourism policy at both national and Community levels; therefore calls on the Commission to carry out a study concerning the economic and social significance of this relationship; in particular, the study should look into the benefit to the Community Member States, as destinations of cultural tourism, of increasing the funding of the Raphael programme;

17. Considers as particularly important the promotion of vocational training as a key concept in developing quality services provided by those employed in the tourism industry and calls for training and exchange networks to be set up and for vocational qualifications to be recognized for jobs which do not at present require qualifications;

18. Calls on the Commission to examine the following topics in particular detail in its forthcoming White Paper on Tourism:

- the most appropriate measures to enhance the tourism industry's efforts to create jobs;

- the need to complete the internal market in the tourism industry;

- the close link between the development of infrastructure networks and the sustainable growth of tourism;

- the different types of protection needed in the tourism industry for:

(a) tourism enterprises and operators;

(b) tourists;

(c) tourism employees;

- the implication for tourism of taking into account the obligations arising from the Rio de Janeiro Agenda 21, including those connected with preserving our artistic and architectural heritage and the historical centres of Art Cities;

- safe tourism, in particular preventing fires caused by careless tourists, and the definition of the rights and obligations of tourists and tourism providers in a European tourism charter,

- access to tourist information,

- the creation of a tourist quality label for the classification of Community services and products in the sector;

19. Points out that the Commission should also mention in its White Paper the various types of tourism in modern society (individual, mass, cultural, sports, entertainment, therapeutic, third-age, conference tourism, business tourism etc.);

20. Calls for a common European system of tourist signs to be established to enable easy and rapid identification of the environmental and cultural characteristics, services and opportunities offered by particular localities;

21. Asks that the aims set out in the Community action plans in support of tourism be taken into consideration in the decision-making process for projects submitted within the framework of the Structural Funds;

22. Emphasizes that, whilst the development of a consistent method of gathering data is of prime importance, it should be funded by making the resources needed available from the Eurostat budget and thereby releasing some of the limited resources to be allocated to circulating the results of the tourism projects;

23. Calls for an international forum for the geographical and seasonal staggering of tourism to be set up and for it to draw up concrete proposals for tourism products differentiated according to the various population groups, and for the development of new types of holiday;

24. Notes a relative decline in the popularity of Europe as a tourist destination and the consequent need to promote Europe as a destination by developing a Community policy for properly planned and managed sustainable tourism, which respects the natural and built environment and the rights and interests of host populations;

25. Believes that tourism can make a major contribution to understanding between peoples through learning about other cultures, languages, traditions and ways of life and that it is elements such as these which should be highlighted in any promotional material produced or supported by the European Union;

26. Encourages the Commission to work closely with the Council of Europe and Unesco on matters concerned with cultural tourism and in particular on such themes as the management of heritage sites, visitor management, the development of cultural routes and increasing access to monuments and sites through the use of new technologies;

27. Calls on the Commission to draw up a study of the impact in the European Union of the further deregulation of the markets in the tourism services sector as a result of the GATS Agreement (General Agreement on Trade in Services) initialled in the framework of the Marrakesh Agreement of 15 April 1994;

28. Recalls the content of its abovementioned resolutions on Community measures affecting tourism and on the Green Paper on Tourism which call on the Commission to launch the procedures of the creation of the European Tourism Agency; that Agency, in coordination with the Environment Agency, could contribute to setting the priorities for a policy which respects the environment, analysing the capacity of certain coastal areas which are saturated or whose resources, such as water, are over-exploited, and verifying compliance with the prescribed quality standards;

29. 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 which have exclusive competence for tourism, the governments and parliaments of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEECs), the Russian Federation and the CIS, the governments and parliaments of the Mediterranean countries, the governments

and parliaments of the member countries of the European Economic Area (EEA), the Government and Congress of the United States of America, the Council of European Municipalities and Regions (CEMR), the European Tourism Commission, the European Travel Commission (ETC), the World Tourism Organization, the national tourism organizations in the Member States, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) and the IATM (International Association of Tour Managers).