Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on:the Commission Communication to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — Working together for the future of European tourism, andthe Report from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — Follow-up of the European Council of 21 September: The situation in the European tourism sector
Date: 2002-10-10
Institutions: European Committee of the Regions
Subjects: European Union, competitiveness, economic development, job creation, principle of subsidiarity, sustainable development, tourism policy, tourist profession

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Opinion of the Committee of the Regions on:

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

— the ‘Report from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic
and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — Follow-up of the European
Council of 21 September: The situation in the European tourism sector’

(2003/C 66/04)

THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS,

having regard to the Commission Communication to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic
and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — Working together for the future of European
tourism (COM(2001) 665 final);

having regard to the Report from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic
and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions — Follow-up of the European Council of
21 September: the situation in the European tourism sector (COM(2001) 668 final);

having regard to the decision taken by the Commission on 15 November 2001 to consult the Committee
on this subject, in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 265 of the Treaty establishing the
European Community;

having regard to the decision taken by its Bureau on 6 February 2002 to instruct the Commission for
Territorial Cohesion Policy to draw up the relevant opinion;

having regard to its previous opinion on the Communication from the Commission to the Council, the
European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions —
Enhancing Tourism’s Potential for Employment (COM(1999) 205 final) (CdR 291/1999 fin) (1);

having regard to the draft opinion adopted by its Commission for Territorial Cohesion Policy on 24 June
2002 (CdR 1999/2002 rev.) (rapporteur: Mr Andria, President of the province of Salerno — I, EPP);

whereas the November 1997 European conference on tourism and employment held in Luxembourg (4-
5.11.1997), the Luxembourg European Council on employment (21-22.11.1997) and the conclusions of
the Tourism Ministers’ Council meeting on 26 November 1997 provided a broad and structured policy
and planning platform, giving priority to the benefits arising from the balanced and sustainable
development of European tourism;

whereas in 1998 the Commission established a high level group responsible for analysing the link
between tourism and employment and, on the basis of the conclusions of this working group (European
Tourism — New partnerships for employment: Conclusions and recommendations of the High
Level Group on Tourism and Employment, European Commission), the Commission published the
Communication on Enhancing tourism’s potential for employment (COM(1999) 205 final);

whereas this Communication gave rise to the conclusions of the Council of 21 June 1999 calling on the
Commission and the Member States to ‘cooperate closely in order to maximise the contribution which
tourism may make to growth and employment’, particularly with respect to four subjects:

1.

2.

information;

training;

(1) OJ C 317, 6.11.2000, p. 40.

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3.

quality;

4.

sustainability.

whereas since the Council meeting of 21 June 1999 on tourism and employment and on the basis of the
reactions of the other European institutions (1), there has been a growing awareness of the need to
improve the effectiveness of the dialogue between the various players concerned with growth trends in
the tourism sector (Member States, professionals, civil society and European institutions);

whereas the present Communication on Working together for the future of European tourism strengthens
the resolve to implement the open coordination method among all operators concerned (Lisbon European
Council), while also staying in line with the guidelines given by the White Paper on governance, and in
essence calls for urgent attention to be given to four main issues:

1.

increasing the basic knowledge of the sector;

2.

sharpening the competitiveness of companies working in the sector;

3.

improving growth prospects relating to sustainable development;

4.

contributing to job creation.

whereas the present Communication refers several times to the need to involve civil society, the tourism
industry and the players present in the various European regions in the framing of a Community tourism
policy, in order to define an interactive channel through which to exchange up-to-the-minute information
on trends in tourism supply and demand, as well as on the current changes, not least in terms of problems
that may be shared;

whereas the same document underlines the urgent need for interinstitutional cooperation between the
various tiers of local and regional administrative authorities and between them and the bodies/institutions
of the European Union;

whereas the involvement of the above-mentioned institutional and social players can no longer be put off
owing to the unavoidable problems mentioned by Helena Torres Marques (MEP-P) among others at the
meeting of the European Parliament’s Committee on Regional Policy, Transport and Tourism on
19 March;

whereas the state of tourism in Europe (according to the European Commission report on Follow-up of
the European Council of 21 September: the situation in the European tourism sector) has proved to be
not as bad as initially expected after 11 September 2001, although new trends have emerged showing a
different and more complex geographical spread of user profiles,

whereas on the basis of the analyses contained in the European Commission’s first progress report on
economic and social cohesion, of 30 January 2002, in the context of development policies linked to the
Structural Funds, from 2006 it will be necessary to give consideration to the impact in regions whose
economies are based mainly on tourism, make an in-depth assessment of the impact of Community
initiatives such as Leader, Interreg, Urban and Equal, and shape new strategies for intervention in local
development systems with particular regard to Objective 1 regions;

whereas Agenda 21 aims to promote sustainable development and thus the definitive take-off of eco-
tourism, with the full involvement of local and regional authorities;

whereas in September of the 2002 International Year of Ecotourism, there will be a world summit on
sustainable development in Johannesburg;

(1) See European Parliament Resolution of 18.2.2000, CoR opinion of 15.6.2000 (CdR 291/99 — OJ C 317,

6.11.2000, p. 40) and ESC opinion of 26.1.2000 (CES 93/2000).

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whereas the European Commission’s communication lists five priorities for the future development of
European tourism:

— information: to facilitate the exchange and dissemination of information, particularly through new

technologies;

— training: to improve training in order to upgrade skills in the tourism industry;

— quality: to improve the quality of tourism products;

— sustainability: to promote environmental protection (finding innovative ways of implementing

Agenda 21);

— new technologies: controlling the impact and use of services based on Information and Communi-

cation Technologies (ICT) in the tourism sector,

adopted the present opinion unanimously at its 46th plenary session of 10 October 2002.

GENERAL COMMENTS

‘We have much more in common than we have to

1.
separate us’.

This principle quoted in the opening lines of the executive
summary of the report drawn up by the World Tourism
Organisation for the second meeting of the Travel and Tourism
Recovery Committee (15 March 2002, ITB Berlin) — entitled
‘The impact of the September 11 attacks on tourism: The light
at
the tunnel’ — sums up the philosophy
underpinning this document. There is a need for an awareness
that tourism in Europe can lean on the added value generated
by the common thread of a cultural identity that goes much
deeper than is generally thought. For this reason, work must
be done in the short and medium term on two main fronts:

the end of

a)

b)

giving priority to procedures aimed at gradually harmon-
ising standards of supply, building on the many areas of
fertile common ground (starting with the single currency);

further harmonising local, regional, national and Com-
munity policies in relation to the five main priorities
mentioned above in the area of tourism: information,
training, quality, sustainability and new technologies.

2.
Following early analyses which pointed to much more
serious consequences for the European tourist economy, the
impact of 11 September has turned out to be in line with
forecasts that envisaged that the first signs of a turnaround
would be seen six months after the attack. Currently, as the
WTO notes, tourism is making a clear recovery although the
pattern of tourist flows has evidently changed. Intercontinental
air traffic has suffered a serious downturn, while domestic
tourism has to some extent helped to stem a decline which
could in many ways have spelled disaster.

3.
This redistribution of flows means that some sectors of
the tourist industry have suffered more than others. Small
tour operators, medium-scale sporting and cultural event
organisers, domestic package-holiday companies, small airlines
and other small operators have generally weathered the crisis
better than others.

4.
This would suggest that after 11 September, the global
economy suffered a sudden slow-down, prompting a rethink
of economic growth strategies at local level. In this context,
regional development systems have been at an advantage but
have not always turned it to account. There has been a shift
from global to local level.

5.
As stressed in the above-mentioned World Tourism
Organisation report, there are signs of further recovery in the
short-term. However, what lessons can be learned from the
crisis? In the unspeakable event that it should happen again,
what structural response to such difficult times can be planned?
It should be noted that in general it was clear that there was
no strategically coordinated response at European level: there
was no common planned response to the immediate and
complex crisis triggered by the attacks.

6.
The Commission report states that ‘Several requests for
policy action have been made by the European tourism
industry. Above all, the European tourism industry emphasises
the need to coordinate, more than ever before, the promotion
of Europe in its overseas markets and has asked that the
Commission play an active role in the promotion of Europe as
a safe destination.’

7.
The report rightly concludes that efforts should focus
mainly on the new cooperative approach, with measures that
‘aim at improving the integration of the concerns of all tourism
stakeholders in Community policies and initiatives affecting
tourism, and at promoting a better interface with the tourism
industry and other parties involved.’

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RECOMMENDATIONS

of a broader notion of citizenship. Rather than being mere
bystanders to government action in their area, citizens can
in local government in the context of
now play a part
institutional measures promoted by regional and local auth-
orities.

1. The Committee of the Regions favours the open
consultation and coordination method, but insists
on the importance of transparency and democratic
parliamentary scrutiny

Regional and local authorities with their key role have once
more proved to be the only unifying forces able to further the
territorial cohesion policies implemented by the European
Union. Agreement is not possible without participation. The
governance of an area is effective only if it begins at grass-
roots level. Even the most innovative instruments will not
necessarily have a positive impact if they are passed down
from on high. Conversely, when input and proposals are
adopted at grass-roots level, they foster a culture of reciprocal
dialogue and listening. Political federalism becomes adminis-
trative federalism and institutional, economic and social part-
nership.

This is how every tourism development policy should be
viewed. There can be no genuine European tourism network
without a careful process of monitoring and understanding
the current situation. An all-encompassing plan putting the
widely-felt need for tourist safety first
involves surveying
needs, assessing accommodation and leisure facilities, and
evaluating transport systems.

The CoR remarks that in its communication (1), the Com-
mission is concerned by the lack of progress made with local
and regional authorities during the Working Groups on the
five key areas of priority (highlighted on page 4 of this opinion)
during their discussions. The CoR encourages the European
Commission and the Member States, in the spirit of Govern-
ance, to develop effective working practices that engage local
and regional government to ensure that policies are developed
in the future that complement and add value to that of tourism
activity at the grass-root level.

2. The Committee of the Regions recommends promot-
ing the responsibility of public and private players

Working from the grass-roots calls for a completely new
mindset, transforming the traditional relationship between
public and private sectors. The link between them is no
longer one of subordination, instead, they are partners in a
development plan organised in terms of equality, on the basis

( 1) COM(2001) 665 final, Annex 1, p. 21.

The synergy this generates makes the tourism industry highly
competitive. Individual companies (or individual cartels) are
no longer alone in seeking the most effective way to make a
profit, as the local system to which they belong seeks the path
best suited to dealing with the market. This type of approach
— defined by some academics as the development of geo-
communities — can also be used to manage the transition
from unruly, uncontrolled globalisation to regulated and
sustainable globalisation.

Sustainable development comes from knowledge of the region
and its potential. The main precondition for developing and
maintaining ecotourism is that of turning local potential to
account.

3. The Committee of the Regions highlights the prioriti-
es for developing and promoting European tourism
on the world market

Before launching any product onto the market, it is first a
good idea to focus on the perception of any product’s identity
from the point of view of the customer. In the field of tourism,
the perception of a tourism product should surpass any will to
promote tourism supply around any administrative or regional
boundary.

Putting the traveller, the tourist, at the centre of any draft
legislation is essential. Even the most advanced marketing
theories point to the need to ‘profile’ supply on the basis of
the needs of the potential user, in order to create genuine user
communities that interact with the product designed for them.
Rather than focusing on any single EU product, the CoR
believes that there is an ideal opportunity for the European
Commission to add value to work at local and regional level
by making the most of the benefits offered by IT systems. By
developing a single harmonised IT network over the Internet,
providers and tourists would be better placed to devise or
guide their way through an enormous mass of data that is
currently available. The Commission, without trying to develop
an EU product, could assist in developing a system that would
help bring providers and tourists together more effectively.

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In cooperation with local and regional authorities and the
tourism sector, the European Commission should conduct
measures, under the VIth R&D framework programme, to
speed up the introduction of new technologies in the manage-
ment and information systems of
tourist businesses and
destinations.

B. Matching the supply of professionals graduating from college
and university courses with the demand for manpower in the
tourism industry

Such measures are particularly important in the context of the
current slowdown in the tourism sector, with a view to helping
the sector develop more competitively.

To help map an organic course of development for European
tourism, giving priority to the involvement of local communi-
ties, the Committee of the Region has outlined a few guidelines
for Community tourism policies:

The CoR agrees with the Commission’s analysis of the main
needs in terms of training. Tourism currently has a relatively
unskilled workforce in most of the main subsectors and
especially in SMEs. Whilst there is demand for new skills, for
example those associated with ICT, the CoR is aware that
local and regional authorities face a significant challenge in
stimulating growth particularly in the small and micro business
sector that makes up a significant element of the sector. With
a downward pressure on prices from larger tour operators,
small family businesses in the tourism sector suffer from the
lack of perceivable career path and are forced to cut training
opportunities, leading to further difficulties with recruitment.

A.

Securing an appropriate level of safety and quality in the EU
transport network (road, rail, sea and air) so that it is better
able to cope with the volume of leisure time traffic

The CoR agrees with the European Commission that the
liberalisation of transport and the development of networks,
the improved efficiency of the single market and the growing
availability of information society tools will facilitate personal
mobility and help to internationalise tourist flows.

The CoR supports the European Commission’s view that
Community transport policy is a key issue for the tourism
sector, in terms of sustainable mobility, the right to passenger
safety and transport quality. At this stage, improving transport
certainly means placing an emphasis on safety, but other
related issues must also be taken into consideration. Further-
more, the White Paper on transport has already given guide-
lines for improving the efficiency, sustainability and quality of
the tourist transport system.

Tourism is also crucial for the development of regions with
accessibility problems, such as mountain areas, island regions
and the outermost regions.

Significant progress has been made at EU level on the issue of
‘tourism for all’. The CoR welcomes the European Commission
proposals to look more closely at access for the physically
disabled. However, the CoR notes the broad definition given
to the topic by the Belgian Presidency Tourism Conference
that took place in July 2001 and would welcome further
proposals from the Commission in the field of social tourism.

In this context, steps can be taken to put measures already
used in other areas effectively into practice (such as the
‘Europass training document for tourism’), and ‘transform
learning into innovation, taking into account the “fragile”
reality regarding human resources (...), considering a method
(...) of learning which is more complex than conventional
training, and using bottom-up/top-down approaches, partner-
ships and cooperation between all the stakeholders concerned.’

It is vitally important to assess the possibility of setting up a
specific training network for tourism skills, not least within
existing Community programmes (Leonardo da Vinci, Socrat-
es, Tempus, Erasmus). This could dovetail with employment
measures (Equal) and link up with training bodies (ALFA).

In island regions, air transport systems must be improved and
the frequency of services increased, ensuring that sufficient
places are available. Action is also needed to improve links
between the reference airports for island regions and the trans-
European road and rail networks, especially high speed trains.

The CoR would suggest that with this in mind, more financial
resources (in the context of the Structural Funds) should be
earmarked for pre-university training courses, as there is a
need to create a hard core of minimum medium/high-level
skills which will then form a better basis for degree-level
studies.

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The e-learning dimension of the enhancement of the know-
ledge culture can be a source of value added in the preparation
of any initiative in this sector, giving greater uniformity to
sectoral training practices.

Organisational and commercial consultancy, the planning of
awareness campaigns, and financial incentives all dovetail to
make a programme that recognises high quality tourist
structures, the aim being to work at harmonising the quality
standard evaluation system for accommodation and hospitality
facilities.

While on the one hand, the introduction of teaching mechan-
isms aimed at transferring technical and technological skills
should be stepped up, it is also time to link up the various
training experiences currently going on in the Member States,
in order to help disseminate a common culture in the area of
tourism teaching and identify the professional skills needed in
this sphere.

Clearly, there is currently no single Community system able to
set quality standards for the supply of services to tourists, be it
hotel accommodation or restaurants, transport or the range of
leisure time options, etc. While expressing the hope that it will
prove possible to arrive at uniform criteria and standards at
EU level, the CoR calls on the Commission to evaluate regularly
existing national systems.

The key role of high-level training cannot be underestimated
(for instance, the recent establishment in Italy of the ‘FOR-
MED Master on new technologies for the enhancement and
management of Mediterranean cultural heritage’, by the Ravello
European University Centre for Cultural Heritage).

D.

Promoting official recognition by accommodation and hospi-
tality structures of a charter of duties to the tourist

C. Conducting a standardisation project to create a system for
evaluating accommodation and hospitality so as to ensure that
average standards are met when awarding marks for the quality
of structures and services

The principle of user-identification that lies behind customer
satisfaction also underlies the proposed adoption of a European
charter of duties to the tourist. The need to protect tourists’
rights goes hand in hand with the opportunity to facilitate the
achievement of common quality standards and launch a broad
programme to monitor those involved in the initiative.

Improving the quality of tourism is a central element of
various European programmes. The World Tourism Organis-
ation stresses that quality is the perception by the tourist of
the extent to which his expectations are met by his experience
of the product. Quality control methods are covered by the
ISO 9000 and 14000 series, the EFQM and star ratings (in
addition to national evaluation systems).

A useful reference point for the European charter of duties is
the Ethics Charter for Cultural Tourism presented by the
European Observatory on Cultural Heritage (Ravello European
University Centre for Cultural Heritage) in Paestum on 5 Nov-
ember 1999 on the occasion of the second Mediterranean
Archaeological Tourism Fair, an event devised and hosted by
the Province of Salerno.

Quality development is built on structural policies, consumer
protection, environment policy, transport management and a
spirit of enterprise.

The CoR believes that any genuine quality policy must place
the tourist at the centre. As well as the identification of needs
and the capacity to meet them, there must be a single proposal
that gives a precise definition of the quality of the various
components of the tourism system.

Customer satisfaction and customer retention practices pro-
vide useful points of reference from which effective evaluation
methods can be derived.

The paragraph of the charter relating to hospitality duties is
especially important. While the document takes into account
the relationship between the tourist user and cultural heritage,
the underlying spirit underlines the need to place the tourist at
the centre of every measure, requiring ‘hospitality coherent to
the promises made and respectful towards the guests.
In
addition to adequate information,
it will consequently be
necessary to arrange a fitting range of high-quality accommo-
dation and other services to be provided without discrimi-
nation of any kind. For their part, visitors must be aware of
the specific nature not only of the customs and habits of any
country they visit, but also of its culture. Religious and moral
tradition and beliefs of the inhabitants should be particularly
recognised and respected. The criteria set forth in this Ethics
Charter of Cultural Tourism are in no way intended to dictate
rules to either institutions or individuals. They have been
developed with the aim of highlighting universal principles
capable of fostering travelling modes in keeping with the
criteria that should govern cultural tourism, and encouraging

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all of the individuals involved to behave responsibly. This
Charter has been drawn up with specific reference to the
conventions, recommendations and directives formulated on
various official occasions and has been purposely designed for
international and national organisations, as well as operators
working directly in the field.’

The underlying principle that is most relevant to the need to
draw up a charter of duties for those hosting tourists can be
summed up by a basic consideration that is valid for tourism
in general and not just cultural tourism. Cultural tourism, as
the Ethics Charter for Cultural Tourism states, ‘brings people
from all over the world into contact with communities of
different origins and often of different cultural backgrounds.
Consequently, by fostering friendship and better relations
between these, it becomes an essential prerequisite for the
growth of the local as well as the international communities.
Cultural tourism is an authentic factor of solidarity and peace.’

Starting from this type of approach, the CoR would stress that
respect for the human dignity of the tourist certainly ties in
with the duties of hospitality, over and above the supply
of any commercial service. Enshrining this principle in a
Community charter of duties is extremely important, both
politically and culturally.

E. Using a geographical survey in the Member States to seek and
identify new tourist user profiles following 11 September 2001,
highlighting cultural tourism and ecotourism and promoting the
deseasonalisation of tourist flows

In its discussion of changes in the EU’s demographic structure,
the European Commission notes that one of the main problems
with tourism is volume:
its concentration on specific,
‘...
restricted periods of the year.’

Culture and environment are ideal ways of addressing some of
the most pressing issues regarding the development of tourism.
Cultural tourism has been a major resource in Europe for some
time. It is in this direction that further efforts should be focused
in order to set up a supply network that is as well-coordinated
as possible, and that can generate synergistic effects between
the various regions that share historical, artistic or gastronomic
traditions. This should involve harnessing the major resource

Brussels, 10 October 2002.

of rural tourism through systematic and strategic action that
will also generate positive knock-on effects for the agriculture
sector.

The project set up by the European University Centre for
Cultural Heritage, entitled ‘The Mediterranean programme for
cultural heritage’ can provide useful pointers here. The centre
has set up a real cultural bridge between the countries of
the northern Mediterranean by establishing a Mediterranean
observatory-laboratory that periodically brings together rep-
resentatives of European, North African and Middle Eastern
cultural traditions, with the aim of stimulating research and
training activities aimed at protecting and promoting the
cultural heritage of the regions concerned. This gives a practical
idea of the value of intercultural exchange designed to improve
tourism patterns.

The CoR is in favour of the implementation of a European
Agenda 21 for tourism. This is already the focus for debate
within the steering group chaired by the Commission, which
is to present a paper at the World Summit on Sustainable
Development to be held in Johannesburg in September. To
promote this strategy, there are already plans for an Agenda 21
of the Mediterranean and of the Baltic Sea, Destination 21 in
Denmark and a local Agenda 21 in Calvià (Balearics, Spain). In
addition to the active Agenda 21 efforts of many local
authorities, Sweden has recently produced quality criteria for
rating eco-tourism arrangements in the environment and
cultural spheres.

The CoR agrees with the objectives set by the Commission in
‘to prevent and reduce the
its Communication, which are:
territorial and environmental
impact of tourism in desti-
nations; to control the growth of transport linked to tourism;
to promote responsible tourism as a factor for social and
cultural development.’

This should be the aim for future measures designed to spread
a culture of environmental protection, closely entwined with
the rediscovery and enhancement of a broad historical, artistic
and cultural heritage.

In the light of these comments, a survey should be conducted
in the Member States with the aim of pinpointing the new
types of user and preparing appropriate tools for supporting
and accompanying demand.

The President

of the Committee of the Regions

Albert BORE