Become a Charter Area
The quality of the natural environment is increasingly seen as a major attraction by visitors. The many thousands of nature parks, national parks and other areas in Europe protected for their landscapes and biological diversity provide an amazingly rich resource for tourism. Handled sensitively, this can be a strong force for conservation and sustainable development, generating income for parks and their local communities and awareness and support from visitors and within a wider public arena. On the other hand, pressure from visitors and tourism development can be a threat to protected areas. The challenge is to ensure that tourism in these areas is well managed and sustainable.
The European Charter is a vital and practical tool that supports protected areas of all kinds, as well as local tourism businesses to develop and implement sustainable tourism. It is based on the 10 Charter Principles for sustainable tourism and comprises a set of guidelines, check-lists and methodologies.
Find out, how to become a Charter Area and participate in one of the biggest networks of protected areas in Europe, dedicated to sustainable tourism development:
Charter Part I: Sustainable Tourism Development in Protected Areas
The EUROPARC Federation
Representing 500 protected areas, governmental departments, NGO's and businesses in 39 countries, who themselves manage the green jewels of Europe.
