Brussels, 04/07/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Ministers of Tourism of the EU15, the candidate countries, countries of the European Economic Area and Switzerland met on 1 and 2 July in Bruges under the chairmanship of Renaat Landuyt with the participation of Erkki Liikanen (see EUROPE of 2/3 July, p.14). They unanimously adopted conclusions aimed at gradually establishing a European tourism policy. They insist on the need to: - make tourist activities accessible to certain target groups; - grant, within the various Community programmes (ESF, ERDF, etc.), increased attention to projects which have a positive effect on the participation of a population or specific target groups in tourism, from the point of view of social and economic wellbeing; - introduce, in the training programmes for professionals of the tourist sector, modules geared to the welcome of and services for disabled persons; - result in a multitude of labelling initiatives with regard to the accessibility of infrastructure.
Concerning the Tourism and Employment process, the ministerial Conference considers that "the method of open coordination" launched at the European Council of Lisbon, may be suitable for collaboration between Member States regarding tourism, in respect of subsidiarity, with the Council in a piloting role. The conference invites the European Commission to present, over the next six moths and at the latest at the Council on 26 November, the communication "Framing the Future for European Tourism".
Regarding the conference entitled "Tourism for All", Renaat Landuyt stressed that this concept meant, for politicians, allowing people to take holidays". On the basis of an Eurobarometer survey April-June 2001 on this subject, Renaat Landuyt notes that: 1) Each Member State implements in its own way the notions of social tourism and tourism for all; 2) in each Member State, with regard to the population as a whole or specific target groups (young, the elderly, persons living under the poverty threshold, the unemployed and the disabled), initiatives and incentives allowing access to tourism, such as one-day excursions, for example.
During the final press conference, Mr Landuyt stressed that all the delegations had agreed to simplify access to tourism, including in order to promote the mobility of invalid persons. "According to the latest figures, 32 million persons suffer from a disability of some kind, either temporary or permanent, in Europe. It is therefore necessary to conduct a European policy in this field", he commented. He also noted the very high number of labels and standardisation initiatives for persons suffering from a disability. "Disabled persons wishing to travel in Europe should be able to benefit from clear and transparent information on every aspect of tourist opportunities", he said.
Signature of a cooperation convention between ETUC and BITS
At the close of the ministerial Conference, the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), Emilio Gabaglio, and that of the International Bureau for Social Tourism (BITS), Urbain Claeys, as well as the President of BITS/EU, Eduardo Graça, signed a cooperation convention. BITS and ETUC consider that social and associative tourism plays an irreplaceable role in integration and social cohesion and that its contribution is considerable both for the creation of jobs and for the development of many EU regions. BITS/EU is a new section created within BITS, and will be the single interlocutor of European institutions concerning social and associative tourism.