Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the 'Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on Enhancing Tourism's Potential for Employment'
Date: 2000-01-26
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: EU initiative, European Union, tourism policy

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submit a drawing or illustration of the complex product to
enable examination to take place under Article 48 (see below
under Article 49a).

compliance with the requirements for protection, otherwise
there is a very real risk of innocent third parties being ‘litigated
to death’ by the abusive application of the system.

Article 49a:

3.8.
It is essential that examination under
Article 48 should include at least some examination for

Article 67: The principles relating to the examination

3.9.
of facts need to be specified more clearly.

Brussels, 27 January 2000.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Beatrice RANGONI MACHIAVELLI

Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Communication from the Commission
to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee
of the Regions on Enhancing Tourism’s Potential for Employment’

(2000/C 75/14)

On 10 May 1999 the Commission decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee, under Article
262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentioned communication.

The Section for the Single Market, Production and Consumption, which was responsible for preparing
the Committee’s work on the subject, adopted its opinion on 14 December 1999. The rapporteur was
Mr Malosse.

At its 369th plenary session (meeting of 26 January 2000), the Economic and Social Committee adopted
the following opinion by 71 votes to two, with one abstention.

1. The background to the Commission’s communication

1.1.
The European Commission has forwarded to the
Economic and Social Committee, along with the Council, the
European Parliament and the Committee of the Regions, a
Communication on the follow-up to the Conclusions and
Recommendations of the High Level Group on Tourism and
Employment, published in October 1998. Consequently, the
Committee opinion will also examine the work of the High
Level Group (HLG).

1.2.
The Communication is the most recent of the policy
documents aiming to relaunch a European tourism policy,
which has been ‘grounded’ since the November 1997 European
Conference on Tourism, organised by the Luxembourg presi-
dency. Since 1996, a proposal for a multi-year programme for
European tourism, known as ‘Philoxenia’ (1), has been so
successfully blocked by the Council that it would no longer
appear to be on the cards (although the Commission does still

include it in its strategy, when it mentions the Austrian
presidency’s much watered-down compromise proposal). The
Communication could, thus, provide the ‘new approach’ called
for by the Committee in the own-initiative opinion it adopted
at the plenary session of 24 and 25 March 1999 (2).

1.3.
The Communication draws deeply from the con-
clusions of the High Level Group (HLG). Its primary point is
the need for up-to-date, Europe-wide statistics on tourism
activities, skills and the most notable current schemes. It
sensibly makes a link between tourism and the National
Employment Action Plans, European employment policy
instruments set up following the Luxembourg jobs summit in
1997. Lastly, the Communication singles out a number of the
proposals made in the HLG report, highlighting potential
synergies of structural, research and development, education
and training, and business policy instruments. The Communi-
cation should devote more space to some of the HLG’s

(1) COM(96) 168 final — OJ C 222, 31.7.1996, p. 9; OJ C 30,

30.1.1997, p. 103.

(2) OJ C 138, 18.5.1999, p. 4.

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suggestions, such as establishment of an observatory network.
In its conclusions, the Communication rightly stresses the
need to adopt a strategy and decide on priorities, but does not
suggest an order of priorities. The present opinion is designed
to make proposals, explore new avenues and suggest a list of
priorities. To that end, the Economic and Social Committee has
analysed the HLG report and the Commission communication
alongside other factors, building on previous Committee
opinions and new questions for consideration, raised largely
by its contacts in the field.

‘a sector which is predominantly engaged in cross-border
activity deserves a European policy with a stimulating,
innovative and pro-active approach to sustainable business
development, preferably within a consumer protection
framework, and in harmony with other requirements, such
as those of the environment, for example.’

Our work will be based on a joint, comparative analysis of the
Communication and the High Level Group’s Report.

2. The Committee’s stance and thoughts on the issue of

tourism and employment

2.1.
The Committee has adopted several opinions on
tourism, including an own-initiative opinion on Tourism and
Regional Development (1), an opinion on the Community
action plan for tourism (2), the opinion on the Philoxenia
programme (3), and, more recently, the 1999 own-initiative
opinion mentioned above. The Committee’s view is summed
up in the following sentence taken from the latter:

‘Europe can no longer refuse to give the recognition
— politically and in terms of policy-making — that the
fastest-growing sector of its economy deserves because of
its economic and social position.’

2.2.
The Committee has already ratified and endorsed the
conclusions and recommendations of the High Level Group in
its own-initiative opinion of March 1999. The Committee
approves in principle the ‘new approach’, which turns its back
on the ‘clientelistic’ practices of the past and replaces them
with a more dynamic vision based on tourism’s contribution
to job creation. While,
for several reasons (difficulty in
providing an accurate definition of the sector’s boundaries;
seasonal and undeclared work, etc.), the figures given in the
Communication and the High Level Group’s Report (9 million
jobs to date and between 2.2 million and 3 million further
jobs over the next ten years) are doubtless only estimates, they
do show that the sector has a promising future, on a par with
the new communication technologies.

2.4.

Implementation of an integrated job-creation strategy

2.4.1.
is an ideal ‘test-bed’ for integrated job-creation strategies:

There are several reasons why the tourism industry

— its importance to the economy and its growth potential;

— the impact of tourism on several other sectors (transport,
commerce, etc.) and the fact that it depends on these
sectors;

— the various sections of the population employed by the
tourism industry, particularly the more vulnerable groups
such as young people, women, and the unskilled;

— the availability of unskilled, temporary and seasonal work;

— tourism’s contribution to regional development: rural areas
attempting to diversify, declining industrial areas looking
for alternatives, urban areas aiming to raise the profile of
their cultural heritage;

— the way services adapt to changes in tourism demands,
thus requiring a link-up with training or even research
facilities.

2.4.2.
Tourism experts quite rightly emphasise the fact that
their industry is currently one of the few which are able to
reconcile productivity and job creation. Indeed, the customer’s
expectations as regards better quality and greater variety of the
services are a source of job creation.

2.3. Whilst the strategic concerns of the sector are clearly
established, the role and status of Community policies to
promote job-creation remain to be defined. Point 3.2 of the
Committee’s March 1999 own-initiative opinion kicks off the
debate as follows:

2.5. New skills for new professions

(1) OJ C 332, 31.12.1990, p. 157.
(2) OJ C 19, 21.1.1998, p. 116.
(3) OJ C 30, 30.1.1997, p. 103.

2.5.1.
In the tourism industry, customer needs change with
population changes. Moreover, tourists are increasingly choosy
about standards and activities, and they expect cultural and
entertainment facilities to be updated. This exacerbates a
number of problems relating to skills and training develop-
ment.

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2.5.2.
The problem is that training always lags behind
labour market developments. It would therefore be better to
prepare for them by acting on documented consumer/user
needs, and by encouraging vocational and continuous training
with a view to enhancing skills and qualifications. The need to
pre-guess these trends opens up the prospect of
lasting
employment, and is in tune with the industry’s current
development phase which calls for a more professional,
listening approach.

2.6. Back-up for changing tourism requirements

Initially,

2.6.1.
tourism was mainly the prerogative of
well-off people in rich countries. Gradually, tourism spread to
other sections of the population, thanks to economic growth,
labour laws providing more time for holidays, and to the
wider availability of transport. This was accompanied by the
appearance of and the need to invest in new job-creating
products to address new aspirations and cultural, sporting and
countryside activities: theme parks, new air- and water sports,
new slants on walking holidays, excursions, etc.

In this context,

2.6.2.
for example, the cultural sector
provides a well of potential initiatives and jobs. A look at the
figures for visits to monuments, museums, festivals and artistic
events shows that very few of these are adequately exploited
from the point of view of tourism. In several cases, a more
professional approach would increase visitor numbers and
create jobs.

2.6.3.
Community action programmes can be harnessed by
making this a Europe-wide search for new products, and by
raising the profile of little-known heritage sites and initiatives.
Inter-regional transfers of experience on concrete initiatives
and strategies, and partnerships between companies from
different countries should therefore be promoted. Useful
examples are the Interreg programme and the Joint European
Venture (JEV) which provide technical and financial support
for joint business start-up projects — innovative job-creating
initiatives — shared by a number of Member States.

2.7. Working time — annualisation, flexibility and remuneration

Employment in the tourism industry is seasonal and
2.7.1.
insecure. As workers change jobs frequently, they have virtually
for a
no ties with any one company. Moreover, except

fewhigh-flying posts, wages are also considerably below the
average for other sectors.

2.7.2.
If it is to be managed successfully, the seasonal nature
of the work needs to be taken into account. All national
legislation provides for rest days, and the requirements of
seasonal work must be accepted, integrated and organised
accordingly.

2.7.3.
In many regions, targeted action has already been
successful in extending the tourist season. Coordinating the
staggering of holiday periods across Europe could promote
this development further. Extending the tourist season in this
way, reorganising working time, and expanding demand (new
custom from non-European and eastern European tourists,
introducing new social classes to tourism and developing new
forms of tourism) will benefit employment.

However, any sustainable benefit to employment
2.7.3.1.
is conditional on timely, forward-looking staff planning by
companies and on jobs being offered at rates of pay and
working conditions consonant with the labour market.

2.7.4. Moreover, if we consider the general trend towards
shorter working hours, the new time schedules must take
account of tourism’s specific needs. The tourism industry is
heavily affected by the need to offer its services in spurts, out
of synch with other economic sectors. This has a direct impact
in terms of very distinctive working conditions. This problem
must be addressed in depth, as the future of the whole sector
largely depends on it. The quality of the services provided
depends on staff availability and motivation. The social
dialogue will thus have to reconcile the industry’s special
requirements with concerns such as quality of life, quality of
service and the potential for job creation through a reduction
in working time.

2.7.5.
Experience shows that saving money by cutting
labour costs is incompatible with quality of service in this
sector, and runs counter to the basic interests of the tourism
industry and tourism businesses. Employers and employees
thus share a long-term common interest, and this should make
it possible to remove the often negative image young people
have of the sector. The future of European tourism will also
depend on how far it is able to attract the younger generations
by offering good working conditions and good career pros-
pects. Any initiative to raise the profile of the industry must
therefore stress the need to advance the interests of the men
and women it employs and provide them with training
throughout their careers. Some hotel chains have built their
success on these principles: attractive salary, career prospects
and career-long continuous training.

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In order to address these issues,

2.7.6.
there must be
ongoing talks between trades unions and trade organisations
which are truly representative of the industry, particularly
SMEs. The cross-border nature of tourism makes it vital that
this dialogue should also be pursued at European level.
Moreover, compiling a list of European best practice would
provide added value.

3.1.4.
The EU’s role — thanks to an exchange platform —
will be to collect information at European and international
(the experiment could be extended to Mediterranean
level
partner countries and to Central and Eastern Europe) with a
view to developing information tools and framing performance
indicators. Developing such a platform by building on a
network of local observatories attached to tried-and-tested
local systems, will make it possible to launch inter-regional
cooperation projects and implement effective benchmarking
schemes.

3. Comments on the Commission Communication

3.2. Developing businesses

3.1. Tourism information in Europe

Although recent Commission progress on statistical
3.1.1.
methodology for tourism makes it possible to get an overview
of the sector (‘satellite’ accounts), and despite the fact that
Eurostat provides common instruments and that the data are
relatively harmonised, tourism is per se difficult to assess. It is
now impossible to quantify the number of EU visitors in a
Member State: people travel more frequently, and it is difficult
to say whether it is a holiday, business trip, or whether they
are travelling for family reasons, etc. There are more second
homes, trips to visit friends are up, and there is also travel
connected with seasonal employment and undeclared work,
etc.

3.2.1.
The European tourism industry is mainly composed
of small and medium-sized operators. They often find it
difficult to maintain a competitive edge (access to ‘tourism
providers’, reputation, cutting edge advertising techniques,
quality, consumer relations, etc.). Another feature of
the
industry is the presence of a whole host of small ancillary
operators who rely heavily on tourism: craft industry workers,
trades people and the self-employed, etc.

This situation, which differs from the United States
3.2.2.
(highly concentrated activity) and from emerging-market
countries where foreign companies or public monopolies
dominate, is a source of strength for European tourism, with
its diversity, the quality and originality of its facilities, and the
fact that tourism service providers are in touch with their
cultural environment, etc.).

3.1.2.
The only way to obtain reliable, exhaustive data on
the impact of tourism activities and make forecasts will be to
establish methods for definitions and surveys, which cover a
sufficiently broad sample, comply with EU standards, and
reflect the reality and needs of the public and private sectors.

3.2.3.
Rather than resigning ourselves to the gradual disap-
pearance of this European diversity, the EU should turn it into
a trump card. We know that this great diversity of players
provides the best guarantee of maintaining employment levels
and of creating local jobs in tourist areas which are often
regions where jobs are scarce (rural areas,
less-developed
regions, island or land-locked regions, etc.).

3.1.3.
In order to develop the analysis and zero in on
current trends in the industry, the Committee suggests taking
on board the HLG’s proposal for an ‘action relay and obser-
vation network’ of existing regional and local bodies (tourist
boards, agencies, chambers of commerce, etc.) who are fully
conversant with their markets and are the only ones who can
understand what can be widely differing situations. These relay
centres would also act as ‘Tourism Advice Centres’ providing
the tourism industry with information, for instance as regards
quality standards and research into customer expectations. It
will be the role of the European Commission — in cooperation
with the national and local authorities — to provide ‘seals of
quality’ for these local organisations and training for their
managers, and to ensure they operate as part of a properly
structured European network (along the lines of the Euro-Info
Centres).

3.2.4.
Some regions of the EU have seen the downside
of mass tourism: destruction of the natural environment,
domination of the market by tour operators, watering down
of local culture. In short, these regions become mere ‘tourist
destinations’ and gradually lose their real assets,
i.e. their
traditional hospitality, the natural environment, their traditions
and culture. At the drop of a hat, these ‘destinations’ can be
dumped by the tour operators in favour of more distant,
often non-European countries, thus compounding cultural
devastation with economic stagnation. This shows the danger
of staking all on tourism and of an imbalance between local
business and the big tour operators which tend increasingly
towards consolidation and often behave as if they were part of
an oligopoly, setting out their terms on a take-it-or-leave-it
basis.

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3.2.5.
Partnerships between small and medium-sized enter-
prises in the industry would seem to provide an excellent way
of avoiding excessive domination by the tour operators, and
of getting round the size problem. This is why the European
Union should call on national and regional authorities to
promote groupings and associations. At the cross-border level,
the JEV programme — which provides excellent support for
joint ventures between EU SMEs — should be the subject
of specific promotion campaigns for the tourism industry.
Moreover,
that Community competition policy
should look into relations between tour operators and the
local tourism industry and try to redress the balance.

is vital

it

Similarly, all Community actions to improve the
3.2.6.
climate for SMEs will have a positive impact on the sector:
reduced VAT rate on labour, cutting red tape, quicker payment
procedures, stricter implementation of competition rules
against monopolies or illegal agreements, a level playing field
for all the industry’s players, including the cooperative and
non-profit sector. In this respect, the Committee calls for a
bolder approach from the Council, which recently refused to
grant the tourism industry the option to apply a reduced VAT
rate, despite the fact that it is undoubtedly one of the most
labour-intensive industries.

3.3. Public-private partnership

The Committee believes

3.3.1.
authorities
— whether at local, national or Community level — have a
vital role to play in devising and supporting tourism strategies.
In the current climate, however, input from the private sector
could help speed up the process.

that

the

3.3.2.
Growth in the tourism industry often depends — for
instance in the less-prosperous regions of the EU — on the
availability of high-grade infrastructures such as water-treat-
ment plant, for instance in coastal areas; coastal works; winter
sports facilities;
improvements to spa, sport, marina and
airport facilities, etc. The authorities are often unable to cope
with investment on this scale. The European Union can and
must pitch in, using the structural policies for less-prosperous
regions. It could also encourage, within the framework of its
public procurement policy, public-private funding methods
and franchises which allow private capital
to access the
projects. Community encouragement for this modern way
of funding public interest projects would provide a useful
contribution to boosting the potential of the sector.

3.4. Tourism and research & development

3.4.1.
The Communication rightly stresses the potential
benefits of innovation and new technologies. In this respect,
the contribution of the 5th RTD framework programme
should be emphasised, particularly its horizontal priorities
(‘innovation and SME participation’) and such key actions as
‘integrated development of rural and coastal areas’ and ‘the
city of the future’. Unfortunately, these actions are beyond the
scope of the vast majority of tourism industry operators.
The Committee would stress the need for flexible support
procedures for SMEs, which have untapped innovation poten-
tial, and for targeted technology dissemination projects,
implemented by industry organisations. In order to ensure the
greatest possible degree of transparency and facilitate access
— still unavailable to 98 % of operators — to the 5th RTD
framework programme, the Committee calls for the creation
of a user-friendly ‘information counter’ on the web, including
help points (Euro Info Centres and Advice Centres).

But, since European RTD does not stop with the 5th
3.4.2.
RTD framework programme (which accounts for scarcely 4 %
of research in Europe), the Committee believes that joint
projects and actions must also be explored, by harnessing the
shared cost facilities of the COST programme, and Treaty
Articles 168 and 169 (ex Article 130k and l), on common
actions governed by Eureka programme procedures.

3.5. The role of social dialogue in employment and training/skills

policies

The Committee — like the High Level Group —
3.5.1.
would stress here the importance of employment and train-
ing/skills policies in promoting and providing stability for the
sector. Social dialogue is crucial here, and — in view of the
is particularly
the industry — it
cross-border nature of
important that it should be European in scope.

3.5.2. We should also drive home the fact that Community
action is particularly justified on the social and human
level. The fear of social dumping between regions can lead
companies to neglect investment in human resources (training,
qualifications, skills development, staff motivation) or look for
cheaper or less-skilled labour. Social dialogue on the main
challenges facing the sector (training, working time, etc.),
conducted within the various main tourism zones (e.g. Mediter-
ranean islands, mountain ranges), would provide an efficient
way of identifying best practice and improving staff motivation
and the quality of the services provided.

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3.5.3.
Experience of dialogue in the hotel and catering
segment of the industry shows that new progress is possible,
jobs and working time. Indeed,
in particular on low-skill
the employment guidelines suggest that annualisation is an
appropriate response to seasonal work.

3.5.4.
The Committee cannot hide its concern regarding
the representativeness of the tourism authorities and the weak
social dialogue in some Member States. It would seem essential
to build on the best practice of some Member States to
boost the role of the social partners and make them more
representative, particularly of small and medium-sized enter-
prises and seasonal workers. This greater attention to the real
situation of the industry must also be supported and echoed at
European level.

3.5.5.
The Committee would hope that the Member States’
national employment plans will detail initiatives — financial
included — which have been undertaken to boost employment
in the field of tourism, and include the factors which have
contributed to progress on social dialogue in the industry.

businesses involved and, if necessary, additional Community
funding. Moreover,
the conference could launch specific
programmes under Leonardo II to draw up blueprints for
European programmes, twinning arrangements and schools
networks. Joint studies should be conducted in the major
cross-border tourism zones,
to determine common skill
requirements, even for company directors, and to plan the
redeployment of existing training tools or the establishment of
training courses.

In addition to services (hotel management, provision
3.5.9.
of accommodation, etc.), strategies for developing a relevant
skills qualifications base should be aimed at training ‘devel-
opers’ to design packages combining several products: trans-
port,
leisure activities, gastronomy, culture, etc. This will
involve building up across-the-board tourism skills. Sandwich
courses and apprenticeships, the use of new communication
technologies by service providers and developers, specific
training for quality services, and language training are all
features of tourism. The objective will be to provide in-depth,
university-level training for ‘developers’ in a wide range of
skills, to enable them to adapt to various types of activity.

3.5.6.
Social partner discussions must also focus on training
and mobility management, in order to improve skills levels
and ensure seasonal workers can find additional employment
elsewhere.

4. Other possible approaches to a ‘New European Tour-

ism Strategy’

3.5.7.
As regards recognition of qualifications and access
to the profession, the Committee would stress the need for full
implementation of the principle of freedom of establishment,
and for equivalence or mutual recognition of qualifications, in
accordance with the studies undertaken within the framework
of the ESC Single Market Observatory (1). For some professions,
such as estate agents, coach firms and guides, there are still a
number of obstacles to the freedom to provide services or to
freedom of establishment. These are either de facto or legal
obstacles. Whilst it is vital to provide consumer protection, it
is also legitimate to guarantee freedom of movement and of
establishment.

4.1. Growth crisis

4.1.1.
The ESC Opinion on Tourism and Regional Develop-
ment adopted on 20 September 1990 (2) provided new food
for thought in areas such as social tourism, cultural tourism,
mountain- and agri-tourism. These issues are still relevant. The
opinion highlighted the crisis in the tourism industry, which
had become a victim of its own success (irregular supply side
growth, damage to the environment, etc.). Ten years on, the
Committee’s analysis applies equally well: there is indeed a
‘growth crisis’.

3.5.8. With respect to training, the Committee regrets the
fact that the Communication refers solely to financing by the
European Structural Funds. Rather than funding, what is
needed is a Europe-wide debate on vocational training for the
tourism industry. The Committee would therefore suggest a
ministerial conference for the year 2000, where both the
Tourism and Education Councils could discuss the matter. In
anticipation of the proposals which are likely to come out of
the conference, the Committee might already suggest a major
cross-border programme of placements and apprenticeships
using regional and national funding, contributions from the

Furthermore, despite promising figures, Europe’s
4.1.2.
share of world tourism is steadily shrinking. While the number
of tourists in the world is set to double in the next 20 years,
Europe is likely to attract only 45-46 % of international
tourism, in contrast to the current 60 %. Business travel and
visits to over-crowded internationally-renowned sites (Rome,
Athens, Paris, etc.) are still doing extremely well. Traditional
European holiday destinations, however, are often in decline
for a variety of reasons: seasonal over-population, a fall in
the quality of services, an increasing sense of
insecurity,
deterioration of the environment (quality of water, buildings,
etc.).

(1) ESC opinion CES 789/98, OJ C 235, 27.7.1998, p. 10.

(2) OJ C 332, 31.12.1990, p. 157.

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4.1.3.
Tourism is an economically viable activity which
deserves to be encouraged; it must also be properly managed.
Whichever way one looks at it, tourism is not a neutral activity
in either cultural or sociological terms. It brings together
different people and communities. It impacts on economic
practice and working conditions. It can upset the natural
and urban environment: encroachment upon heritage sites,
unsightly building projects, waste, destruction of fauna and
flora. Seasonal mass tourism also forces the authorities to
build extremely expensive infrastructure which is exploited for
only a few months of the year. This makes it difficult to get
returns on the investment, and the authorities concerned can
end up in debt. Crime can also be an involuntary side-effect of
tourism, with drug-related crime and prostitution amongst the
offences.

4.1.4.
Because of these potential hazards, local people react
— sometimes violently — against tourism. Unbridled mass
tourism can lead to frustration, with people feeling they have
been robbed of their land, their traditions, culture and values:
‘it’s all give and no take’. This shows there is a desire to manage
tourism successfully, and to square it properly with the natural
environment and local culture. This type of tourism already
exists in several EU regions, which have so far managed to
escape mass tourism. In this context, the Committee would
highlight the role of civil society organisations in the tourist
regions. It should be possible for them to be involved and
consulted — alongside industry experts and politicians — on
a local sustainable development strategy for tourism.

4.2. Tourism and the single market

4.2.1.
A single market for tourism is far from complete.
The euro will make the shortcomings and discrepancies even
more obvious in a large number of areas. These were identified
in the 1990 opinion(1), and include:

— standard classification of tourist accommodation — cur-
rently a real headache for European and other tourists;

— interoperability of reservation systems;

— recognition of qualifications and freedom of establishment;

— security of payment systems, contract validity, payment

deadlines, litigation procedures, etc.;

— organising seasonal tourist flows, as a purely national

approach is meaningless nowadays.

(1) OJ C 332, 31.12.1990, p. 157.

4.2.2.
selling, which is growing thanks to the Internet.

To these should now be added regulation of distance

4.3. Tourism and culture

4.3.1.
Europe’s cultural heritage has enormous potential
and is a major trump card for the growth of provincial and
city tourism. Lesser-known sites should be inventoried and
integrated into an overall network. Cultural tourism requires
marketing support. Investment must be channelled into the
promotion and marketing of places of genuine cultural interest,
in order to boost their visitor numbers and increase their
financial viability and capacity to develop.

4.3.2.
In terms of employment, this should spawn new
professions where tourism meets culture: intermediaries, devel-
opment project staff, research assistants, regional
language
promoters, information and promotion tool designers, multi-
lingual staff, etc. This combination of tourism- and culture-ba-
sed skills and resources is crucial for the growth of such
tourism.

4.3.3.
Furthermore, cultural tourism provides an indispens-
able channel for furthering mutual understanding between
peoples. Cultural tourism should not be concerned only with
promoting our cultural heritage, but also with living culture
and contemporary creativity. A new European strategy should
include a joint effort to improve cross-border cultural sites;
joint action to promote Europe’s cultural wealth to third
country tourists; and use of the Structural Funds to raise the
profile of our heritage and contemporary creativity.

4.4. Tourism and European citizenship

4.4.1.
The Committee is convinced that tourism plays a
part in European integration. The establishment of the Schen-
gen and euro areas is — in principle — a very positive and
very practical step. This approach should be explored further,
particularly the impact on employment and the potential for
job mobility within the sector. Facilities for third country
tourists should also be considered in this light.

4.5. Tourism, cohesion and sustainable development

4.5.1.
It is widely accepted that developing tourism in
disadvantaged regions helps strengthen cohesion. However, a
certain number of drawbacks (damage to the environment,
unregulated urbanisation, lack of significant impact on the
local economy, opposition from local people) do point to the
need for prudence.

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4.5.2.
The strong pressure exerted by tourist developments
on the immediate social and ecological environment is often
at the root of negative phenomena that rebound on efforts to
promote tourism. New ‘sustainable’ approaches to planning
and developing tourism are needed. The expansion of tourism
often entails the creation of specific types of infrastructure.
Facilities that are only used for a short period of the year and
that spoil the landscape are not uncommon.

Current tourism systems are often based on the
4.5.3.
concentration of a large number of people in small places for
very short stretches of time. The result is a series of problems
with waste management, water supply, energy and transport
and how to run it.

Environmental management is only one aspect of a
4.5.4.
sustainable development approach, which also implies focused
forward planning and a global perspective.

4.5.5.
In this context, it is time for a fresh approach to
tourism and cohesion, based on sustainable development,
giving priority to the preservation of natural assets and leaning
on the concepts of sustainable tourism and eco-tourism.

4.5.6.
It is quite clear that when it comes to a European
strategy to provide a real boost for the job-creating potential
of tourism, the regions often need practical help more than
money. Benchmarking at regional level would seem to fall
within the remit of the EU.

4.6. Social tourism

4.6.1. Making tourism available to as many people as
possible is a major factor in job-creation. Employment guide-
lines should therefore emphasise the snowball effect of various
national measures for social tourism, and encourage them as
part of
(networks of tourist
villages, initiatives for young people, schemes for older people,
retirees, etc.).

the European single market

4.6.3.
In the interests of social cohesion, ways must be
found to avoid segregating the social classes. Tourism must
further an inclusive society.

4.6.4.
Opening up tourism to all social classes should not
be seen as inciting ‘mass tourism’ and all the drawbacks that
go with it: poor service, lack of cultural content, etc. On the
contrary, tourism should be seen as a source of enrichment and
discovery. Furthermore, experience shows that lower-income
consumers are attracted to types of holiday which invite
contact with different peoples and cultures: B&B, gîtes, walking
and cultural holidays.

4.7. Tourism and education

4.7.1.
A Europe-wide scheme to stagger school holidays is
bound to improve the quality of family tourism, and reduce
pressure (environmental, economic, etc.) on the busiest resorts
and tourist areas.

4.7.2. Without wishing to under-estimate the complexity
of
the coordination exercise (traditions, climate, cultural
context, etc.), the Committee calls on the relevant European
Councils (Education, Industry, Tourism) to look again at this
issue.

4.8. Tourism and enlargement

EU enlargement will

4.8.1.
increase tourism’s potential.
First of all, customers from eastern Europe will come to
discover our countries. Added to this is the often underesti-
mated tourist attraction of those countries. Together, these
two factors should provide a tonic for the tourism industry. It
is therefore vital to involve central and eastern Europe in a
European tourism initiative, for instance by setting up inte-
grated initiatives for specific areas (Baltic Sea, Carpathian
mountains, Oder river basin, etc.).

4.8.2.
All things being equal, the same reasoning could
apply to the countries around the Mediterranean, as part of a
tourism policy differentiated according to major attraction
zones.

5. Recommendations: method and principles for Euro-

pean action

5.1. Whereas:

4.6.2. Measures must be taken to increase access to holidays
for all, while taking care to prevent the formation of ghettos,
of places catering only for the disadvantaged.

the European venture has had a positive impact on
5.1.1.
the growth of the tourism industry (freedom of movement for
persons, ‘Schengen area’, single currency, etc.);

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5.1.2.
tourism has made a unique contribution to improv-
ing the employment situation in Europe, mainly because it is
one of the rare sectors which can reconcile productivity and
job-creation;

5.1.3.
it has been decided to recognise and preserve the
local diversity of the European Union — including the enlarged
Europe of the future — by emphasising the rich human,
cultural and natural heritage;

5.1.4.
the hazards of unbridled tourism pose a potential
threat to the environment, heritage and cultural diversity, and
could lead to a growth crisis for the industry;

5.1.5.
and make it more secure in order to enhance its appeal;

it is necessary to raise the profile of unskilled work

5.1.6.
and variety of the services available;

it is important to have a broad-based policy of quality

those areas of the EU which are heavily dependent
5.1.7.
on tourism are handicapped by infrastructure costs (especially
island and remote peripheral regions);

5.1.8.
the local tourism industry and tour operators;

distortions of competition exist, particularly between

5.1.9.
a European approach is warranted both on account
of the self-evidently cross-border nature of the activity, and
because the problems are much the same throughout the EU;
an attempt to find common solutions thus seems more than
justified on grounds of cost and efficiency;

5.2.
The Economic and Social Committee calls on the
Council, the European Parliament, the Member States and the
Commission to launch an Initiative for a European Tourism
Strategy (IETS), to include:

co-funding for pilot projects for exchanges of experi-
5.2.1.
ence and benchmarking, particularly in areas such as defining
local strategies, environmental protection, service quality,
social dialogue and training for the new jobs in the industry,
by drawing existing action relay and local tourism observation
facilities into a structured network;

Brussels, 26 January 2000.

5.2.2.
fast-track access to existing Community instruments
(European Structural Funds, enterprise policy, R&D policy,
Leonardo Programme, JEV, LIFE programme, etc.) to provide
support for the regions which are most heavily dependent on
tourism, and encourage innovation and partnership;

5.2.3.
effective implementation of competition rules to
tourism, in order to combat the distortions, monopolies and
oligopolies which make life insecure for hundreds of thousands
of the industry’s small businesses;

5.2.4. more extensive social dialogue, particularly at Euro-
pean level, in order to improve skills, training and mobility
levels, working conditions, working hours and job security;

a study in leading sectors — and including experts
5.2.5.
and consumer and employee organisations — into the case for
a European Quality Charter with common standards and
machinery for certification and assessment;

useful details of the employment policies and social
5.2.6.
dialogue arrangements the Member States would be asked to
comply with under the National Employment Plans;

immediate implementation of the IETS initiative in
5.2.7.
the applicant countries, with particular regard to Phare and
Sapard funding;

annual publication of a Commission report on the
5.2.8.
implementation of the strategy, the impact of Community
policy on the industry (single market, CAP, external relations,
social policy, etc.) and the figures for allocation of European
funding;

5.2.9.
regular consultation by the European institutions of
the economic and social operators in the sector, in particular
to analyse the impact of European legislation and policy on
tourism;

an annual monitoring conference,

5.2.10.
involving the
Member States, the relevant partners (tourism professionals,
employees, consumers, related activities, etc.), the European
Parliament and the Economic and Social Committee.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Beatrice RANGONI MACHIAVELLI