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ENVIRONMENT TOPS THE AGENDA AT BLACK SEA TOURISM INVESTMENT CONFERENCE
COUNTRIES ISSUE DECLARATION ON THE NEED TO INTEGRATE TOURISM AND ENVIRONMENT DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES
Romania was the venue and investment in tourism as an environmental priority was the subject as Tourism and Environment Ministers from five Black Sea countries met together with representatives of the EU, WTO, UNCTAD and other international bodies and investment institutions to discuss the priorities and opportunities for environmentally sustainable tourism development in the region.
A key element in the EU-funded Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM) programme the conference, an historic first meeting of tourism and environment ministers from the region, was sponsored by Romania's National Tourism Authority.
Held in the prestigious President Hotel in Romania's southernmost Black Sea resort town of Mangalia on 18 and 19 May the conference which attracted over 70 public and private sector representatives from all the countries bordering the Black Sea, a key natural resource which is under severe environmental threat.
Sorin Frunzaverde, President of the NTA, opened the conference with an overview of Romania's tourism development policies. Fully committed to ensuring an environmentally and economically sound basis for the development of the country's industry, the policies are, he said "the Romanian NTA wishes to play a full part in cooperation with other Black Sea countries in the development of common programmes and institutional projects".
New and more flexible funding approaches from the EU were also announced as part of the EU's TACIS programme. Fokion Fotiadis, Head of the EU's delegation to Romania, stressed the importance of tourism to the environment and outlined details of a major investment initiative in new waste water and transport infrastructure developments in Romania's coastal zone.
Dr. Radu Mihnea, Director of the Istanbul-based Black Sea Environmental Programme, explained the way in which tourism, with its inherent requirements for a wholesome and unpolluted environment, could be a major force behind the drive to preserve and restore the precious but vulnerable ecology of the Black Sea.
Related funding moves in the region were also announced by Dr. Jan Dogterom of the International Centre for Water Studies of the Netherlands, director for the Phare/Tacis ICZM programme. For example the World Bank is proposing a new loan facility of up to $500 mn for pollution reduction programmes with an additional $35 mn available in grants for related feasibility studies.
Ms. Leila Rihawi, representing the World Tourism Organization, described the WTO model for developing tourism master plans which fully incorporate environmental aspects into planning and investment decisions. The WTO attaches the highest priority to sustainable development.
Official representatives from Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia and the Ukraine all presented details of specific investment proposals and opportunities for investors as well as holding numerous bilateral meetings.
Additionally two fast-developing trans-national initiatives, the Black Sea Tourism Education Network (BSTEN), headquartered in Sochi, Russia and the Black Sea Tourism Information Network (BSTIN), hosted by the Crimean Tourism Development Centre in Yalta, were presented to delegates.
Commenting on the event, coordinator Robert Bentley said "The Black Sea represents one of the most exciting tourism investment opportunities in the world today. The Declaration by governments and the policies announced by other bodies such as the EU and WTO to this conference provide an excellent basis for ensuring that such investment will be undertaken in a manner which really can contribute to sustaining the unique historical and natural environment of the Black Sea region."
Note to Editors
Further information on the conference and associated programmes is available from
Robert Bentley, Director STDA email 100544.3242@compuserve.com
INTEGRATED TOURISM AND ENVIRONMENTAL DEVELOPMENT FOR
THE BLACK SEA REGION
The Ministers and other qualified representatives of the Tourism and Environment Ministries of the countries of Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, meeting at the Black Sea Tourism Investment Conference, 18-19 May in Mangalia, Romania, are prepared to move forward with integrated tourism development and environmental protection in their Black Sea coastal regions.
Tourism and environmental officials of the Black Sea countries
- have made significant progress in the last two years to improve the legal basis for private domestic and international investment with tourism development specifically in mind;
- are conditioning tourism development to careful and integrated planning to preserve the physical and social resources on which tourism is based;
- have launched initiatives to improve the professional qualifications of the people working in tourism;
- have initiated programmes to improve quality standards in tourism construction, services, and infrastructure;
- are seeking to promote and distribute their tourism products internationally more effectively through traditional and electronic means.
Within this policy context, tourism official bodies in each of the countries are
- developing a wide range of tourism products, including health, culture, beach, adventure, ecological, rural and cruises;
- working with transportation and communications ministries to identify infrastructures that should be upgraded or developed;
- seeking, with all appropriate authorities, to liberalize transportation and facilitate easy entry for tourists;
- striving to use tourism development as a sophisticated economic development strategy, aiming at the creation of jobs and the generation of foreign exchange.
The Black Sea countries have enacted since 1993 a series of regional agreements to recuperate the Black Sea environmentally, and are now witnessing improvement in water quality and the build-up of fisheries. The efforts of the countries have been supported by the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations Environment Programme, the Global Environment Facility, the European Commission, and a number of bilateral donors.
The Black Sea can be recuperated at a faster rate. Co-ordinated efforts of Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Russia and Ukraine are aimed at national projects of regional value. However, these efforts are not sufficient.
The various funding mechanisms have not provided a reliable flow of financial resources to this long term effort, nor has the funding been sufficient to enact the major infrastructure improvements which are a necessary condition for integrated development around the Black Sea coast.
We call on all multilateral and bilateral funding institutions and donors to provide a consistent and coherent investment flow, to truly make the Black Sea a Priority Investment Area.
We welcome the initiative of the European Union to create pre-accession programmes for Romania and Bulgaria and to expand the TACIS programme to include infrastructure projects, since all of the contemplated programme areas can support tourism development.
We request that multilateral banks, European regional banks, the European Commission, bilateral Cupertino agencies and private investors take into account a sectorial approach which includes tourism development combined with environmental conservation in their programmes.
The Black Sea countries agree to exchange information with a view to possible harmonization of investment incentives, the regional complementarity of tourism products and the development of regional circuits, such as the Silk Road project, and to consult on developing the existing expertise in the region regarding spa and health tourism.
The countries of the Black Sea fully recognize their primary responsibility with respect to the Black Sea and acknowledge that they must improve co-ordination nationally and internationally.
The Black Sea countries agree that the special landscapes in the coastal zones of the Black Sea, such as the Danube Delta, require special regimes, programmes and investments to protect and enhance them, and will seek to enact adequate measures to these effects.
The aim of these efforts by the Black Sea countries and the international organizations is to increase economic activity in the region and create jobs through tourism development while conserving and improving the environment.
Mangalia 19 May 1999
On behalf of the delegation:
Sorin Frunzaverde, President, National Tourism Authority of Romania
Vaja Shubladze, Chairman, State Department of Tourism and Resorts of Georgia
Victor Skrypkin, Vice Mayor, Ciity of Sochi, Russian Federation
Marina P. Slesareva, Vice Minister, Ministry of Health Resorts and Tourism of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea
Anna Krijan, Expert, Ministry of Environment of Bulgaria