The various levels of government influence and involvement in promoting sustainable tourism

The labour of the United Nations in promoting sustainable tourism has been reflected in numerous conferences since its creation and principally in the 1990s. The Rio Earth Summit, the best-known of the UN conferences, helped initiate much planning for general sustainability, including sustainable tourism. The Agenda 21, document adopted in Rio, identified actions for travel and tourism companies including public sector operations. These actions imply sustainable measures such as: waste minimization, re- use, recycling, energy conservation, land- use planning and management, development of partnerships for sustainable tourism, etc. The United Nations may also contribute to sustainability through action plans. For example, the United Nations Regional Seas Programme has been developed for cleaning up the seas. The United Nations can promote sustainable tourism through its organizations. Unesco in its Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage sets up obligations for national governments in order to preserve the heritage. WTO establishes standards and guidelines for the development and management of sustainable tourism.

The European Union has become increasingly involved in tourism. Its aim is to sustain the tourism industry and maintain Europe's position as the region of the world that attracts more international trips. However, its activities also have implications for sustainable tourism, including the following (Swarbrooke J. 1999):

- The pro-active stance taken on regional policy and the substantial funds allocated to stimulating development in economically disadvantaged regions have done much to aid the growth of tourism in rural areas and those cities where traditional industries have declined

- Schemes for training and education under the European Social Fund have helped improve the quality of the workforce in the industry in those areas which are eligible for this programme.

- Rural tourism has also been helped by funding under the European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund

- The Envireg programme supports schemes which aim to protect the ecosystem in areas where tourism is being developed, in Mediterranean areas for example.

- The Leader programme which has helped fund several hundred rural development schemes in disadvantaged or under-developed regions. Many of these programmes have involved tourism projects.

- The Regis programme that aims to aid development, including tourism, in the remotest regions of the European Union such as Madeira and the Canary Islands.

- The Resider and Rechar programmes helps fund industrial heritage projects in areas where heavy industry is in decline.

The European Union has introduce more than 200 pieces of legislation covering pollution of the atmosphere, water and soil, waste management, safeguards in relation to chemicals and biotechnology, product standards, environmental impact assessments and protection of nature (Middleton, 1998). The travel and tourism industry has been directly affected by some of these regulations, for example:

- The requirement for all member states to introduce environmental impact assessments (EIAS) prior to the development of large-scale projects. Major hotel and airport constructions are affected by this regulation

- Bathing- water quality directives to improve water quality standards at beaches

- The restriction of some chemicals widely used in the tourism industry

- The establishment of common policy on the protection of animals (Treaty of Amsterdam, 1997).

ii. Regionally and nationally. The governments can contribute to the development of sustainable tourism in different ways (WTO, 1993). For example:

. Establishment of policies, laws and incentives for socially conscious tourism

2. Establishment of policies and laws relative to the safety, security and health of tourists

3. Major transportation systems to move tourists in and out of the region and country and through the countryside

4. Major attraction features such as state (or provincial) and national parks

5. A communications and promotion network that encourages tourists to visit the region and country

6. Coordination within the tourism industry and with the government by travel trade and related associations.

Usually, the government regulations are not mainly created for the tourism sector, however they directly affect to the development of sustainable tourism. Tourism makes use of a range use of natural recourses: land, water, beaches, mountains, etc. While tourism may be a tool for protecting these resources, it may also be a threat to their conservation. The balance between negative and positive impacts can be regulated at a national level. Public sector can play a positive role in the environment designing protected areas: national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and building conservation areas (Swarbrooke J., 1999). The protection of natural resources from tourism has been regulated in some countries. In some regions of Europe, North America and Australia, for example, governments design suitable areas for tourism use. Protection measures are also applied to historic and more modern buildings. The national and regional governments may protect these particular buildings in various ways: providing economic support or owning these buildings. Notable examples of government protection are Bath in UK or the centre of Munich in Germany. In fragile areas for environmental reasons, there are some measures of control; for example the legislation in UK with protective measures for national parks and heritage coast.

iii. Locally. Cities and counties have primary control over land, local streets and roads, recycling and waste collection, local parks, etc. Although higher levels of government establish the general framework, the implementation of many important policies and programs occurs locally. Therefore, the local governments are crucial responsible for the implementation of sustainable forms of tourism. Local authorities can promote sustainable tourism through: sustainable policies, building control, taxes, zone regulations, visitor management techniques, carrying capacity calculations, etc. The Ecotax in the council of Calvia, is a good example of sustainable tourism promotion by local government.

2. The main government tools for promoting sustainable tourism

According to Swarbrooke J. (1999) and Middleton and Hawkins (1998), the public sector can play a role in the development of sustainable tourism by a variety of means, including:

- Legislation and Regulation. Public bodies could do a great deal to make tourism more sustainable through legislation and regulation (Swarbrooke J. 1999). Regulation of the tourism industry can come from local governments in the form of planning restrictions, national governments in the form of laws or international governments in the form of international agreements and guidelines to governments.

In most of cases, government regulations have not been created specifically for sustainable tourism; however, these regulations help to promote sustainable tourism: planning and building regulations, environmental health and safety regulations, regulations governing the responsible disposal of wastes. Conversely, there is some legislation in the field of sustainable tourism. For example, going on sex tourism is a legal offence in some countries. The labour of governments should be not only create these regulation, but also make them a reality making sure that all the stakeholders are assuming responsibilities.

Rebecca Hawkins and Victor Middleton of the World Travel and Tourism Environment Research Centre, identified major categories of international government regulation which affect the tourism industry.

1. Agreements which deal with the right to free time and a safe environment as an aspect of human rights (e.g. the Stockholm Declaration, 1972)

2. Agreements documenting the environmental impacts of travel and tourism (e.g. Manila Declaration, 1980). These are now being addressed more directly in international agreements such as the Alpine Convention and the Antarctic Treaty.

3. General environmental policy dealing with specific emission, pollution and ozone layer issues which have implications for the environmental practices of some travel and tourism companies. E.g. International Civil Aviation Organisation's rules (1986) limiting aircraft emissions.

4. Policies developed for specific areas, such as the Mediterranean Basin, the Great Lakes and Antarctica as a reaction to general environmental damage and in which tourism is or could be a major issue. E.g. the Barcelona Convention (1978)

5. Regulatory global policies developing as a result of the Rio Summit, intended to respond to the new ethic for sustainable living and to ensure that growth remains within Earth's capacity. E.g. Agenda 21, the Climate Convention.

- Funding and Fiscal Incentives and Controls.

Governments can intervene in tourism in financial terms to help make tourism more sustainable. Fiscal controls may be used as ways to curb tourism by influencing the prices charge by suppliers in the commercial sector (Swarbrooke J, 1999). Examples are the taxes imposed at airports, sales taxes and value- added taxes levied on accommodation and food provision, and the imposition of local taxes or rates levied on buildings and land in tourism destinations. The local and national governments identity the source of specific forms of pollution and levy charges accordingly.

Swarbrooke J. (1999) points out three main ways of intervention:

- Providing grants, interest- free loans and other fiscal incentives for sustainable tourism projects.

- Levying taxes on less sustainable activities such as the use of private car to make tourist trips

- Introducing tourist taxes which represent a fixed sum paid by tourist when using a destination with the revenue generated being ploughed back into making tourism more sustainable in the destination.

- Land- use planning and regulation. Governments can adopt protective, reactive and defensive measures for land- use planning. In a tourism context, local permission is required before a developer or operator can develop land for tourism use. Permission is also needed to modify the use of an existing site, for example by turning a golf course into leisure complex. For larger developments, a Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) should be conducted to ensure that no serious problems will be generated by these projects. If this evaluation indicates that the proposed project will generate problems, governments should not approved these projects in any form. The public sector can play a positive role by designating protected areas such as national parks, regional nature parks, nature reserves and building conservation areas. Governments can also adopt proactive or indicative measures in place. In Europe, North America and Australia, for example, it is normal to designate some areas as suitable for urban or countryside parks, for golf, for marinas, for hotel or other visitor accommodation construction. As a key technique to reach sustainable tourism, some governments take areas of land into public ownership for the better exercise and control. Tourism is frequently designated as key sector for development with such areas, for example, in Languedoc- Roussillon (region of the South of France).

- Building Control and Regulation. There are government regulations to cover new building development and to protect existing ones. For new tourism buildings, for example, these regulations limit the size of buildings, their height or the distance between them and the beach. Governments can also adopt protection measures to historic or more modern buildings by imposing specific obligations on owners for their upkeep and prohibiting significant changes. In many countries, governments may construct, acquire or in other ways provide support for particular buildings and use them for tourism purposes as part of a sustainable plan.

- Provision of Infrastructure. Public sector bodies are the main developers and operators of the infrastructure of the tourism industry such as roads, airports, public transport, parking spaces and sewage plants. In many parts of the world the provision of water, electricity, gas, etc are funded and controlled by local governments. Without them the provision of tourism accommodation and other facilities would not be possible. Their contribution to sustainable tourism is to develop this infrastructure in the most sustainable way. For example, they can close roads completely to prevent visitor access by car to environmentally fragile areas.

- The public sector as an active player in the tourism industry. Governments can set a good example though their role as an active player in the tourism industry. They can own airlines, railways and visitor attractions such as museums and historic buildings. They can also manage national and regional tourist bodies.

- Official Standards and Labelling. Public sector can establish official standards for sustainability that would allow tourists to identify the most sustainable products.

- Influence over demand. Governments have several ways of controlling the demand: access limitation, price, control by licensing or through marketing and information. Charges at publicly owned and operated buildings, and at attractions and facilities used by visitors including car parks, have a direct effect. If local governments are the owners of environmentally fragile sites, such as coastal dunes systems, they may control demand by both access limitations and price. They can also limit tourist numbers applying licensing procedures to the main business which serve visitors. Nationally and specially at local level, destination marketing is designed to motivate particular groups of visitors and influence their behaviour, including the activities they choose, the times of the year they visit, the type of accommodation, etc.

4. Governments and sustainable tourism in developing countries.

Governments have tended to dominate the development of tourism in developing countries. Their intervention has had a lot of negative impacts:

- Governments have centred their attention in international companies without helping to small local enterprises

- Governments have not included local community in planning tourism

- Some governments have not respected the rights of local people

- Corrupt governments have approved inappropriate projects

- Government tourism policy has been centralized giving local people little say in decisions.

The aim of most of governments in developing countries has been maximizing their earnings, rather than the development of sustainable tourism. However, even where governments have tried to develop tourism in a sustainable way, they have found it difficult due to various factors: few resources available for tourism development, little or no control over international tourism companies and highly competition with other developing countries.

Swarbrooke J (1999) points out that sustainable tourism development in developing countries is also a particular problem because often the governments themselves are not sustainable. Political instability is a major obstacle for sustainable tourism in many developing countries.

There are some countries which seem to have a tourism "policy". However, policy itself is unsustainable. In Eastern Europe, for example, this policy consists of giving almost free reign to the private sector to develop tourism (with little or no direct state intervention) or permitting forms of tourism such as hunting.

International governments are encouraging sustainable tourism in developing countries. Nevertheless, the local governments usually have little interest in sustainable tourism; they have to solve major problems such as health, education or crime. Moreover, international governments do not provide the necessary assistance to promote sustainable tourism; they often try to help local governments through lectures instead of more effective aid such as economic and technical support.

5. Conclusion

The role of governments in promoting sustainable tourism has been identified in several international conferences. According to WTO, governments have the "responsibility to encourage and support conservation of nature and culture as the major resources for tourism". Moreover, the governments must also establish policies, protected lands and sites and create legal framework for addressing tourism towards a sustainable perspective. There is a general thinking that they should play a leading role in trying to develop more sustainable forms of tourism due to various factors such as their impartiality, their planning a long term view and because they represent the whole population. Nevertheless, there are a number of obstacles that limit this role.

International governments such as United Nations or European Union are key elements for promoting sustainable tourism. However, these governments themselves have unsustainable policies. For example, European Union promotes airline liberalization which may force smaller airlines out of business, reducing consumer choice.

Regulation and legislation are seen as governments' powerful tools for promoting sustainable tourism but they also have some obstacles. Many national governments have policies that relate to sustainable tourism, but few have legislated to make them a reality. Moreover, there is little if any legislation to regulate: tourist behaviour, tourism industry employees' working conditions, wages and rights, the social and cultural impacts of tourism, the impact of tourism in wildlife and the use of private car in tourism. Sustainability always involves regulation and this regulation requires regulators who are often politicians, public servants and lawyers, without direct experience in the tourism industry; there is a lack of staff expertise in tourism in most public sector organizations around the world. Other related issue is that legislation tends to be more about preventing worst practice rather than encouraging good practice. Even forgetting all these deficiencies, regulation is insufficient to achieve sustainable tourism; the industry, voluntary bodies, communities and tourists need to cooperate.

The stakeholders of the tourism industry are also obstacles for governments promoting sustainable forms of tourism. The industry tries to convince governments that is capable of regulating itself to prevent the control of their activities. Tour operators rarely take responsibilities because they feel that sustainable tourism in destinations is the responsibility of governments.

In most countries governments can help facilitate the growth of more sustainable forms of tourism in many ways, but it is necessary the motivation of those governments towards sustainability. In general, the interest comes from countries such as Germany or Scandinavia which are more generators or tourism rather than receivers. In developing countries and in the majority of Mediterranean tourist destinations, there is little interest in sustainable tourism.

Cooperation between different tourism stakeholders and governments is a basic principle of sustainability. This means that public sector must develop partnerships with these stakeholders. Governments encourage the sector to take the issue of sustainability more seriously, via reports and conferences. However, the industry is not likely to do anything that will increase their costs, or otherwise reduce their competitiveness. Other problem of these partnerships comes from the impossibility of some tourism industries to have the long- term view which requires the concept of sustainability. Partnerships seem to be the best way of involving all the stakeholders in promoting sustainable tourism but it is hard to achieve, the different stakeholders have different and often conflicting interests and views.

There is a general belief that sustainable tourism is a concern of governments, but not all governments are likely to promote sustainability. In most of the countries, this concept is opposite to their principal objectives of maximization of employment and benefits. In other places, tourism is only a low priority for governments and there is a lack of political willingness to develop sustainable tourism. This lack of willingness is in part due to the political system; in the majority of countries the cycle of elections make politicians take short-term decisions, which are opposite to the basis of sustainability.

Despite of governments are key leaders in developing sustainable tourism; the industry and tourists are the key determinants that this happens.

They can planning towards sustainability, use their most powerful tools and try to educate the tourism industry and tourists themselves, but the last and most important decision is not in the hands of governments, it is in the hands of the tourism industry and in each tourist and their willingness.

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