dossier sur le tourisme et le développement durable

Political scope
« stimulate a mechanism of regional co-operation” in the tourism sector that would be
networked.
The idea of joint organisation for Mediterranean tourism has therefore been constantly
reaffirmed since the beginning of the 1990s. It should meet the need of the States, the tourist
destinations, the private sector and NGOs to group together and form joint ventures. It should
be remembered that the Asia Pacific region has such a tool available for more than fifty years
(Frame19).
Frame19: Co-operation for tourism in the Asia Pacific region
Created in 1951, the Pacific Asia Tourism Association (PATA) is commissioned to encourage in the
region the growth in the tourism of quality. The organisation groups together about 100 governments
and tourist cities, more than 55 airline and maritime companies and hundreds of enterprises in the
hotel and catering industry as well as travel firms. It is also organised in more than 70 associations
(Chapters) throughout the world.
Its activities include particularly economic observation of tourism, prospective and marketing.
Following the 11 th September 2001, it proposed to its members updated information about the
context evolution.
PATA also provides the promotion of the Pacific Asia region throughout the world and has an
Environment/Culture office that participates in the awareness raising of players (organisation of
conferences, designing of a traveller’s code and of a code for the sustainable development of
tourism, collection of good practices).
Source: TEC, from www.pata.org
There are many possible directions for tourism co-operation in the Mediterranean. In the context
of sustainable development, however, they cannot be merely limited to marketing and economic
observation.
In its 1999 recommendations, the MSDC included the following points:
• Participation in international networks and initiatives for a sustainable tourism,
• Strengthening of awareness-raising at regional scale, in the tourists destinations and countries of
origin,
• Organisation of experience exchanges of among people involved in the tourists destinations in
different countries,
• Development of training programmes,
• Promotion of Mediterranean networks for professionals or territories concerned by the same problems
(islands, cultural tourism cities…),
• Promotion of Mediterranean ecolabels,
• Promotion of economic and financial tools for the protection and management of sites.
Such a regional co-operation mechanism might also be commissioned to: create regional
tourists products (cruises, thematic roads such as the Andalous road), transfer experiences in
the new technologies sector (electronic distribution system, Internet), promote and market
jointly, develop and harmonize tourism observation methods, a support research through a
network setting up of academic laboratories, the implementation of exemplary actions (awarding
of prizes,…), etc. One of its essential missions would be to follow the progress achieved in the
destinations towards a more sustainable development and to widely disseminate the results
towards the whole Mediterranean community.
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