Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-07-Speech-3-170"
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".
Mr President, Commissioner, during times of economic difficulty we all have a responsibility to seek solutions, and to find ways of promoting progress and development. This is the background to our report on the future of sustainable tourism in Europe.
In terms of business competitiveness, we have highlighted the need to maintain the competitive position of operators established in the EU in relation to third country operators for tax purposes, an issue that, I was pleased to note, was resolved this morning with the vote on the Becsey report. Provision has also been made for applying reduced VAT rates for certain services, along the lines of those in place for other services.
We also endorse the proposal to create a ‘European Union’ tourism mark, characterised by the tremendous social and cultural diversity, high quality services and sustainable tourist projects in the EU, to be promoted via a suitable publicity campaign aimed at potential visitors from third countries.
Lastly, in the area of transport, we have advocated the importance of investing in quality, by boosting the capacity and improving the accessibility of the various means of transport, by using integrated ticket offices to simplify ticketing systems and by establishing suitable links with air transport, which is the main form of tourist transport.
Mr President, I should finally like to address the question of Community funding. Given that tourism is an essential sector for regional and local development, it should be placed at the forefront of the Structural Funds. This break in the talks on the financial perspective for 2007-2013 could and should present us with an opportunity to reintroduce the issue via the creation of a separate budget heading.
All of this should be done in order to ensure that European regulations are flexible and in line with what is required. The work of operators will be made easier and they will be able to continue to offer high quality, sustainable services at an accessible price.
In a Europe in which private initiative is at the forefront of growth and development, our role as public decision-makers is to support it and to ensure that it is an integral part of a journey that will hopefully be laden with success.
To conclude, Mr President, I should like to thank all of those people who contributed towards this report with their amendments and their votes in committee, including, of course, Members of the Committee on Regional Development, Culture and Education. I hope that the debate that is about to get underway will match the quality of their contributions and the efforts that all of them put in.
When we talk about tourism in the EU, we are talking about one of our largest and most competitive industries, one that generates the highest number of jobs and that has the biggest growth potential, even in the context of a Europe suffering from economic slowdown. The bottom line, however, is that this is an activity that needs to ensure its sustainability in such a way that it does not destroy, among other things, its environmental resources, its landscape resources and its regional planning.
We must seek to address one of the biggest difficulties facing the tourist industry in terms of economic efficiency: how can we combat the effects of seasonal variations on jobs and on the quality of services provided? Our report puts forward guidelines and proposals for solving these problems.
This is a broad overview of an economic sector with massive potential, from which we must try to derive maximum benefit, by promoting synergies, developing cooperation and enjoying the benefits of shared experience. At the same time, it should be understood that tourism is first and foremost a sector in which private initiative prevails and in which, on the basis of the subsidiarity principle, policies come mainly from the Member States’ authorities. This does not affect the Commission’s role of improving the consistency of its tourism-related measures with the Community policies that feed into it, such as transport, jobs, the environment and the internal market.
From the point of view of the Lisbon Strategy, tourism is increasingly linked to new technology. It has turned the Internet into much more than merely an outlet for the sale of holidays – rather, it has become a key tool for use in the tourism sector.
In this context, we must decide how the Community institutions can support the measures taken by the Member States and the industry aimed at developing tourism. The way to do this, to my mind, is to take practical steps that can help to improve these measures at European level and can enable us to be proactive in promoting the old continent’s tourist destinations.
The most symbolic proposal on the table is, without question, that of creating outstanding European tourist destinations, along the lines of the European Capital of Culture concept. Also worthy of note is the proposal to set up a Community classification of tourist services, on a voluntary basis and with the industry’s cooperation, to be used in particular for the classification of hotel and restaurant facilities. The purpose of this scheme is to guarantee a more transparent service, and to protect consumers.
Furthermore, we have proposed a registered designation of origin for non-food craft products. We also support the creation and development of the European Tourism Portal to which all national portals will be linked; after all, we must not overlook the enormous benefits that this tool could bring in terms of publicising European destinations. In order to meet the need to increase employment, training and skills in the field of tourism, our proposal is to set up a network of specialised training in tourism. In the area of security, we have proposed that a contact group be set up with a view to coordinating information on how to manage crises, such as health crises and acts of terrorism, so as to ensure a rapid response in the event of European tourists needing protection and to support tourist operators affected by such events.
With regard to improving tourist facilities, we have put forward a range of initiatives to improve access for people with reduced mobility and to ensure that those working in tourist services receive special training for this purpose. We have stressed the need to implement new tourist activities and infrastructure to cater for the growing demand among the elderly, who, in the coming decades, will account for over 30% of the population of developed countries."@en1
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