THE IMPORTANT ROLE OF PARLIAMENTARY TOURISM COMMITTES IN EU MEMBER STATES

The activity of Parliaments in EU Member States is of vital significance both from the point of view of the development of tourism and for enterprises operating in this sector, since Parliaments are the bodies which draw up the laws determining the conditions which govern tourist operations.

Committees on Tourism in national Parliaments deal with questions of principle concerning tourism. They draw up initiatives, make recommendations, express opinions and take part in the monitoring of the work of the government. In addition to implementing laws which are part of their brief,  Committee on Tourism also keeps track of their social and economic effects.

The principle task of Parliamentary Committees on Tourism is to represent the interests of the tourist industry in the drawing up of legislation and to supervise the legality of what takes place in the area of tourism. The range of the Committee’s activities may cover the following:

•  Preparing laws relating to tourism and overseeing their passage through Parliament;
•  Keeping track of aspects of individual laws which pertain to tourism and representing the interests of tourism in the drawing up of legislation;
• Monitoring the implementation of laws affecting tourism;
• Supervising and monitoring the state management of tourism;
• Participating in the formulation of regulations below the level of legislation which affect tourism (this includes, for example, reviewing how travel agencies operate);
• Reviewing cooperation with various other sectors which have an influence on tourism;
• Keeping track of the development of individual areas of tourism and participating in the formulation of ideas for development;
• Requesting the Minister responsible for tourism to outline his/her plans before (s)he is appointed, and then to report annually on tasks completed and further plans;
• Cooperating with professional organisations working in the tourism sector;
• Cooperating with organisations responsible for the regional management of tourism.

In some Member States, there are specific 'Tourism Committees' that have been established while in others 'Tourism Matters' fall under broader Committees.

1. Austria : Tourism Committee
2. Belgium:
3. Bulgaria : Tourism Committee
4. Croatia: Tourism Committee
5. Cyprus: Committee on Energy, Trade, Industry and Tourism
6. Czech Republic:
7. Denmark: Business, Growth and Export Committee
8. Estonia:
9. Finland:
10. France: Groupe d’Etudes Tourisme
11. Germany : Tourism Committee
12. Greece:
13. Hungary:
14. Ireland: Committee on Transport and Communications- Subcommittee Transport, Tourism and Sport
15. Italy: Economic Activities, Trade and Tourism Committee
16. Latvia:
17. Lithuania:
18. Luxembourg:
19. Malta: Committee on Environment and Development Planning
20. Netherlands:
21. Poland:
22. Portugal: Committee on Economics and Public Works
23. Romania: Committee for Industries and Services
24. Slovenia:
25. Slovakia:
26. Spain: Committee of Industry, Energy and Tourism
27. Sweden:
28. United Kingdom: