Europe Needs to Strike Right Balance between Tourism Development and Heritage Conservation

At its Annual Congress in Malta, Europa Nostra the pan-European federation for cultural heritage which brings together over 200 heritage NGOs today adopted the Malta Declaration advocating the right balance between economic development, sustainable tourism and heritage conservation, which includes the prevention of undesirable overdevelopment and related damage to the cultural heritage through careful planning.

"Cultural tourism can bring much needed funds to Europes historic sites and countryside. But the knock-on effects of cultural tourism can also adversely affect the life of local communities", explained HRH the Prince Consort of Denmark, President of Europa Nostra, in his opening speech at the Forum "Cultural Tourism: Its Encouragement and Control". "Europe needs to encourage cultural tourism in a balanced and sustainable way as a means of investing in and regenerating cultural heritage areas and experiencing the places and activities that authentically represent the cultural heritage, character and history of an area, whilst ensuring the widest appreciation of Europe's cultural heritage," he concluded.

The Cultural Tourism Forum which brought together more than 200 delegates from twenty-six European countries was the highlight of this year;s Annual Congress of Europa Nostra, organised in close cooperation with Din lArt elwa (The National Trust of Malta), the key heritage NGOs in Malta, and with the support of the European Commission. Speakers at the Forum included Malta's Minister for Culture and Tourism, Dr Francis Zammit Dimech, as well as representatives from the European Institute for Cultural Routes (Luxembourg), Heritage Malta, "Tourism Concern" (UK) and the European Cultural Tourism Network, coordinated by the Wales Tourist Board.

The Malta Declaration calls upon EU Institutions, the Council of Europe, Europe's national and regional governments, tourism and heritage organisations to apply the principles in "Tourism Code of Ethics" of the World Tourism Organisation and the "International Cultural Tourism Charter" of ICOMOS. While welcoming the recent documents of various EU Institutions (the European Commission, European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee) which have focused on the need for sustainable tourism development, the Malta Declaration recommends that the principles embodied in the two above-mentioned documents which underscore Europa Nostra's commitment and approach to cultural tourism, be fully incorporated into future EU policy.

Europa Nostra recognises that cultural tourism is one of the key drivers of European economic growth and development. Moreover, it is one of the key means of cultural exchange between European citizens and one of the most valuable instruments of inter-cultural dialogue. Europa Nostra therefore pledges to encourage the principles of sustainable cultural tourism, while at the same time urging the introduction of necessary controls to protect individual cultural heritage sites. Through its Malta Declaration, Europa Nostra makes a series of specific recommendations, calling upon EU Institutions, the Council of Europe, Europe's national, regional and local governments, and heritage organisations to:

Champion sustainable growth in the cultural tourism market, while also taking positive steps to prevent damage and degradation of the cultural heritage by careful planning to maintain the volume of tourists to heritage travel destination areas to within optimum sustainable limits;
Safeguard the conservation of cultural heritage sites by anticipating construction development pressures in travel destination areas and applying techniques to prevent undesirable over-development and damage as a result of the demands of cultural tourism;
Promote the idea of a European Label for Sustainable Cultural Tourism, within the framework of Europe as a global tourism destination, and on the basis of the principles set out in the Malta Declaration.

The full text of the Declaration is available on:
http://www.europanostra.org/declaration_culturaltourism.htm

For more information:
Charlotte OConnor, Communications Officer, Europa Nostra co@europanostra.org, +31 70 302 40 55
Mark Snethlage, Campaigns & Policy Officer, Europa Nostra imo@europanostra.org, +31 70 302 40 51