THE TOURISM EUROPE FORUM (TEF) AND CHATHAM HOUSE RULES

The Chatham House Rule reads as follows:

When a meeting, or part thereof, is held under the Chatham House Rule, participants are free to use the information received, but neither the identity nor the affiliation of the speaker(s), nor that of any other participant, may be revealed.

The Chatham House Rule originated at Chatham House with the aim of providing anonymity to speakers and to encourage openness and the sharing of information. It is now used throughout the world as an aid to free discussion. Meetings do not have to take place at Chatham House, or be organized by Chatham House, to be held under the Rule.

Meetings, events and discussions held at Chatham House are normally conducted 'on the record' with the Rule occasionally invoked at the speaker's request. In cases where the Rule is not considered sufficiently strict, an event may be held 'off the record'.

Benefits of using the Rule
 

It allows people to speak as individuals, and to express views that may not be those of their organizations, and therefore it encourages free discussion. People usually feel more relaxed if they don't have to worry about their reputation or the implications if they are publicly quoted.

In the case of the Tourism Europe Forum (TEF), Members constituted as associations, organizations, groupings or federations undertake only to be the spokesperson of the collective interests they represent to the exclusion of the individual interests of any of their own full or associate members. Only the secretariat of the Association will be allowed to participate in TEF’s activities.

Representatives of “consultancy” firms can neither be taken into account for membership of the TEF,  nor participate in TEF’s events unless as players in the tourism sector, it specifically states that they will be represented by such “consultant”.

Should a consultant or a lawyer be mandated by a company in the tourism sector to be their official representative, the TEF would be pleased to consider the Associate membership of that company to the TEF with the consultant as permanent TEF  contact of the company. Invitations to TEF events are not transferable inside the consultancy.

In order to facilitate the exchange of views and discussions, events take place under “Chatham House Rule”. Each participant acknowledges the existence of this rule and commits to respect it unconditionally through his/her participation to an event in order to encourage openness and sharing of information without disclosing the identity or affiliation of the source of the information and without disclosing the identity of other participants.