European Union Urged to Raise Tourism Profile

The European Union is being urged to raise the profile of tourism in any plans to provide economic aid to overseas countries. The call came from Berthia Parle, president of the Caribbean Hotel Association (CHA).

Speaking at a public hearing of the European Parliament´s Development Committee in Brussels, Mrs. Parle said tourism was rarely considered in depth by governments or the European Commission in the policy dialogue with countries of the Africa, Caribbean and Pacific countries, and made an impassioned plea for the economic importance of tourism to be recognized more fully.

“Without tourism, the Caribbean could join the ranks of the LDCs (least developed countries) and we are certain that the European Parliament and the European Union as a whole, want poverty prevention as well as poverty eradication,” she said. “I believe that tourism´s role needs to be given much higher priority when matters of policy in relation to trade and international relations are discussed with regions such as this.”

In her presentation, Mrs. Parle told the members of the European Parliament that tourism was one of the few industries where a region such as the Caribbean could compete directly with the developed world, and could enable regions to achieve more rapid growth than would be the case for any other sector of developing economies.

“Tourism, once thought of as fickle, can be proved in regions such as the Caribbean to be able to create jobs on a permanent basis, generate lasting profits, foreign exchange, and enable sustainable development. If proof were needed, one only has to look at the dramatic growth of economies such as Antigua, the British Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, Barbados, Anguilla and Aruba –all of which have been driven by tourism,” the CHA president said.

The Development Committee is just one of the groups of members of the European Parliament that are pressing the European Commission to raise the profile of tourism in EU policy. Last week´s public hearing follows publication of a report by the Committee calling for the economic impact of tourism and the principles of sustainable tourism to be taken into account in drawing up the European Union´s development policy.