IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TOURISM EUROPE FORUM (TEF)

The Tourism Europe Forum (TEF) will aim to foster a dialogue between the European Parliament and the tourism industry. It will provide a forum for an open and informal discussion of the policy issues affecting tourism in Europe. The Forum will NOT lobby.

The Forum will be a not for profit organization under Belgian law (ASBL). It will consist of a number of Members of the European Parliament (e.g. MEPs who are members of the Transport and Tourism Committee; MEPs who have joined the EP Tourism Intergroup or any other MEP). MEPs will form a Steering Committee (SC), together with Tourism Industry Members, a wide range of leading players in the European tourism industry, supported by a Secretariat. The Steering Committee (SC) will give directions to the activities of the Forum and the Tourism Industry Committee (TIC) will undertake the task of arranging and inviting speakers, writing short briefing papers, and managing the Secretariat. An Administrative Committee (AC) will be elected at the Annual General Meeting to deal with day-to-day administration of these matters.

The Forum will be financed by member contributions set annually by the General Assembly.

The Forum will organise events on a monthly basis. These events will be attended by interested MEPs and will focus on a variety of topics, with high-level, expert guest speakers from the tourism industry, consumer groups, and relevant authorities, regulators and officials.

Meetings will be open to all MEPs, and if they are not able to come, their Assistants, the relevant Parliamentary Committee Staff, Secretariats of Political Groups as well as the relevant officials of the European Commission. Every industry member will also be invited. Tourism industry representatives who are not members will be able to apply to attend subject to availability of places, and organisations wishing to join the Forum or attend an event will need to contact the Chair of the Forum's Tourism Industry Members and the Secretariat.

Governance Principles

Independence

The Forum will be a not-for-profit organisation under Belgian law (ASBL) supported by a wide range of MEPs from political groups.

The Forum will NOT be a lobbying organisation. That is not its role. Moreover, the diversity of its membership means that it will not be capable of advocating a position of its own. In order to guarantee its independence and neutrality, the Forum will be administered and managed not by a lobbying group or a consultancy, but by its own dedicated Secretariat.

Interested Members of the European Parliament will form a Steering Committee (SC) which will review and oversee the Forum's role and programme of events. It will reflect the TEF's priority objective of providing a service to MEPs which is best able to meet their needs.

The Forum will be supported by a Tourism Industry Committee (TIC) which will be broadly representative of the tourism industry in the EU. Its role will be to make suggestions on the programme of events, to provide speakers, assist in the drafting of briefing papers and set the level of member contributions in order to finance the Forum's activities.

In addition, there will be an Administrative Committee (AC) which is drawn from and elected by members of the Tourism Industry Committee (TIC). It will have the responsibility for liasing regularly with the Steering Committee (SC), setting the agenda of meetings, managing the business of the Forum and deciding on applications for membership.

Neutrality

The principal objective of the TEF will be to provide a forum for discussion on matters relevant to Europe's tourism industry and to enhance MEPs' understanding of the tourism market and its role within the wider community.

The value placed on the TEF will lie in its diverse membership and its position as an acknowledged and reliable source of information, allowing debate and the issuance of impartial commentaries on key issues at the heart of the European legislative agenda. During its debates, all participants, including consumer representatives and other stakeholders will be entitled to voice their opinion. The briefing papers that are prepared in advance to the events will be all published on the Forum's website and demonstrate the Forum's efforts to be as neutral and informative as possible. Since the TEF will benefit from members of the whole tourism industry, which have different pont of views, all positions will be taken into account, thus helping to ensure neutrality.

Inclusiveness

The Forum will represent the diversity of Europe's tourism. It will be open to any member that complies with objective membership criteria, i.e. providing competitive tourism services and supporting the integration of EU tourism markets.

Through its organisation and activities, the Forum will pay particular attention to the fair and equitable representation of all the different areas in the tourism industry.

Transparency

The Forum's website will contain extensive information about the activities of the Forum such as its aims and objectives, programmes, statutes and finances.

The budget will be regularly updated and show the Forum's expenditures. As membership will evolve with withdrawals and new members, the revenues will change every year. Resources will come from membership fees from tourism industry members. Part of the income will be used to build up and maintain a reserve equivalent to 6 months' expenditures.

The TEF will be regsitered in the EU Transparency Register.