European co-operation in the field of tourism
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- See Doc. 3992, report of the Committee on Economic Affairs and Development. Text adopted by the Standing Committee, acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 8 July 1977.
- Thesaurus
The Assembly,
1. Taking note of the report of its Committee on Economic Affairs and Development (
Doc. 3992), and of the opinions of the Committee on Culture and Education (
Doc. 3995), of the Committee on Social and Health Questions (
Doc. 3998), and of the Committee on Regional Planning and Local Authorities (
Doc. 3994) :
2. Recognising the need for further consideration of the cultural, social, environmental and regional planning aspects of tourism ;
3. Recalling the Charter of Cultural Tourism of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), adopted in Brussels in November 1976, which states that "with the future in mind, it is the respect of the world cultural and natural heritage which must take precedence over any other considerations however justified these may be from a political, social or economic point of view" ;
4. Recognising that tourism as a service sector, where many small and medium-sized enterprises play a decisive role, can be an important source of economic growth and employment
5. Stressing the need for a wider and more even distribution of economic advantages of tourism in the receiving country, region or community
6. Recognising the right of the freedom to travel and the importance of facilitating, at world level, the implementation of this right to the maximum extent possible through the elimination of formalities or, where that is not possible, by standardisation, and the provision of appropriate services ;
7. Recognising that the liberalisation of currency and border restrictions during the 1950s has made a considerable contribution to the growth of international tourism ;
8. Noting that, despite the fact that tourism has become a mass phenomenon with considerable economic, social, health, cultural and environmental repercussions, knowledge in these is still far from satisfactory, and stressing that European countries- where the greatest concentration of tourism takes place- have a special responsibility in examining and taking measures to reduce the problems which arise from this situation ;
9. Believing that international tourism can benefit developing countries provided economic, social and environmental facilities for tourists are adequately planned at the local level and do not compromise the sound economic and social development of these countries ;
10. Welcoming the fact that free trade for almost all industrial products will be achieved on 1 July 1977 among European Community and EFTA countries, but regretting that these countries maintain different regulations with regard to customs duties on minor imports of a noncommercial nature by travellers ;
11. Stressing the importance of the European Travel Commission as an instrument to foster international tourism co-operation in Europe, and particularly of its activities in the field of research and promotion, and of its work towards improvement of tourism statistics in collaboration with OECD ;
12. Stressing the importance of the OECD Tourism Committee for keeping the tourism policies of OECD countries under regular review, and welcoming the endeavours within OECD to collect up-to-date data on tourism
13. Stressing also the importance of Unesco's work in the same field, with particular reference to the effects of tourism in developing countries
14. Underlining that the recently established World Tourism Organisation can give an important boost to research, exchange of information and multilateral co-operation in the field of tourism, but stressing the need for this organisation to take greater account of the socio-cultural effects of tourism
15. Recognising that the hotel industry- in particular the small and medium-sized hotels- is faced with particular economic difficulties which call for an adequate governmental response in consultation with the competent professional and representative organisations ;
16. Aware of the need for greater co-ordination in the training of people employed in the tourist industry, and in particular for recognition of diplomas awarded in this field by specialised training schools,
17. Calls on the member countries of the European Community to step up their efforts for the establishment of a uniform European passport, and stresses that the adoption of a common rate for value added tax, which is one of the declared aims of the European Community, would facilitate tourist movement ;
18. Urges the European Community and the EFTA countries to seek uniformity in their regulations concerning minor imports of a non-commercial nature by travellers along the lines of the most liberal system in force, and hopes that the other Council of Europe countries will adopt similar regulations ;
19. Calls upon the tourist industry to respect the agreement between tourist organisations and conservationists as set out in the ICOMOS Charter of Cultural Tourism (Brussels 1976) ;
20. Asks all the member states of the Council of Europe to accede to the agreement on the introduction of a European priority card for the disabled, entitling them to certain facilities when travelling in member states ;
21. Invites all signatory states of the Final Act of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe to implement not only the economic section of the Act on "The promotion of tourism", but also the provisions in the human contacts section on "The improvement of conditions for tourism on an individual or collective basis", with a view to liberalising travel regulations and stimulating international tourism.
