WRITTEN QUESTION No. 3094/98 by Angela SIERRA GONZÁLEZ , Pedro MARSET CAMPOS , Laura GONZÁLEZ ÁLVAREZ to the Commission. Sustainable tourism policies in the EU
Date: 1998-10-16
Institutions: European Parliament, GONZALEZ ALVAREZ, MARSET CAMPOS, SIERRA GONZALEZ
Subjects: EU environmental policy, EU initiative, environmental impact, sustainable development, tourism

21.7.1999

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 207/29

In any event, it is obvious that this group has to fulfil all its obligations in order to comply with the rules agreed
with the intermediary body. Nevertheless, according to information received by the Commission, the Spanish
authorities are ready to start institutional proceedings so as to be able to pay the balance of Leader I to the ‘La
Montaña’ group.

(1999/C 207/037)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3094/98

by Angela Sierra González (GUE/NGL), Pedro Marset Campos (GUE/NGL)
and Laura González Álvarez (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Sustainable tourism policies in the EU

(16 October 1998)

Initiatives in support of a sustainable model of tourist development are coming into being in many European
regions. They include initiatives for sustainable development in islands, local agenda 21 programmes for
tourist sites and the sustainable tourism charter adopted at the Lanzarote world conference organised by
Unesco in 1995.

It seems necessary for the European Union, which is one of the world’s main tourist destinations as well as a
major source of tourists, to draw up, through the Commission, strategies to improve tourist areas in the
Community, particularly those associated with ‘mass tourism’.

Among other things, a policy should be drawn up with the aim of preserving natural resources as much as
possible in the face of tourist development, making tourist activities compatible in areas of great natural value
and beauty, drawing up guidelines for the ‘load capacity’ of tourist destinations, etc.

Has the Commission considered the possibility of promoting sustainable tourism policy initiatives in the EU,
bearing in mind the importance of this sector of the economy, its implications for regional planning and its
growing competitiveness at international level?

Answer given by Mr Papoutsis on behalf of the Commission

(7 December 1998)

In accordance with the obligation to integrate the environment into Community policies, the Commission is
analysing the strategy which is needed to implement this requirement in the area of tourism.

The Commission is also awaiting the approval by the Council of a first multiannual programme for European
tourism (1) that considers, among other aims, the promotion of sustainable tourism through integrated
strategic planning and of the different policies, programmes and initiatives that contribute to their
development. Integrated quality management in tourist destinations favours a general approach towards all
sectors that affect the development of tourism, including the proper management of natural resources.

The Commission in 1997 launched three studies on the integrated management of quality in coastal, rural and
urban tourist destinations. These studies aim to identify and analyse best practice in integrated quality
management within the countries of the European economic area and to contribute to the exchange of
experiences and the transfer of knowledge within Europe, serving as a guide both for the public sector (in
particular local authorities) and for the private sector (in particular tourist companies). The results will be
available in the first half of 1999.

The Commission is conscious of the scarce information on the environmental impact of tourism on a
Community scale. The Commission is already working, in an initial phase, on the preparation of indicators for
the sustainable development of transport and energy and is actively participating in OECD discussions on
environmental indicators in agriculture. The Commission is considering the possibility of tackling, in a second
phase, the preparation of sustainable development indicators for tourism.

(1) COM(96) 635 final.