Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-08-Speech-4-034"
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"en.20050908.5.4-034"2
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".
Mr President, I would like to thank Mr Cornillet for his report, which highlights the importance of tourism and its potential in the developing world.
When looking at the developing world, we have to remember that tourism plays more of a role in some regions and countries than in others; the figures in the report show that. In the Caribbean, tourism is a key driver of the economy, but that is not the case across sub-Saharan Africa where, with a few exceptions, tourism is not such a big factor.
For that reason, the Socialist Group cannot support the report in its entirety. For example, we cannot support paragraph 8, which asks all developing countries to draft tourism development plans, to produce annual reports on figures and contributions, because that is not appropriate in all cases and in many countries it would be a pretty low priority. Nor can we agree with paragraph 10. At a time when the EU is demanding more and more visa controls from third country nationals, it seems a bit ironic that we then ask other countries to drop their visa requirements. Visas are often a major source of income for developing countries, so that is not something that we can support.
There are also a couple of areas where the report could be more nuanced. For example, recitals Q and T. Experience shows that, unfortunately, it is quite possible for tourism to flourish alongside undemocratic regimes. Some of those regimes have proved good at protecting tourism and tourists with very strong-arm police tactics. However, they have at the same time been oppressing their own people, which is why I have reservations about paragraphs 24 and 25.
We in the Socialist Group strongly support moves to develop tourism, particularly eco-tourism, sustainable tourism, and we welcome what the Commissioner said. We want the private sector to invest in tourism, but to do so responsibly, to develop tourism projects that contribute to the local economy and help micro-businesses to grow, so that local people benefit and local produce is consumed.
In too many areas including, for example, all-inclusive packages and cruise tours, tourism takes out of local economies, but often does not put much back in. In some cases – and here I disagree with Mr Cornillet – it can damage the environment, using scarce resources too much. We need to look more carefully at the kind of tourism projects we want to invest in. Could the EU and the Commission do more? I am sure they could, and we have heard some examples of what might be proposed. Do we need a new DG to do that? I am not so sure. I am not sure that if we had a DG Tourism it would in any case do much for the developing world.
I very much welcome the section on sex tourism. It is extremely important that we do a lot more to tackle this criminal activity, so thanks again to Mr Cornillet for his report."@en1
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