Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the "Commission Communication to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions on Working together for the future of European tourism"
Date: 2002-09-18
Institutions: European Economic and Social Committee
Subjects: European Union, cooperation policy, economic development, tourism, tourism policy

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Opinion of the Economic and Social Committee on the ‘Commission Communication to the
Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the
Regions on Working together for the future of European tourism’

(2003/C 61/03)

On 15 November 2001, the European Commission decided to consult the Economic and Social
Committee, under Article 362 of the Treaty establishing the European Community on the above-
mentionned proposal.

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 11 September 2002. The rapporteur was
Mr Liverani.

At its 393rd Plenary Session (meeting of 18 September 2002), the Economic and Social Committee
adopted the following opinion with 123 votes in favour and two abstentions.

1. General background: observations on the concept of

proximity

1.1.
Recent events and the international climate of height-
ened tension in ‘high risk’ areas of the world since the terrorist
attacks of 11 September have provided a dramatic reminder
of the extent to which peace, understanding and mutual
respect amongst populations and the safety of transport and
people influence the tourist industry.

incentive of the single currency. In this context, there is all the
more reason to promote the huge range of destinations and
local attractions that Europe has to offer. In this challenging
period, European local tourist industries can do much to:

— restore their local community’s trust in meeting and

mixing with different people and cultures;

— boost market confidence, both within Europe and over-
seas, that the EU offers safe and peaceful holiday desti-
nations;

1.1.1.
Tourism is highly sensitive to the above values.
Absence of these values leads to severe short-term effects on
the industry and long-term changes in travel and holiday
habits and lifestyles.

— improve the capacity of European destinations, from the
largest cities to the smallest villages, to welcome visitors
and provide suitable facilities for them;

1.1.2.
Tourism (for leisure and business) thrives in an
atmosphere of untroubled international relations and a spirit
of friendship, cooperation and exchange amongst different
populations and cultures.

A deep-seated wariness is taking root in international
1.1.3.
relations, generating mistrust that could irretrievably blight
relations between people and populations. It is essential to
ensure that deep, unbridgeable divides do not open up between
north and south or between east and west. Now is the time to
build bridges, to revive international relations and restore trust
and a sense of security. This is the intelligent and effective
response to international terrorism, to the criminals who have
sought to sow panic and unrest in people’s daily lives.

— exploit the wealth of local identities, cultural and artistic
heritage, local products, wine and speciality-food regions,
cooking and traditions, social and natural environments,
landscapes, lifestyles and customs and extend the hor-
the same time
izons of
conferring a sense of peace, familiarity and reassurance;

time and space, whilst at

— promote employment and, more broadly, other sectors
of the economy, by developing a form of tourism that
enables visitors to find out about local businesses.

2. The significance and values of tourism: new instru-

ments for governing European tourism

1.2.
However, there is no doubt that long-distance tourism
to exotic and faraway places could suffer for some time
(through concern about air transport safety, political instability
etc.), despite early signs of an upturn. For these reasons, the
public will favour destinations closer to home, with the added

The importance of the tourist sector for the economic,
2.1.
social and cultural development of Europe is now generally
acknowledged. However, this has not yet been backed up by

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an equal emphasis in EU policies. The Commission has made
great efforts to bridge this gap, considering the lack of a clear
legal basis.

2.2.
The Commission Communication defines a more open
strategy and proposes a new Community approach to tourism
in the form of ten specific measures. These measures form the
basis of a process designed to promote this important econ-
omic and social activity in EU programmes. They focus on
coordination and cooperation between the various actors
involved in tourism policy; harmonising the standards that
regulate tourism in the Member States and promoting policies
of quality, accessibility and promoting the right for all people
to have a holiday; improving research and understanding of
the mechanics of tourism on a statistical, economic and social
level; encouraging a network culture by creating new networks
and exchanging good practices; promoting tourist resorts as a
hub for public-private sector interaction and as places where
resources are turned into tourism products; and making
optimum use of Europe’s large and diverse range of tourist
destinations, while respecting the principle of subsidiarity.

Following the conclusions of the June 1999 Council, a
2.3.
period of closer cooperation based on the open coordination
method was initiated between the main interested parties
(Member States, the tourist industry, civil society, the European
Commission). This closer cooperation is in line with the
recommendations contained in the Committee’s previous
opinion on this subject (1).

2.4.
This method, as highlighted in the Commission docu-
ment, is consonant with the guidelines laid down in the recent
White Paper on European governance. The complex nature of
the tourist industry and the interdependence between the
various players make the sector a useful testbed for this.

2.5.
However it is worth underscoring that good govern-
ance of the tourism sector implies a bottom-up approach,
which means putting the emphasis on local tourist industries as
the focus for applying the Commission’s guidelines, developing
coherent strategies and fostering understanding between local
stakeholders. (See Resolution of the European Parliament A5-
0030/2000, point N.)

( 1) OJ C 75, 15.3.2000.

2.6.
The Commission’s strategy respects the conditions
and the positions that emerged during the course of the
consultations and debates held upon completion of the work
carried out by the five working groups. This important work
could, however, yield even greater results if
the above-
mentioned resolution were acted upon, in particular Points G
and H: ‘whereas the European Parliament has been urging the
Council for some considerable time to adopt a multiannual
programme on tourism, which is needed on the one hand to
improve coordination between the various Community actions
and, on the other hand, to reinforce synergies with the Member
States’ policies on tourism’.

3. Destination Europe

The ‘Europe’ brand-name (with the diversity and values
3.1.
associated with it) represents added value to the attraction of
individual countries, regions and local tourist resorts in the
Union.

3.2.
The European Community must make itself more
competitive and attractive for tourists as a macro tourist
region. It can thus attract tourists from other continents to
different locations in Europe, thereby boosting the status of
these destinations within the internal market.

3.3.
The current moves to create a free trade area in the
Mediterranean should also promote cooperation projects to
develop tourism in the countries on its southern shores, while
ensuring these projects comply with EU regulatory standards
in the tourist industry and espouse respect for fundamental
human rights, the natural environment and local cultures and
traditions.

3.4. When considering the European Community’s position
as a macro tourist region, attention must also be paid to the
development and the promotion of the most outlying regions,
from the far northern part of the continent to the islands.

4. The centrality of destinations and local identities in
the context of cooperation: encouraging the develop-
ment of local tourist industries

4.1.
The Commission Communication defines the specific
features of tourism as a factor for local development, correctly
identifying the centrality of destinations in the provision of
services and tourist attractions: ‘The tourist destination is the
main place of consumption of tourist services and, therefore,
the location and place of activity of tourist businesses. Tourists

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identify the product with both the businesses providing a
service and the destination visited. (...) The destination is the
hub of tourist activities and the focus of the tourist image. It is
the melting pot where public and private entities interact and
where almost all SMEs in the tourist industry are active’.

This is confirmed by the Council of Ministers Resolution of
21 May 2002.

The identity of a particular area is the result of a
4.2.
complex combination of unique factors: relics of its past,
economic opportunities, networks of relations and services,
meeting places, specific features of
the urban and rural
environment and of the people who live there, landscapes,
flavours,
nature,
encounters and exchanges, art, artists and characters past and
present who experienced the atmosphere and described it in
their works.

traditions, culture,

local products,

food,

4.3.
Identity gives a place its soul (genius loci) — everything
that makes it unique and irreplaceable. However, identity is
not static and unchangeable, but the result of a continuous
process of adapting to different needs, expectations and
lifestyles. It is self-awareness when faced with change and
relations with others. A place where visitors are always
welcome, and where personal relations are the lifeblood, is a
place whose structure is constantly in the throes of change,
and these changes may be difficult. Such places embrace
trends,
inspire fashions and offer different and personal
experiences to each individual. Welcoming tourists to desti-
nations therefore means promoting the best a place has to
offer and building distinctive itineraries based upon exchange
and sharing.

Promoting destinations provides an opportunity to
4.4.
highlight the quality of life and relations in a local community.
The higher and more authentic this becomes, the more this
place becomes attractive and popular for tourists. Tourism
policies foster the constant extension and upgrading of
infrastructure and service networks with the emphasis on
respect for the individual. They can thus create a user-friendly
system of relations and services designed to ensure a pleasant
stay, albeit temporary, for people who visit an area for culture,
business or leisure.

lifestyle, nature,

tourism policy should foster the development of local identity
and produce and the creation of a network of local theme-
based tourist routes. These would pool common values
(hospitality, providing common experiences, history, art, cul-
ture, monuments, architecture,
traditions,
gastronomy and so on) as well as highlighting the main
attraction of each place (with particular attention to niche
markets). This could lead to the creation of a ‘catalogue of
good practice, hospitality and the promotion of local identity’.
The catalogue could key into and stimulate demand, which is
increasingly adventurous and attentive to local values and
It could also be made available on an
specific features.
interactive European tourism website. In this context, attention
should be given to the needs of those who travel for business
or conferences who, together with holidaymakers and cultural
tourists, account for the bulk of European tourism.

The Committee believes that a culture of tourism

4.6.
should be encouraged, based upon:

a)

the key notions of respect and the individual;

b)

self-awareness and identity;

c)

the principles of responsibility and sustainability;

d)

hospitality.

There is a clear reference here to the code of ethics for
4.7.
tourism drawn up by the World Tourism Organisation. This
could, however, be supplemented with the approval and
distribution of a European charter of the principles and values
of tourism in the European Union, which could preface a
quality charter for Europe’s tourist destinations (see point 9.4).
A working group made up of experts nominated by the
Member States could be set up to draft such a charter. The
results of this working group could then be discussed with
European interest groups from the tourist industry during one
of the forthcoming European forums on tourism.

5. The Tourism and Employment process: stance and

thoughts of the Committee

5.1.
The Commission has focused on many of the points
made in the Committee’s previous opinion (1), and has incor-
porated them into interesting proposals, but some issues have
In particular, the matter of
yet to be explored in depth.

In the final analysis, what makes a tourist destination
4.5.
attractive is the system of values it stands for. While also
putting forward minimum standards as regards quality, EU

(1) OJ C 75, 15.3.2000.

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restructuring holiday periods should be subject to further
analysis with a view to reducing the concentration of tourist
activity during peak periods. This would help optimise business
activity and improve working conditions in the industry.
Certain forms of tourism are particularly well suited to this
type of seasonality, for example tourism for schools and for
older people. Another factor to bear in mind is the drive
within European society to reorganise working time by
reducing working hours and introducing new forms of flexi-
bility (‘vertical’ part-time spread throughout the year, tempor-
ary work etc.). In other words, an increase in free time (or non-
working time) does not always equate with a desire to visit
new places, seek out new opportunities etc. It could be said,
therefore, that the conditions are in place in society today for
reorganising the tourist season and transcending past models
born out of the Fordist approach to work.

professions and trades will be needed, by either restructuring
or even replacing current forms of professions. In this context
the Committee particularly supports the Commission proposal
on ‘Learning Areas’.

characterised by close

interpersonal
Tourism is
6.2.
relations. This means that
the value of human input is
paramount, and difficult to replace with technology. Policies
fostering employment in tourism should be closely linked to
measures targeting training. Hospitality policies and services
promoting the cultural and natural heritage of Europe’s
tourist destinations can generate new skilled employment
opportunities.

The Committee underscores the importance of effective
5.2.
action to support SMEs in the tourism sector in the process of
completing the Single Market. Measures to ensure convergence
and transparency should be stepped up in order to avoid
inequality, market distortion and unfair competition practices.

5.3. Whilst endorsing the horizontal and inter-sectoral
approach to ensure a coherent use of Community programmes
to support tourism, the Committee underscores the objective
difficulty of putting the general guidelines into practice. For
example, the Commission document mentions that 2003 is
the European Year of People with Disabilities, but the Council
Decision of 3 December 2001 on the European Year of People
with Disabilities (1) does not contain specific goals on tourism
for people with special needs.

6. Employment in the tourist industry

6.3.
Such policies should aim to correct the precarious
nature of employment in this sector (characterised by seasonal-
ity, low skills, illegal unemployment, insecure working con-
ditions etc.) and foster horizontal and vertical mobility in the
tourist sector, inter alia by applying the directives to promote
equal opportunities and to combat child labour and the
exploitation of minors.

6.4.
Promoting new forms of cultural, environmental, rural,
conference and sport-related tourism, and tourism for young
people, students and older people, can help prolong the peak
season for businesses and thus increase the number of working
days and provide more long-term employment.

The Committee endorses the priorities identified by

6.5.
Working Group B which focus on the need to:

a)

attract skilled labour into the sector;

b)

c)

encourage them to stay in the sector and develop their
skills;

support micro-enterprises at regional and local level to
boost their competitiveness.

6.1.
The Tourism-Employment process forms the hub of
all EU policies on tourism. A modern tourism policy fosters
the creation of new jobs, new businesses and professions and
reinvents existing professions in both the public and private
sector. However, when considering the development of
employment in tourism, it is important to reflect not only on
how many new jobs can be created but also which new

6.6.
It would also be useful to devise actions to improve
working conditions in tourism, taking care not to mistake job
insecurity for flexibility. Firstly working conditions could be
improved by developing innovative organisational methods
and offering incentives (tax or contribution-related benefits,
etc.) to SMEs that meet the pre-defined goals.

( 1) OJ L 335, 19.12.2001.

6.7.
Lastly, the status of professional qualifications should
be harmonised and upgraded by improving social represen-
tation and the status of professions and trades in the tourist
industry (e.g. by means of awareness-raising campaigns).

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7. Training human resources

e)

coordination of basic, specialist and vocational training,
to help devise new curricula to equip students with the
skills needed in the tourist industry.

7.1.
A network of training centres should be set up, and
universities and research centres should be encouraged to
monitor the changing face of tourism and hone the mechan-
isms needed to adapt the sector.

7.2.
In order to offer the best possible advice for young
people entering the job market and promote tourism pro-
fessions, there must be an effective link set up between
schools and employment. Ongoing training facilities and
career guidance should be made available and should focus in
particular on vocational skills and refresher courses.

7.2.1.
Training standards should be laid down in accord-
ance with the requirements of the various tourism-related
vocations. In addition to the relevant technical skills, training
curricula in the Community should also cover language skills,
the development of communication skills and practical work
experience, where possible acquired in the Member States, and
curricula should be coordinated. In this connection, there
should be mutual recognition of vocational qualifications and
diplomas (1).

These training measures can both improve worker mobility
and in the longer term also raise quality standards in European
tourism.

It must be emphasised that training programmes (for
7.3.
workers, entrepreneurs and managerial staff) should be of a
permanent nature to create the conditions to support the
development of quality employment. A concerted drive to
boost training would encourage the hand-over of businesses
to the next generation and would truly modernise the sector
by building up human and technical assets in the context of
sustainable tourism development.

7.4.

Continuing training should be geared towards:

a)

creating new professions;

b)

defining new roles;

c)

creating new opportunities for employment;

d)

creating a European, national, regional and local network
of institutional and social partners designed to promote
innovation in training and research into sustainable
development of tourism;

( 1) Opinion CES 1020/2002.

8. SMEs in tourism

8.1.
The overwhelming majority of European businesses
operating in the tourist industry are small (if not very small)
or medium-sized. Many of them are also characterised by
traditional structures in the way they both manufacture and
provide services. It is therefore necessary to put SMEs in the
tourist industry on the same footing as those operating in
other sectors of the economy, while respecting their specific
features.

8.2.
The strategic importance of SMEs in European tourism
is not confined to their economic value and substantial
potential
to boost employment. They also underpin the
stability and prosperity of local communities, safeguarding the
values of hospitality and local identity that are the hallmark of
tourism in Europe’s regions.

8.3.
Globalisation of the economy and society can represent
an opportunity but also a risk for SMEs in the tourist
industry as they are exposed to the dangers inherent in the
concentration of world markets. Therefore, policies designed
to boost the competitiveness of such SMEs should encourage
ways in which tourist businesses can work together, including
in consortia or cooperatives.

The EU must therefore step up its action to support
8.4.
SMEs in the tourist industry by implementing the action
lines drawn up at the Llandudno conference (Wales, UK) in
May 1998, which were further developed at the conferences
held in Lille (F) in 2000 and Bruges (B) in 2001.

8.5.
Tourism SMEs must be provided with the information
and advice needed to access the opportunities available
through Community programmes. Here the Committee would
draw attention to the paragraph on creating TICP networks
(Tourist information and consultancy points).

8.6.
In addition, incentives must be put in place to enhance
the quality of tourism SMEs by widespread use of comparative
certification tools such as ISO and EFQM and by developing
ad hoc measures in the framework of EU programmes and
funding for SMEs.

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8.7.
Changing tourism demand and the emergence of new
needs bring a call for new and original businesses. Setting up
companies should be made easier, especially for young people
and women, by establishing consultancy and assistance mech-
anisms during the planning and ‘start-up’ phases. At the same
time,
is necessary to foster the adoption of structures
designed to improve working conditions, increase added value
and boost creativity. Credit facilities to support innovation and
retraining could be a means by which to achieve this.

it

marking system. Point 11 of the Resolution of the EU Council
of Ministers of 21 May 2002 specifically refers to this matter
in its call to: ‘promote actively the use of quality indicators of
tourist destinations on the basis of a European manual agreed
by all Member States’ and ‘work towards tools and an approach of
quality benchmarking and their implementation on a voluntary
basis...’.

9. The host city: quality of services and interpersonal
relations: a quality charter for European tourist desti-
nations

The tourism product

9.1.
is a combination of goods,
services and experiences provided by businesses and public
entities in a given location. There is an ongoing exchange of
values between business and the local area. The tourism
product relies on the added value gained from its particular
geographical identity and context.

9.2.
Tourist destinations are thus testbeds for the tourism
product. The quality of a tourist resort is measured against its
ability to coordinate the public and private sector, which
together help determine its attraction and facilities. Quality is
a pervasive factor across the whole spectrum of tourist services.
The primary goal of providing goods, services and experiences
is to satisfy those who in one way or another buy into the
tourist experience.

These concepts can be summarised by two words:
9.3.
responsibility and hospitality. Whilst responsibility denotes a
new selling and purchasing ethic (conscious consumption),
hospitality broadens the conception of relations between
places and peoples, if only temporarily. In other words, new
strategies must be devised to improve the role of tourist resorts
as host cities/towns and to regularly monitor processes by
piloting specific programmes and initiatives to foster a culture
of quality. (The quality system applied to tourist resorts.)

9.5.
The interaction between providers and users in the
tourist industry is particularly intense. The pact regulating
relations is a veritable citizenship pact (the tourist being a
temporary citizen with full rights and duties).

9.6.
For this reason, the content of the pact must be
publicised and accessible to tourists and must provide them
with a clear yardstick.

Quality factors and indicators can be used to bench-
9.7.
mark the overall quality of a tourist resort and at the same
time to provide a ‘dynamic map of progress’ that will be useful
both for tourists and local operators (public or private) in the
tourist industry. To a large extent, this will tie in with the
methods used to measure the quality of places and quality of
life of inhabitants. It is no coincidence that the most popular
local tourist resorts and areas also offer the highest quality of
life.

9.8.
The challenge faced by local resorts is now greater than
ever. Destinations must maintain a high level of awareness
and respond to changes on several
levels, in particular by
strengthening the identity and authenticity of their products,
forming alliances to provide joint initiatives and networks,
cooperating, improving the quality of supply and the culture
of service provision and ensuring that customers remain the
focus of their efforts.

10. Tourism for all and the accessibility of services and

sites

9.4.
All factors determining quality and their relative indi-
cators, together with the principles and values of hospitality
(vision of the host city), should form part of the Quality charter
for Europe’s tourist destinations. The charter, adopted by
European tourist destinations on a voluntary basis, would
form a quality pact between the various local operators (public
and private) and between operators and tourists. It would
underpin the Europe brand-name, provide added value for
individual resorts and form the basis of a European bench-

Everybody has the right

to a holiday. However,
10.1.
physical, social and economic limitations mean that only just
over half of Europe’s population is currently able to take full
advantage of this right. In particular, it should be emphasised
that
the number of people with special needs is rising
significantly, due to the spread of particular incapacitating
diseases, temporary and permanent disabilities etc., in part
linked to an ageing population.

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10.2.
Tourist destinations and businesses must be able to
respond effectively to the requirements of people with special
needs, and not treat them as second-class citizens.

development is left unchecked, speculative and profit-driven
factors will prevail, wreaking serious consequences on the
natural and social environment.

10.3.
Opting to provide tourism for all upgrades a tourist
resort and is based on important ethical reasons. However,
considering the large number of people with special needs, it
is also significant in market terms.

12.3.
Cultural events encourage mobility of people and the
spread of tourist seasons. They represent a means by which to
promote local identity and diversity, increasing awareness of
Europe’s rich cultural heritage, in both its diversity and its
unity.

10.4.
The European Union must take a leading role in
stimulating and encouraging the removal of physical, cultural
and social obstacles to the full enjoyment of tourist resources.

10.5.
Programmes under preparation for the 2003 Year of
People with Disabilities represent an important opportunity to
define strategies in support of tourism for all.

11. Tourism and the environment: impact and sustain-

ability of developing tourism

11.1.
The concept of sustainability in developing tourism
covers not only the safeguard and renewability of natural
resources but also the analysis and management of the social
and cultural impact on tourist resorts and on the fundamental
values of the local community.

13. A new approach to free time and the tourist season
in the context of restructuring working time

13.1. Modern society has reached a turning point: for the
first time in the history of mankind, work is no longer the
main factor determining the role of individuals and groups.
Free time and the ability to make the most of it is the real
factor which shapes the cultural and indeed economic destiny
of individuals.

13.2.
The reorganisation of work will increasingly lead to
more free time. At the same time, the fact that, on average,
people are living longer and that increasing numbers of active
and energetic people are no longer directly involved in
production will lead to a restructuring of society and of leisure
time.

11.2.
Poorly-managed mass tourism has a negative, and at
times even devastating impact upon the social and natural
environment of the tourist destination, and can lead to an
emergence of anti-tourist sentiment and behaviour amongst
local residents.

13.3.
To make use of this surplus of free time and to
transform it into responsible tourism, the tourism product
should be made more meaningful and authentic, bringing it
closer to daily life and striving to make it available throughout
the calendar year.

11.3.
for tourism should be accelerated.

The process of drawing up a European Agenda 21

12. Tourism and culture

12.1.
A modern vision of tourism must draw on the full
range of cultural resources in a given place, including its
historical, artistic, environmental, gastronomic, industrial and
craft heritage and local traditions.

12.2.
Sustainable and responsible tourism is a cultural
phenomenon in itself, as it encourages understanding and
exchange between peoples and is a key factor in the develop-
ment of conscience, European citizenship and feelings of
belonging to a common community. Conversely, if tourism

EU action could play a part in alleviating the seasonal
13.4.
nature of tourism, which is a serious obstacle to the full
development of the sector. This could be achieved by encourag-
ing the creation of new forms of tourism that can be enjoyed
all year round (for schools, older people, cultural and sport
tourism, active holidays etc.) and diversifying supply. This will
help relieve the pressure faced by tourist resorts in peak
seasons and give a greater degree of stability to employment
and business activity. The Committee underscores the need to
make this matter a priority in European tourism policy.

14.

Increasing analysis of tourism by stimulating and
supporting research

Available EU data to assess the contribution of
14.1.
tourism to national and regional economies are qualitatively
and quantitatively insufficient. The Committee therefore

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endorses the proposal to create a European tourism observ-
atory as the end product of coordinated action between a
network of research centres and other relevant bodies on a
European level.

space. This distinguishes tourism from other industries and
emphasises the importance of local
infrastructure and local
features and the need for coordinated action between the
public and private sector.

The observatory should provide statistical and econ-
14.2.
omic data, including data on the effects of national tourism
policies, while also ascertaining the impact of Community
programmes in support of tourism.

16.3.
The various public and private operators should
therefore be encouraged to join forces in a drive to promote a
network of coordinated action.

14.3.
economic and social impact of tourism.

Satellite accounts are the best tool for assessing the

15. Tourism as a testing ground for the use of new

communication technologies

15.1.
Tourism provides an ideal testing ground to experi-
ment and put into practice the new opportunities presented
by the information society.

15.2.
New communication and information technologies
offer increased scope for self-tuition for tourist operators and
businesses, who can try out new methods of exchanging
information and marketing their products.

16.4.
In addition there is an urgent need to foster conver-
gence on a European level of the legal and fiscal rules governing
tourism and related professions, thereby achieving a real single
market in tourism.

The Committee believes it essential to encourage the
16.5.
access of tourist operators to information on the support
available to them through Community programmes. In prac-
tice, this means providing operators with basic advice on
accessing Community opportunities. To this end, it would be
useful to set up a European network of Tourism information
and consultancy points (TICP) for businesses and operators in
the sector, using the existing network of Infopoints with TICPs
set up preferably in the most popular European tourist
locations.

15.3.
The Committee welcomes the research carried out by
Working Group E and its conclusions identifying the services
that can be exchanged via the network and the consequent
actions for B2B and B2C relations.

17. Conclusions and proposals

15.4.
The Committee considers that the 6th RTD frame-
work programme should include tourism measures open to
businesses and destinations.

16. The complexity and horizontal nature of providing
services and tourist experiences: creating a European
network of Tourist information and consultancy
points (TICP)

16.1.
Tourism is a particularly complex industry, and the
various links of the chain are closely interconnected. The
provision of services and tourist experiences is particularly
sensitive to critical elements which may only be apparent in
one link of the chain.

Reiterating the points made in previous paragraphs and
in accordance with its previous opinions on tourism, the
Committee:

endorses

17.1.
the Commission Communication and
applauds the method used and the content of the work carried
out hitherto, considering it a sound basis upon which to
consolidate EU policies on tourism;

17.2.
endorses the conclusions and proposals put forward
by the five working groups composed of international experts
appointed by the Member States, and associations of operators
in the industry and civil society;

16.2.
In the provision of tourist experiences, the site of
production and consumption coincide in both time and

17.3.
welcomes the Council of Ministers Resolution of
21 May 2002 on the Commission Communication as a further
sign of political will to set up a programming structure for
European tourism;

C 61/22

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

14.3.2003

therefore calls on the Commission and especially the
17.4.
Council
to identify the legal basis needed to strengthen
Community strategies on tourism. This is all the more urgent
given the economic and social importance of this sector in
Europe, the consolidation of the European economic area, the
process under way to reunify Europe and the project to create
a free trade area in the Mediterranean.

17.5.
A legal basis would foster the full development of
the sector and facilitate the establishment of a framework
programme for tourism that could harness Community pro-
grammes and initiatives in other policy areas in support of
tourism, where relevant. Organised civil society, the social
partners and national and Community institutions must all be
closely involved in defining such strategies and measures

Brussels, 18 September 2002.

during the annual European forums organised by the Com-
mission.

17.6.
As its specific contribution to the first European
Forum on tourism scheduled to be held in Brussels in
December 2002, the Committee highlights the need for action
to:

a)

b)

c)

temporarily boost the financial and human resources
available to the Commission’s Tourism Division, pending
the definition of a wider Community policy on tourism;

create a basic network of Tourism information and
consultancy points (TICP);

set up a group of experts to develop a Quality charter for
Europe’s tourist destinations and coordinate its appli-
cation.

The President

of the Economic and Social Committee

Göke FRERICHS

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: Life sciences and biotechnology — A Strategy for Europe’

(2003/C 61/04)

On 25 January 2002 the Commission decided to consult the Economic and Social Committee,
under Article 262 of the Treaty establishing the European Community, on the above-mentionned
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 11 September 2002. The rapporteur was
Mr Bedossa.

At its 393rd Plenary Session of 18 and 19 September 2002 (meeting of 18 September), the Economic
and Social Committee adopted the following opinion by 124 votes to none with one abstention.

1.

Introduction

As part of its follow-up to the consultation document
1.1.
on a strategic vision of
life sciences and biotechnology,
to which the Committee contributed with its opinion of
21 February 2002 (1), the Commission is now briefing the EU
institutions on its definition of this strategy.

The Committee welcomes this initiative, noting that
1.2.
the strategy is accompanied by a well-constructed, precise,
dynamic and proactive action plan.

( 1) OJ C 94, 18.4.2002.

1.3.
The comprehensive consultation underpinning the
Commission’s action of course forms part of the rules of
governance which are intended to bring EU bodies closer to
organised civil society, NGOs and all actors in the life