Brussels, 17/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - In the wake of the work of the informal meeting of ministers of tourism, held at the beginning of the month in Santander (see EUROPE of 6 and 7 May, p.12), the "Internal Market/Consumer/Tourism" Council of 21 March should adopt a resolution on the future of European tourism.
Sources close to the Council said in effect that there was a consensus for the plan drawn up by the Spanish Presidency on the basis of elements contained in the European Commission communication entitled "A co-operative approach for the future of European tourism" (see EUROPE of 15 November 2001), a text that has just received the European Parliament's favourable opinion (see page 16). As to substance, this text provides for: 1) encouraging dialogue with the tourism industry and all other interested parties by organising an annual Forum on tourism and broadening the brief of the Consultative Committee on Tourism, notably in view of a dialogue between public and private players; 2) facilitating the creation of a system of networking regional, national and international organisations specialised in studies on tourism or analysing the economic and social reality of the sector and provide it with support; 3) ensuring the good use of the EU's financial and non-financial instruments to the benefit of the tourism industry, in co-operation with national and regional authorities and with operators; 4) promoting sustainable development by continuing to elaborate and implement the guidelines of "Agenda 21"; 5) defining and disseminating methods and tools of evaluation (quality indicators and benchmarks) necessary to monitor the quality of tourist destinations and services; 6) promoting the ethical dimension of tourism, notably by introducing instruments to combat all forms of exploitation of women and children and seeing in tourism a means to combat poverty in developing countries.