Guidelines on EMAS and EU Ecolabel for tourism

This guideline has been issued considering that, in the context of E.U. environmental policies, the importance of an integrated approach to address the complexity of environmental issues is strongly underlined. In the specific case of tourism, this takes on a strategic value as the tourism of the future must be sustainable; nevertheless sustainability has to be certified in a credible way and therefore, the European Regulations EMAS and EU Ecolabel represent the most appropriate tools to pursue, in the medium / long term, the objective of enhancement of tourist destination territories.

The guideline aims to promote EMAS and the EU Ecolabel in the tourism sector in line with the objectives of the European Commission framework, starting from successful initiatives already implemented. The purpose of the document is to make available to every stakeholder who is involved in the promotion of the territory a technical / operational guide, highlighting the advantages of integrated environmental certification tools for the tourist package qualification, and outlining an implementation path of tourism development strategies in accordance with environmental sustainability by means of EMAS and EU Ecolabel.

In the guideline the main initiatives undertaken in the last years by the European Commission, ISPRA, and ARPA / APPA are also reported.

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