SUSTAINABILITY AND TOURISM

Like no other sector, tourism is dependent on unspoilt nature and cultural diversity, a high level of quality of service, and on peace and security. The sector’s commitment to protecting the environment, to good employment conditions, and to social justice should be just as high. In reality, however, the environment is to a large extent used free of charge, the costs for its ‘consumption’ are not included in the price for tourism services, but are externalised.

 

The social dimension of sustainable development

Sustainable development of European tourism can only be guaranteed when - alongside the economic aspects and protection of the environment and cultural heritage - the highest priority is given to the creation of sustainable employment in the sector.

The quality of tourism services, which depends to a great extent on employees’ levels of qualification, and their motivation, is undermined in many areas by working conditions that make a job in the tourism sector seem increasingly unattractive. Income in tourism for example is on average 20 per cent lower than in other sectors, and a striking number of ‘working poor’ are employed in the hospitality industry. A high proportion of precarious employment, coupled with working hours that are often unsocial, and few possibilities for skills development or promotion are additional factors for the high staff turnover and for the current problems being experienced - particularly in the hospitality sector in finding qualified personnel and keeping them in the sector.

Key objectives for socially sustainable tourism in Europe are:

• qualitative jobs,

• fair pay,

• good working conditions,

• equal opportunities,

• opportunities for qualifications,

• career opportunities,

• recognition of employees’ and trade union rights,

 

Social responsibility of companies

Sustainable development of European tourism is also threatened by the fast advance in the process of company concentration in the tourism sector that has taken place over recent years.

Under pressure from this competition, travel prices have dropped dramatically in the last few years. In the labour-intensive tourism sector, this decline in travel prices has also impacted the working conditions of many employees. The dominance of the large tour operators vis-à-vis their suppliers in tourism destinations has even led to interference in the collective bargaining autonomy in the destination countries.

Tour operators must be obliged to break through the vicious circle of ‘cheap bargain’ tourism, which not only cuts their profit margins, but also eliminates any financial room for manoeuvre for them to offer socially and environmentally sustainable tourism. In view of the negative effects of the increasingly cutthroat price war between the largest tour operators, particularly on employment, new approaches must be taken to get the message across to tourists that socially responsible and environmentally sustainable tourism has its price.

The economic competitiveness of the tourism supply side should no longer be ensured at the cost of social and environmental balance, and be sacrificed to short-term profits. Tourism offers that bear the costs of what is needed for sustainable development should be brought on the market. For the entire range of tourism offers, environmental taxes and social costs should be clearly set out, so that travellers can make their purchase on the basis of a responsible decision. The large tour operators must in particular ensure that profits are shared in a well-balanced way between the companies in the countries of origin and in the tourism destinations.

Companies can only make a contribution to sustainable development when they make social and environmental concerns an integral part of management. This involves adhering to fundamental employment and environmental standards, and regular reporting on the way how these are being put into practice.

Companies only do genuine justice to their social responsibility when they involve their employees and their representatives in the planning, implementation and evaluation of such measures.

Europe and its responsibility for socially sustainable tourism

Europe has a global responsibility for considering the social aspects of sustainable development within tourism, as it is one of the main markets for tourism, and the home to many tourism companies operating at global level.

Granting of EU funding to tourism projects or tourism companies should be closely tied to the respect of social and labour legislation. Support should be provided only to projects that make an explicit contribution to sustainable employment; i.e., that create employment, improve qualifications of the workforce, and involve participation by employees and their representatives.

In order to avoid that initiatives promoted by the Commission, as the benchmarking between tourist regions, lead to a distortion of competition, social indicators such as employment levels, qualification of employees, and participation of workers should all be considered as quality criteria.

Before any far-reaching liberalisation of the tourism sector, which is supported by the Commission (for example in the context of the GATS negotiations) can take place, there should be an analysis of the effects of liberalisation on the sector to date, and in particular on employment and employment conditions.

Possibilities for action by employee representatives and trade unions

It is clear that sustainable development cannot be achieved without the involvement of employees and their representatives. Worker representatives and trade unions, whatever level they are acting at, will stand up for socially sustainable development in the tourism sector, for example in worker representations within the companies, during collective bargaining, in the sectoral work, in the social dialogue, during involvement in the elaboration of tourism concepts at territorial level, during cooperation in international bodies, etc.

The social partners within the social dialogue could agree on joint measures that promote sustainable development of the tourism sector. There is no shortage of suggestions, it is more a question of seizing initiatives and implementing them in practical ways. (See, e.g., the very exhaustive list of possible measures in the document “Contribution of the Social Dialogue to the Promotion of Growth and Employment in the Tourism Sector”, submitted by Working Party 8 of the High Level Group on Tourism and Employment in June 1999).

There are also particular opportunities for action by employee representatives and trade unions in transnational tourism companies, for example by dealing with transnational questions on social sustainability within the companies’ European Works Councils, or by taking the situation of employees in other countries / destinations into consideration during collective bargaining at national or local level.
Employees in tourism companies can also increase awareness about sustainable tourism options, both as employees and as travellers, and thereby in the long term make a contribution to the establishment of sustainable employment and sustainable social conditions within the sector.