UNWTO membership | Our work in the EU

UNWTO Membership
In November 2005 the UK became an active member of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).

Since joining, we have attended the European Regional meeting in Almaty, Kazakhstan, (April 2006), and held a joint Ministerial seminar on Tourism and Sport, (November 2006). Benefits of membership include "complimentary" subscriptions to the UNWTO e-library, and expert seminars on a range of tourism issue including, disaster management.

UNWTO is a specialised agency of the United Nations, commonly regarded as the leading international organisation in tourism. It serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism know-how.

At present UNWTO membership is comprised of 150 countries, seven territories and more than 300 affiliate members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities. It was created in 1975 and has headquarters in Madrid, Spain.

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Our work in the EU
We are responsible for ensuring that the impact of EU policy on the UK tourism sector is successfully managed. This involves maintaining the UK’s strong reputation within the EU and safeguarding its position of influence.

The diverse nature of our sector means that tourism is often directly affected by a wide range of EU policies and initiatives, from environmental impact assessments to the free movement of workers from new member states, and from aviation agreements to reduced rates of VAT.

Our aims in the EU are to:

• Benefit the UK tourism sector and wider economy
• Ensure that EU regulations allow the tourism industry to flourish

In achieving these aims we work closely with partners in other Government departments, the administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, local government, regional organisations and tourism industry.

Current legal base for EU tourism policy
Article 3 of the Maastricht Treaty gives the European Community some scope to take forward non-legislative measures on tourism, with the aim of improving the productivity of the European tourism industry. All new initiatives and proposals must be agreed unanimously by member states.

Tourism Unit
The European Commissions Tourism Unit, part of the Directorate-General Enterprise, is responsible for planning and implementing community-wide initiatives on tourism.

DCMS sits on the Tourism Unit’s Tourism Advisory Committee (TAC) with representatives from all member states. The committee meets several times a year to review the Unit’s work programme and considers proposals for new initiatives.

To contribute to the marketing of Europe as a set of attractive tourist destinations the commission financed the creation of the European Tourist Destination portal. This website includes practical information about Europe such as travel planning (transportation, weather and events), recommendations on where to go and what to do, and links to national websites.