Call 

For Social Tourism Policies 

 

CONSIDERING the international declarations recognizing the right to leisure and to paid annual 
leave as well as an engagement of public authorities on this subject (UN Universal Declaration of 
Human Rights [1948], the World Leisure Organization’s World Charter for Leisure [2000], and 
its Quebec Declaration [2008], the Convention of the rights of child [1989]…); 

 

CONSIDERING the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism (1999); 

 

CONSIDERING the BITS’ Montreal Declaration (1996) and the Aubagne Addendum (2006); 

 

CONSIDERING the Opinion of the European Economic and Social Committee on Social Tourism 
in Europe (2006) and the decision of the European Parliament to financially support a 
preparatory action in 2009 and 2010 to develop social tourism; 

 

CONSIDERING the ETUC and BITS’ Declaration on The right to holidays: reclaiming lost 
ground? (2010) 

 

CONSIDERING the work done by the BITS (OITS) (seminars, congresses, research) on the positive 
effects of holidays and tourism and on the challenges in terms of sustainable development; 

 

 

Considering that a high percentage of the population living in developed countries cannot enjoy 
an annual stay of at least twenty-four hours, let alone leaving on holidays; 

Considering that the absence of holidays constitutes a social exclusion; 

Considering that in most developing countries, populations often have no other choice than to 
host visitors, without being able to leave on holidays themselves; 

 

 

 

The participants of the BITS (OITS) World Congress, who met in Rimini from the 19th till the 
22nd of September 2010, affirm 

 

That tourism is of a fundamentally social dimension; 

 

That the significant economic dimension of tourism should not prevail over the fact that tourism 
is also a form of leisure for those enjoying it and that therefore, it should meet their needs for 
relaxation, discovery and meeting people, be it as visitors or visited; 

 

That tourism has positive effects on the physical and mental health of populations, that it 
contributes to their education and that it facilitates their mobility, that it is a way of fighting 
against social exclusion as well as of improving mutual understanding, questioning prejudices 
and enhancing the development of solidarities, both at national and international level; 


That it should be accessible to all, without discrimination, and that it should be fair and 
respecting the principles of sustainable development; 

 

 

CONSEQUENTLY, the participants of the Rimini Congress call upon the public authorities at 
national, regional and local level to adopt social tourism policies that 

 

- include in its objectives the accessibility of tourism for all, with particular emphasis on 
children, youth, families, seniors, low-income individuals, immigrants, people with 
disabilities,... as well as on host communities so that they effectively enjoy the benefits of 
tourism; 


 

- confirm the importance of social tourism, especially for the development of domestic tourism 
and for the valorisation of territories; 


 

- provide practical means of action in order to 


 

. increase the minimum statutory holiday entitlement, especially in countries left 
behind in this area, without leaving behind workers with a precarious status; 
. ensure the application of existing laws regarding annual holidays; 
. increase and fund the supply of holidays that are adapted to the conditions of the 
different population groups, notably by developing collective resources; 
. give financial support for trips and stays, including to low-income holidaymakers; 
. ensure as much accessibility and democratization possible of territories for 
recreational and tourism purposes, while respecting the environment and the 
principles of sustainable development; 
. increase social and economic benefits of tourism in host regions and communities; 
. support social economy enterprises in tourism (associations, co-operatives) that aim at 
combining economic added value with social added value; 
. provide tourism workers with rewarding working conditions; 


 

 

- promote the involvement of all tourism stakeholders, both in the private and public sectors, in 
finding specific and innovative solutions by partnering up with major social tourism 
associations and trade unions at national and international level. 


 

 

 

 

 

Rimini, 22nd of September 2010