In 2003, the European Commission called for an EU-wide drive to enhance the economic, social and environmental sustainability of European tourism. Launched in Brussels, 21st November 2003, the Communication 'Basic orientations for the sustainability of European tourism' emphasised the need to ensure the consistency of various Community policies and measures affecting the sustainability of tourism and the competitiveness of the industry. It also called for pro-active co-operation among tourism enterprises, tourist destinations and national, regional and local authorities to address challenges such as growing demand and changing preferences whilst at the same time increasing revenues.

Set against this background and the position that Europe holds within world tourism arrivals where it continues to lose market share and growth is less than in all other regions of the world, the European Union of Tourist Officers (EUTO), during a Study Visit to Malta and Gozo, produced the following statement on the way forward for sustainable development of tourism. Implicit in this statement is the importance of all aspects of quality in the production of economic, social and environmental benefits at local, regional and national level.

EUTO actively supports the sustainable development of each destination through its people, public bodies and tourism infrastructure, by:

• The generation of value, rather than volume, of tourism
• Measures to protect and enhance the product and highlight the authentic and the unique
• Measures to encourage transport, product and service providers and promoters, together with visitors and host communities, to take account of any negative impact on the environment and take steps to limit that impact where practicable
• Further research into tourism trends and the impacts of tourism
• The application of wider intelligence to enable accurate forecasting and appropriate development e.g. population movement, climate change, demographic changes
• Public sector investment in appropriate infrastructure to create and support the right conditions for sustainable growth of tourism

EUTO strongly encourages all parties:

• to cherish and promote their natural, built and human heritage
• to value, manage and conserve resources and assets, minimising the negative impact of tourism on host communities and the built and natural environment;
• to protect the environment, on which so much of our product depends, for this and future generations;
• to investigate, meet and exceed visitor expectations and develop the quality of the product to encourage visitors to stay longer and spend more
•  to ensure that host communities are actively included in the process of developing and sustaining tourism in their destination
• to research, target and exploit their most appropriate markets for the benefits of host communities
• to provide and evaluate the necessary training opportunities to produce the right people with the right skills and attitudes to deliver the right product to meet and exceed visitor expectations
• to adopt a “whole destination” approach to visitor management
• to make the most efficient and integrated use of public and private resources
• to stimulate the seasonal and geographic spread of visitors to maximise the benefits and minimise the detrimental impacts of tourism
• to press for realistic public funding to deliver these actions

As a result, visitors and host communities may continue to enjoy, learn about and pass on those assets to succeeding generations and the industry may continue to prosper. EUTO intends to play an active role in realising these aims by working with all relevant agencies and organisations.

For more information:

• EUTO website