Activities of Spyros DANELLIS related to 2010/2206(INI)

Motion for a resolution
Citation 16 a (new)

– having regard to its resolution of 16 February 2011 on practical aspects regarding the revision of EU instruments to support SME finance in the next programming period,

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Recital B

B. whereas the European Union is the world’s No 1 tourist destination in terms of international arrivals and this lead position must be reinforced by tackling the challenges created by, firstly, greater global competition and a market demand that is continually changing and secondly, the need to ensure increased and more lasting sustainability,

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)

Ca. whereas tourism in Europe faces many challenges: the global economic crisis, the competitiveness of other destinations outside the EU and the diversity of tourist attractions on offer, the effects of climate change and seasonal fluctuations in tourist activity, demographic developments in Europe, the growing impact of information and communications technologies and many unforeseen events affecting the industry from time to time,

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)

Cb. whereas Europe's diversity, multifacetedness and multiculturalism offer maximum growth for any form of thematic tourism, and the development and promotion of forms of diversified tourism may be the only effective response to the distortions, the problems and the deterioration to which the model of unregulated and undifferentiated mass tourism is leading,

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Recital D

D. whereas, under the Lisbon Treaty (Article 195), tourism has become a specific competence of the EU allowing the latter to support and complement actions within the Member States by encouraging the creation of an atmosphere that is conducive to developing tourism enterprises and fostering cooperation between Member States,

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Giommaria UGGIAS, Spyros DANELLIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Believes that the basis for a EU tourism strategy lies firstly in a packet of specific measures solely concerning the tourism sector, and secondly, in a connection to other complementary sectors in order to achieve a system which genuinely promotes tourism; considers, moreover, that a precise assessment is needed of how measures in other sectors impact tourism;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3a. Calls for the Commission, in implementing the Europe 2020 strategy, to draw up a multiannual tourism plan calling on the Member States and the regions to establish a programming instrument for the same period;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4

4. Considers that tourism should be regarded as part and parcel of the EU’s industrial policy and asserts once more that reinvigorating tourism ~~provides an important stimulus~~is a strategic and vital objective for employment in the various Member States;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)

4a. Calls on the Commission to collect and publish good tourism practices each year;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)

4b. Calls on the Commission to promote a specific innovation incubator for businesses in the tourism sector;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Georgios KOUMOUTSAKOS, Spyros DANELLIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Agrees with the Commission’s proposal that a ‘European label’ be developed in conjunction with the Member States and with national tourism agencies, under which, while respecting ~~territorial diversit~~and highlighting the specific features of the territory, the concept of Europe as a whole should be promoted worldwide as a tourist destination;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Agrees with the Commission’s proposal that a ‘European label’ be developed in conjunction with the Member States and with national tourism agencies, under which, while respecting territorial diversity, the concept of Europe as a whole should be promoted worldwide as a tourist destination; considers that this label should act as a 'branding umbrella' and for this reason clear specifications and criteria for granting it are needed ;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Welcomes the ‘European heritage label’ initiative as a tool giving prominence to some of the important sites in the history of European integration; stresses the need for coordination between this initiative and the UNESCO heritage sites in order to avoid overlapping ~~that has no added value~~;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Spyros DANELLIS, Carlo FIDANZA, Giommaria UGGIAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Welcomes the ‘European heritage label’ initiative as a tool giving prominence to some of the important sites in the history of European integration; stresses the need for coordination between this initiative and the UNESCO heritage sites in order to avoid overlapping that has no added value; calls on the Commission to point out to Member States that sites which will receive the 'European heritage label' must always remain open and accessible, even with provision being made for skeleton staff;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8

8. Considers it advisable, while respecting the EU's rights and duty to control entry across its own borders, for the European institutions' and the Member States' consciousness of these markets to be heightened so that visa procedures are coordinated and simplified, with consideration given to establishing common consular desks across the EU to ensure that visa procedures are implemented on time and bureaucratic costs reduced; to this end, further to the creation of the European External Action Service (EEAS), calls on the Commission to consider the possibility to deploy the EU delegation offices in the world in order to issue touristic visas in collaboration with the National embassies of the Member States;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Stresses the need to foster technological development in SMEs so that they may more effectively market their products and promote destinations; urges the Commission to create an ‘ICT and Tourism’ platform, launching a specific pilot project by the end of 2011 to boost the participation of micro-enterprises and SMEs in the digital supply chain, following on from the experience of other sectors such as textiles, transport and logistics and the automobile industry; calls on the Member States, moreover, to develop high-speed internet throughout their territory in order to enable advanced services to be developed and operators to become interoperable;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Stresses the need to foster technological development in micro- enterprises and SMEs so that they may more effectively market their products and promote destinations; urges the Commission to create an ‘ICT and Tourism’ platform, launching a specific pilot project by the end of 2011 to boost the participation of micro-enterprises and SMEs in the digital supply chain, following on from the experience of other sectors such as textiles, transport and logistics and the automobile industry;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Calls on the Commission to assess, in close collaboration with ~~opera~~national actors in the sector, innovative ways of promoting ad hoc European package holidays during the major international events that Europe will be hosting in the next few years (for example, the 2012 Olympic Games in London, the 2015 Milan Universal Exhibition, etc.) with a view to promoting ‘destination Europe’ with all its rich diversity;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Considers that the potential of the European Travel Commission'’s (ETC) web portal www.visiteurope.com should be developed to maximise its availability and full accessibility (information in all EU official languages and the principal non- EU languages, use of formats accessible by people with sensory disabilities) and make it a genuine European tourism platform, with easy access to national, regional and local tourism portals in the individual Member States; considers, moreover, that the portal should give greater visibility to the system of European Quality Tourism Label, to best practices and to initiatives, such as Calypso, NECSTouR and EDEN;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Considers that the potential of the European Travel Commission’s (ETC) web portal www.visiteurope.com should be developed to maximise its availability and full accessibility (information in all EU official languages and the principal non- EU languages, use of formats accessible by people with sensory disabilities through all modern technological applications) and make it a genuine European tourism platform, with easy access to national, regional and local tourism portals in the individual Member States;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14a. Calls on the Commission to consider introducing two new principles for tourism: 'interregionality' and 'complementarity', in order to promote joint planning and cooperation between tourist services within a single geographical area, i.e. either between neighbouring regions belonging to different Member States or at a specific thematic level between regions linked by common elements;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17

17. Asks the Commission to promote a specific initiative to harmonise gradually the accommodation (hotels, guesthouses, rented rooms, etc.), classification systems through the identification of common minimum criteria, bearing in mind the positive results of earlier experiments by industry associations and working in close collaboration with standardisation bodies;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19

19. Considers that the Commission, in collaboration with the tourism industry, should prepare a map of existing skills (Tourism Skill Competence Framework) as a starting point from which practical steps to match market supply and demand can be developed;(Does not affect English version.)

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20

20. Calls on the Commission, in collaboration with the Member States, to exploit and promote vocational and university training schemes already existing in the tourism sector and to network and further encourage them, maintaining close contact with the world of research and business; calls for Member States to be encouraged to develop tourism training at university level; in the same vein, calls on the Commission to examine the possibility of designating a European day of responsible and sustainable tourism, by organising in all Member States information meetings to promote forms of viable tourism and responsible behaviour by tourists;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22

22. Asks for improved mutual recognition of professional qualifications in the tourist industry so as to allow both those already working in the sector, and those planning to do so, to find the best job opportunities, thereby helping to tackle the problems of the seasonal nature of work in this sector, on the one hand, and undeclared work on the other;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23 a (new)

23a. Draws attention to the problem with infrastructures whose funding at local level is undertaken on the basis of the permanent population; given that this criterion fails to cater properly for tourist destinations where the permanent population is a fraction of the overall users of these infrastructures at peak periods, calls on the Commission carefully to consider boosting funding for infrastructure projects especially for tourist regions;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Carlo FIDANZA, Spyros DANELLIS, Frieda BREPOELS, Giommaria UGGIAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24

24. Urges the Commission to promote the use of more sustainable means of transport and to ~~pay particular attention to~~facilitate connections with islands, rural areas and mountainous areas and, more generally, with less accessible destinations;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Welcomes the Commission’s readiness to diversify the types of tourism available; stresses, in particular, the importance of the collaboration already underway with the Council to promote cultural, historical, religious and environmental tourism by means of themed routes which not only exploit our continent’s historical and cultural roots, but also contribute to the development of an alternative style of tourism, one that is sustainable and accessible to all; considers that the use of sustainable means of transport, including cycling and sailing, should be encouraged in connection with several routes;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Carlo FIDANZA, Spyros DANELLIS, Frieda BREPOELS, Giommaria UGGIAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27

27. Welcomes the Commission’s readiness to diversify the types of tourism available; stresses, in particular, the importance of the collaboration already underway with the Council to promote cultural, historical, religious ~~and~~, environmental and landscape tourism by means of themed routes which not only exploit our continent’s historical and cultural roots, but also contribute to the development of an alternative style of tourism, one that is sustainable and accessible to all; considers that the use of sustainable means of transport, including cycling, should be encouraged in connection with several routes;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)

27a. Takes the view that in order to differentiate European tourism from that of other countries or continents, it is crucial to link the traditional tourism sector with what the territory has to offer in terms of products and services and tangible and intangible assets;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28

28. Considers that the Commission and the Council of Europe should continue to support the development of routes that highlight the European identity through circuits linking symbolic sites in Europe, such as cathedrals, castles, universities, archaeological sites and industrial settlements;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28 a (new)

28a. Urges the Commission and the Member States to take all appropriate measures to safeguard European heritage;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Carlo FIDANZA, Spyros DANELLIS, Frieda BREPOELS, Giommaria UGGIAS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31

31. Highlights the way in which nature tourism contributes to the sector’s sustainable development; considers concentrating on nat~~ional park~~ural resorts and protected areas in order to make them more accessible for tourists, including through the development of transnational circuits that respect the environmental heritage, to be important;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)

31a. Points out that the development of new inland waterways can contribute to the sustainable development of cultural tourism, nature tourism and recreational tourism;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Giommaria UGGIAS, Spyros DANELLIS

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35

35. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to support, under an integrated maritime policy, the development of port infrastructure, an essential factor in ~~cruise ship tourism which, despite the recent~~maritime passenger transport and sports and cruis~~is, is a growth sector and in sports tourism~~e ship tourism, calling on the Member States to lift any restrictions they might have;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 36

36. Takes note of the continuing growth in health tourism and in spa tourism in particular; calls on the Commission, in view of the fact that there are a variety of Community rules covering spa-tourism issues, to consider the possibility of tabling a single legislative proposal on spa tourism in order to give the sector a controlled organic structure encouraging its competitiveness; stresses the importance of ~~new rules~~the new legislation on cross-border healthcare for the further promotion of health tourism;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38 a (new)

38a. Recommends the progressive opening of the Calypso program to EU citizens who meet all programs’ requirements but live in third countries, stimulating awareness within the countries of residence of European destinations and building bridges with the second and third generations;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38 a (new)

38a. Calls on the Commission to draw up an organic plan to overcome issues relating to the seasonal nature of tourism and to allow economically prosperous areas and less well-known and/or accessible areas to converge;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 40 a (new)

40a. Calls on the Commission to promote also so-called VFR tourism (Visiting Friends and Relatives) as an important way of enhancing integration in European culture;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43

43. Asks that a specific tourism programme, targeting ~~SME~~micro, small and medium-sized enterprises in particular, be established in the 2014-2020 financial perspectives, encouraging partnerships between firms and public-private partnerships on pan-European tourism projects;

2011/03/31
Committee: TRAN