EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 22.7.2014

COM(2014) 464 final

GREEN PAPER

Safety of Tourism Accommodation Services

GREEN PAPER

Safety of Tourism Accommodation Services

Contents

1.    Introduction    

2.    Scope    

3.    Objectives    

4.    Questions    

4.1.    Existing instruments    

4.1.1.    National level    

4.1.2.    European level    

4.1.3.    Monitoring and enforcement    

4.2.    Consistency of national approaches    

4.3.    Impact of the existing regulatory situation on the Internal Market    

4.4.    Cross-cutting aspects    

4.4.1.    Small and medium-sized enterprises    

4.4.2.    Accessibility and vulnerable consumers    

4.4.3.    Data on injuries and accidents    

4.4.4.    Standards    

4.4.5.    Skills and training    

4.5.    Most appropriate level and instruments to address safety    

4.5.1.    Level    

4.5.2.    Alternative instruments    

4.6.    Final question    

5.    Concluding remarks    

1.Introduction

Europe is the number 1 tourism destination in the world. In 2013, more than 560 million international travellers arrived in Europe, a result which surpassed the very good figures of 2012. Growth was particularly strong in Southern and Central Europe 1 .

Our continent is also the tourism destination preferred by Europeans themselves. In 2013, almost 40% of Europeans spent their holidays in the EU, 5% more than in 2012.

According to the last Eurobarometer survey 2 , tourists in Europe feel safe and very satisfied. Respondents expressed a high level of satisfaction with most aspects of their 2013 holiday, in particular with the safety (95%) and the quality (95%) of their accommodation.

To maintain and reinforce Europe's leading position in tourism in the world, in 2010 the Commission adopted a Communication laying down a comprehensive strategy to boost the competitiveness of the sector. The safety of tourism accommodation features as one of the actions in this Communication. In fact, adequate and efficient safety levels can enhance consumers’ confidence and boost growth by creating a favourable environment for enterprises and for cooperation among Member States and allowing for higher competitiveness of the tourism sector.

In 2013, the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments in the EU28 reached a peak of 2.6 billion nights 3 . Further, the number of nights spent in tourist accommodation establishments by non-residents 4 (i.e. guests from other countries) grew by 4.8% in the EU28 between 2012 and 2013, reaching in 2013 a 45% of the total nights spent.

In some countries, like Malta, Cyprus or Croatia, tourism accommodation occupancy relies almost in its totality on non-residents (96%, 93% and 92% respectively), whilst in others like Romania (18%), Poland or Germany (in both countries 20% non-resident occupancy) the situation is exactly the opposite.

Tourists concerns about safety have been regularly monitored every year since 2008 through Eurobarometer surveys, also with emphasis on hotel safety and fire safety. The annual surveys consistently confirmed that safety is never a concern for European tourists (replies ranked between 0% and 1%). Yet, accidents can occasionally occur, affecting directly the concerned operators, but also indirectly the reputation of the relevant destination with additional negative impacts on other operators. Although the safety of tourism accommodation services is the competence of Member States, the presence of such strong cross-border dimension suggests a reflection on the quality and safety levels of these services across Member States.

This, together with the indications of the 2003 Commission report on the Safety of Services for Consumers 5 , which recommended to improve the knowledge base about risks and accident data and to monitor systematically the policies and measures of the Member States, has led the Commission to consider the issue of tourism accommodation services safety at European level in the past years, both by engaging in dialogue with relevant stakeholders and by undertaking actions aimed at strengthening the existing knowledge base.

A series of studies and workshops on methodologies for data collection on accidents and injuries related to services have provided deeper insight into this matter (see section 2.1 in Annex 1). The Commission has supported and facilitated debates around self-regulatory initiatives from the hospitality sector, and also on views on the best ways forward. (see section 2.2 in Annex 1) Attempts to identify safety risks and to collate relevant data in the tourism accommodation sector have recently been made, and have invariably shown the complexity of the task, due to a mix of factors such as the variety of hotels within the sector or reputational issues 6 .

Although certain legal requirements on tourism accommodation fire safety stem from the Constructions Products Directive and EU legislation on occupational safety, no specific horizontal legislation exists at EU level and no standard approach with regard to safety of tourism accommodation services is in place at national level, as shown by a recent consultation to Member States on the existing regulatory and non-regulatory framework regarding safety in tourism accommodation, amongst other sectors.

Safety in tourism accommodation -and in the HORECA sector in general- is also an important part of Health and Safety at work 7 . Furthermore, there is a well-established corpus of sector legislation concerning building environments, lifts, and other products used in the construction sector.

The existence of different approaches to safety regulations is not an issue per se, as long as the European consumer using this type of service across the EU is adequately protected irrespective of his/her choice of destination.

Consumers expect to be able to purchase tourism accommodation services with confidence for their own safety regardless of their choice of accommodation or destination within the EU. In this context, and on the basic assumption that European consumers have a right to adequate levels of safety which are implemented and enforced effectively wherever they go within the EU, the following questions are relevant:

1/ How is consumer safety in the area of tourism accommodation regulated and monitored across Member States?

2/ Are tourism accommodation service providers operating across borders subject to requirements which appropriately ensure the protection of consumers, and for whom cross-border operation does not imply eluding any such requirements due to the existence of critical gaps?

3/ Does the diversity in the national systems and in the surveillance and enforcement methods used throughout the EU have a significant effect on the provision of accommodation services across borders?

4/ Are certain cross-cutting aspects efficiently being taken into consideration, such as the impact of the regulatory environment on SMEs and on vulnerable consumers, or the way in which accessibility issues or the use of standards for such services is currently integrated in the exiting regulatory framework?

5/ Are the current levels at which tourism accommodation safety is regulated the most appropriate and are the most appropriate types of instruments in place?

It is a fact that the existence of different approaches to regulating safety makes a comparison more difficult of the safety protection that European citizens using tourism accommodation services across the European Union enjoy.

In answer to the first question regarding the existing regulatory framework across the European Union, and according to the most recent knowledge available to the Commission services, there seem to be important differences between national legislations. The results of a survey carried out in 2013 have shown that out of 24 responding Member States, 16 have specific sectorial legislation regarding tourism accommodation services. There also seem to be substantial differences when it comes to the extent and content in national, sectorial legislation: as an example, while a majority of these 16 Member States include in their legislation obligations related to the condition of the premises or the qualifications of the service provider, only 8 require the establishment of competent authorities to monitor and take action, and only 5 Member States include obligations to identify and assess risks.

In addition to the existing regulatory framework in the member States, another issue to take into account is whether and how such framework is being enforced and monitored. This paper seeks better insight into this aspect as well.

In relation to the second question, this paper seeks to explore whether the existence of different requirements across Member States might give rise to gaps in safety levels, especially when service providers operate across borders and might not be adequately captured by the existing legislation in any Member State.

As for the third question regarding the provision of the service, it is designed to ascertain whether this diversity in the national systems impacts the level playing field in a sector which is critical for the EU’s economic well-being and its image as a desirable tourist destination, particularly for certain service categories operating cross border. In this context, account is also to be taken of industry-developed instruments and practices 8 .

Regarding the fourth question, it is clear that, for a correct balance between needs and solutions, impacts on all parties involved must be carefully considered. Vulnerable consumers, consumers with specific accessibility needs, smaller premises or large hotels may look at this issue from different perspectives and therefore different considerations must be taken into account. In this context a discussion on the benefits of the use of standardisation in relation to tourism accommodation services across the EU would also be relevant.

Finally, in relation to the fifth question it would remain to be discerned the level at which safety in this area would be best addressed for the benefit of both consumers and businesses.

Quantitative measurements to assess the issues raised above are scarcely available due among other reasons to the fragmented approach to data collection on accidents and injuries related to the provision of tourism accommodation services across the EU (see section 2.1 in Annex 1). In the absence of such quantification, this paper seeks to gather as much evidence and data as possible.

2.Scope

According to NACE, the statistical classification of economic activities in the European Community, tourism accommodation establishments providing as a paid service short-term or short-stay accommodation services are classified as follows 9 :

(1) Hotels and similar accommodation 10

Hotels (and similar establishments, e.g. operating under the name 'bed & breakfast');

Resort hotels;

Suite/apartment hotels;

Motels.

This class excludes the provision of homes and furnished or unfurnished flats or apartments for more permanent use, typically on a monthly or annual basis 11 .

(2) Holiday and other short-stay accommodation 12

Children and other holiday homes;

Visitor flats and bungalows;

Cottages and cabins without housekeeping services;

Youth hostels and mountain refuges.

This class excludes the provision of homes and furnished or unfurnished flats or apartments for more permanent use, typically on a monthly or annual basis.

(3) Camping grounds, recreational vehicle parks and trailer parks

Accommodation in campgrounds, trailer parks, recreational camps and fishing and hunting camps for short stay visitors;

Space and facilities for recreational vehicles.

Protective shelters or plain bivouac facilities for placing tents and/or sleeping bags.

The focus of this consultation is on tourism accommodation services in coherence with the definitions included in the classification above. Such services are indeed used by consumers on an occasional basis and often abroad, where they might be less familiar with the environment, culture, tradition, language and legal system.

The debate on tourism accommodation safety has revolved until now mainly around fire safety issues. Indeed, while hotel fires account for only a very small percentage of fire-related casualties, accidents may potentially have high impact.

Nonetheless, different stakeholders argue that tourist accommodation safety is not only about fire safety. Other safety aspects include the state of the premises (leisure facilities, balconies, bedrooms, bathrooms, corridors, glass doors, etc.) or the risks related to carbon monoxide leaks (e.g. from misuses or fallacies in the heating systems in tourism accommodation), which are sometimes responsible for a greater number of injuries, illnesses, or fatalities.

3.Objectives

The purpose of this document is to launch a public consultation on the safety of tourism accommodation services. The objectives are to gather input from all relevant parties involved in the issue of tourism accommodation services with an aim to evaluate whether the issues outlined above are sufficiently and effectively addressed and whether there is evidence of new risks and whether the existing tools are adequate. This paper furthers asks about the level at which action would be most effective to usefully contribute to effective levels of safety for consumers. The paper would also seek help in quantifying these issues.

Bearing in mind also that the Commission aims to foster the competitiveness of the tourism sector by creating a favourable environment for enterprises and for cooperation among Member States, and that the sustainability of European tourism relies on the quality of the tourist experience and by extension on its safety, this paper intends to identify options for furthering confidence building both for enterprises and consumers.

4.Questions

The questions below aim at evaluating the five fundamental aspects identified earlier in this paper: whether the existing instruments and their implementation are adequate and sufficient (1) by measuring the nature and extent of the safety risks and their link to flaws or gaps (2) in the current legislative framework, and to what extent they have an impact on the provision of such services across borders (3) as well as on SMEs and vulnerable consumers (4), in order to make a clear distinction of what objectives are best met at which level (5).

Annex 1 gives a detailed description of the current knowledge regarding the aspects outlined in the previous paragraph, and is intended as reference material when addressing the questions below.

4.1.Existing instruments

The safety of consumers when using tourism accommodation services must first of all be evaluated by assessing the existing regulatory environment across the EU and its implementation.

4.1.1.National level

4.1.2.European level

The Council Recommendation 86/666/EEC on fire safety in existing hotels is the only European instrument in the field of tourist accommodation safety. The Commission has recently taken initiatives to assess whether the current Recommendation should be reviewed and updated with the view to ensuring the highest possible level of safety in hotels throughout the EU.

4.1.3.Monitoring and enforcement

It is relevant to know whether there are requirements for market surveillance in tourism accommodation safety-related legislation in Member States. Such requirements relate to obligations in terms of:

Establishment of authorities responsible for monitoring service safety and with powers to take appropriate measures,

Procedures for exchange of information on policy and regulatory developments,

Administrative cooperation between the authorities,

Systematic collection and assessment of data on risks of services,

Development of enforcement indicators for compliance monitoring

4.2.Consistency of national approaches

Any attempt to identify potential gaps in tourism accommodation safety rules which might be affecting consumers across the EU must be made from the perspective of the effectiveness of the extent and content of the existing instruments.

The actual safety level of a service is determined by the aggregate effects of the following main components:

Safety of the premises, structures and equipment used for providing the service;

Safety management (including risk assessment to evaluate the extent of the risk and take the appropriate safety measures accordingly);

Qualifications of the service provider;

Staff training;

Availability and quality of the information on safety aspects of the service provided to the users/consumers;

Availability of evacuation plans, emergency procedures and equipment to reduce damage in case of accidents;

Notifications to authorities on risks and accidents;

In particular, for tourism accommodation services special attention is needed for 13 :

A consistent definition of tourism accommodation premises (type, age, size, height); 

Accessibility aspects;

Specific requirements for vulnerable consumers;

Fire related risks;

Carbon monoxide (CO) related risks.

4.3.Impact of the existing regulatory situation on the Internal Market

The purpose of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of the existing instruments in the protection of European consumers. However, also the impact of such framework in the internal market should be quantified in order to evaluate any potential market distortion due to differing rules.

4.4.Cross-cutting aspects

4.4.1.Small and medium-sized enterprises

Small or micro sized tourism enterprises play an indispensable role in European tourism. 90% of tourism enterprises (including accommodation establishments) in Europe are SMEs and micro-SMEs.

According to the "Think Small First" principle, the general policy is to exempt micro enterprises and small businesses fully or partially from administrative burdens wherever possible 14 . While compliance with safety requirements might indeed be more costly and time consuming for smaller than for larger companies, the right balance must be struck between the need for better regulation and the safety of the consumer.

4.4.2.Accessibility and vulnerable consumers

An ageing population entails challenges and opportunities for the tourism accommodation sector, both from a growth and a safety angle. Forecasts announce that the number of persons aged over 65 is expected to reach 20% of the population in 2020 15 . This population group, consisting of individuals with both purchasing power and leisure time, represents significant market potential. However, for this potential to be exploited, key measures should be taken on aspects connected to their safety and accessibility.

Specific safety measures also for certain categories of vulnerable consumers have to be assessed, due to possible accessibility needs. According to some studies 16  the potential market for accessible tourism has been estimated at around 127 million persons. This figure takes into account travellers with special access needs (long term/permanent physical impairments, temporary impairments, elderly, accompanying persons or caregivers or families with young children). Fire safety measures, as well as evacuation or emergency plans in tourism accommodation services offered to consumers have to take into account the special needs of persons with disabilities and reduced mobility.

On different grounds, but still within the group of vulnerable consumers, safety measures for persons aged under 15 need to receive a special degree of attention.

4.4.3.Data on injuries and accidents

Factual information on the safety situation in the tourism accommodation sector across the European Union is lacking. This is true across European countries and where data exists, sources are not harmonised and aggregated for surveillance across Member States, making it very difficult to produce a systematic overview about injuries and accidents linked to the provision of tourism accommodation services. Even in the countries where data are available from a variety of sources like fire departments, insurance companies, emergency departments in hospitals, the registrations do not allow for comprehensive and comparative data to be obtained. Specific studies on data collection for accidents and injuries in relation to tourism accommodation services consistently mention a difficulty to obtain data at EU level (see section 2.1 in Annex 1).

4.4.4.Standards

Safety issues are also taken into account in the field of service standardisation by European Standardisation Organisations. The expansion of work in the field of service standardisation is a priority for the Commission, which is assessing the option to include the safety dimension in upcoming standardisation work requested by the Commission 17 .

4.4.5.Skills and training

Safety awareness, capacity building and training are essential. Vocational and educational training for staff and managers is instrumental for identifying risks even before they arise and implement correctly existing regulations. Yet, tourism training in the Member States differs substantially from one Member State to another. This can potentially lead to differences in the existence and provision of dedicated training on safety and the presence of the right skills in the sector.

4.5.Most appropriate level and instruments to address safety

4.5.1.Level

At present Member States are responsible for the definition, application and modification of rules regarding safety in tourism accommodation safety.

4.5.2.Alternative instruments

The use of self-regulation as an alternative tool to legislation is also possible for tourism accommodation service providers and its effectiveness must also be evaluated.: common voluntary guidelines (for instance, guidelines for risk assessment) or codes of good practices are also a way to integrate at European level the relevant safety aspects to fulfil potential gaps, taking into account the cross-border characteristics of the safety risks involved.

The MBS methodology is one example of self-regulatory action. These guidelines for hotel fire safety with requirements for Management (M), Buildings (B) and Systems (S) are meant to help hotels of all sizes across Europe adopt a high level of fire safety, in support of national/regional and local regulations and standards 18 .

Although the MBS methodology has already been adopted by many national hospitality associations in the EU, it remains voluntary and does not include monitoring or performance reporting. The effectiveness of non-regulatory measures depends on the support they receive from industry, authorities and consumers, and at the same time, they need to be based on adequate monitoring of its performance and outcomes. Safety guidelines developed by individual organisations can be interesting for others, on the condition that they are sufficiently shared.

4.6.Final question

5.Concluding remarks

The purpose of this document is to collect information on factual aspects and on the position and expectations of interested parties as well as to stimulate a public debate on the safety of tourism accommodation services. The European Commission is committed to a careful consideration of policies, proposals and of every other instrument at all stages, from the planning to the implementation and the review 19 . Consequently, the Green Paper is designed to acquire appropriate knowledge of the issues it covers, and it does not imply a pre-determined course of action –or the need of new measures at the EU level- as a result of the consultation.

The Commission invites all interested parties to submit their contributions in response to the questions raised in this document. Contributions do not necessarily need to cover all of the questions raised in this paper.

Contributions will be published on the internet, unless the respondent explicitly requests that the submission should be treated confidentially. It is important to read the specific privacy statement on how your personal data and contribution will be dealt with.

A report summing up the contributions will also be published on our website:   http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/health_consumer/dgs_consultations/ca/consultation_20141130_tourism_en.htm

Any further questions can be sent to:

SANCO-GREEN-PAPER-TOURISM-ACCOMM-SAFETY@ec.europa.eu

(1)

   UNWTO Tourism Barometer, January 2014 http://media.unwto.org/press-release/2014-01-20/international-tourism-exceeds-expectations-arrivals-52-million-2013  

(2)

    http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-144_en.htm  

(3)

   EUROSTAT. Summary press release of 29/01/2014 at http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_STAT-14-16_en.htm  

(4)

   In the context of this data, a night spent (or overnight stay) is each night a guest/tourist, non-resident of the country, actually spends in a tourist accommodation establishment. For a definition of the scope of tourist accommodation establishments, see Chapter 2 of this Green Paper.

(5)

   http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cons_safe/serv_safe/reports/safety_serv_rep_en.pdf

(6)

   In 2010 the Commission launched a study with the aim to have a description of the major safety risks in the hotel sector in the EU and to carry out an inventory of injuries and accidents occurred in recent years. The variety of the hotel sector and the lack of availability of accident records relating specifically to the provision of the service, linked to also reputational issues, finally did not allow the contractor to collect and analyse the desired data.

(7)

   https://osha.europa.eu/

(8)

   These practices include the MBS Methodology (Management, Buildings and Systems) and similar instruments, inasmuch as they carry safety-related provisions and prescriptions.

(9)

     Regulation 692/2011 concerning European statistics on tourism ( http://eurlex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2011:192:0017:0032:EN:PDF ) defines a tourist accommodation establishment as a local kind-of-activity unit […] providing as a paid service -although the price might be partially or fully subsidized- short-stay accommodation services as described in groups 55.1 (hotels and similar accommodation), 55.2 (holiday and other short-stay accommodation) and 55.3 (camping grounds, recreational vehicle parks and trailer parks) of NACE Rev. 2 (Article 2(1)(l)).

(10)

     This class includes the provision of accommodation, typically on a daily or weekly basis, principally for short stays by visitors. This includes the provision of furnished accommodation in guest rooms and suites. Services include daily cleaning and bed-making. A range of additional services may be provided such as food and beverage services, parking, laundry services, swimming pools and exercise rooms, recreational facilities as well as conference and convention facilities.

(11)

     Rented private holiday accommodations (such as flats or villas - generally rented for short period rarely exceeding one month) are also "paid-for" accommodations like hotels, yet they are not subject to the same legal requirements as hotels which might have to be reflected where they equally pose safety risks.

(12)

     This class includes the provision of accommodation, typically on a daily or weekly basis, principally for short stays by visitors, in self-contained space consisting of complete furnished rooms or areas for living/dining and sleeping, with cooking facilities or fully equipped kitchens. This may take the form of apartments or flats in small free-standing multi-storey buildings or clusters of buildings, or single storey bungalows, chalets, cottages and cabins. Very minimal complementary services, if any, are provided

(13)

   Food safety issues are excluded from the scope of this paper as they are specifically covered by Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 28 January 2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety, OJ L 31, 1.2.2002, p. 1–24.

(14)

   Report from the Commission to the Council and the European Parliament 'Minimizing regulatory burden for SMEs-Adapting EU regulation to the needs of micro-enterprises', COM(2011) 803 final

(15)

   Source: Eurostat, Statistics in Focus 43/2012 "Europeans aged 65+ spent a third more on tourism in 2011 compared with 2006", Figure 11 (http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_OFFPUB/KS-SF-12-043/EN/KS-SF-12-043-EN.PDF).

(16)

    http://www.accessibletourism.org/resources/enat_igm_3eichhorn.pdf

(17)

   The Union’s Work Programme for standardisation is adopted annually

(18)

   Other examples of self-regulation include the strategic framework for hotel safety and security of the Intercontinental Hotel group (IHG), a risk management process to enable and support hotel owners and staff to manage risk effectively; or the Carlson and Rezidor hotel group's TRIC=S formula for structuring safety and security (Threat assessment + Risk mitigation + Incident response + Crisis management, Communication and Continuity = Safe, Secure and Sellable brands).

(19)

   http://ec.europa.eu/smart-regulation/index_en.htm

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

Brussels, 22.7.2014

COM(2014) 464 final

ANNEX

to the

GREEN PAPER

on the Safety of Tourism Accommodation Services

Contents

1.    Facts and figures    

1.1.    Existing instruments and enforcement    

1.1.1.    National level    

1.1.2.    European level    

1.1.3.    Monitoring and enforcement    

1.2.    Cross-cutting issues    

1.2.1.    SMEs    

1.2.2.    Eurobarometer surveys    

1.2.3.    Standards    

1.3.    Level and instruments    

1.3.1.    Alternative instruments    

2.    Specific actions on Tourism Accommodation Safety by the Commission    

2.1.    Earlier actions (2003-2012)    

2.2.    Most recent actions (2012-2013)    

1.Facts and figures

This section presents the facts and figures which are available in relation to the issues that the Green Paper addresses. Not all aspects covered in section 4 ‘Questions’ in the paper are mirrored in this annex as supporting material does not necessarily exist for each of them.

1.1.Existing instruments and enforcement

1.1.1.National level

In broad terms, when it comes to tourism accommodation services the type of policies varies significantly. In 2013 a questionnaire has invited Member States to describe national rules regarding the safety of tourism accommodation services (among other services). Of the 24 Member States which submitted information, 21 reported the existence of general legislation covering services as a category (either general legislation on service safety, or on product safety, or on consumer protection or on safety at work), while 17 Member States reporting having detailed sectorial legislation in relation to accommodation services, complemented by self-regulation in 6 cases. 2 Member States did not report either horizontal or sectorial policies.

A screening of the content of the reported sectorial legislation allowed for more detailed comparison across Member States. Relevant authorities were given a list of safety-related provisions (see table below) and were asked to indicate which of them were present in their national legislation. Of the 17 Member States where sectorial legislation is in place (AT, BE, CY, CZ, DE, EL, ES, ET, FR, HR, IT, LT, LU, MT, PL, PT, SK), a large majority (13 Member States) include obligations related to the condition of the premises; a general obligation to provide only safe services is present in 8 cases and obligations related to the qualifications of the service provider are required in 10 cases. On the other hand, only half of those Member States (DE, EL, CZ, HR, LU, MT, PL, PT, SK) require by law the establishment of authorities to monitor and take action. Furthermore, just 5 (LU, MT, CZ, PL, EL) include provisions for the identification and assessment of risks and only in 2 (CZ, PL) there is an obligation to notify authorities on risks and accidents related to the provision of the service – an essential tool for comparative purposes across the EU.

The graph below illustrates the content of the existing sectorial legislation of the 17 reporting Member States.

1.1.2.European level

The freedom to provide services is regulated by Articles 56-62 TFEU. More specifically Directive 2006/123/EC on Services in the Internal Market 1 aims at facilitating the exercise of the freedom of establishment for service providers and the free movement of services, making it easier for EU service providers to operate in any other EU Member State. Safety of services is not specifically the subject matter of the Directive. However, Article 18 of the Directive allows for derogations to the freedom to provide services (art 16) under specific conditions and in particular cases relating to the safety of services. A receiving Member State may under those conditions exceptionally apply its requirements to a particular incoming service provider with regard to the provision of a specific service. Under the conditions of article 23 of the directive the Members Sates may ensure that services providers whose services present direct and particular risks to the health and safety subscribe to appropriate liability insurance. Mutual assistance obligation for the member state of establishment covers in particular information on risk of serious damage to the health or safety (Art. 29.3). Finally, Article 26 provides for a framework of voluntary quality enhancing measures in relation to certification or assessment of service provider activities, development of quality charters or labels and charters as well as the development of voluntary European standards for services.

With respect to the safety of tourism related services, there is no comprehensive legislation at EU level. The only instrument regarding safety in tourist accommodation is the Council Recommendation 86/666 on fire safety in existing hotels, which defines minimum safety standards for all hotels in the EU (of a capacity of at least 20 guests) and recommends that Member States take all appropriate measures to guarantee these safety standards when existing laws are not sufficient.

In addition, a number of EU instruments and initiatives in various policy areas (e.g. REACH, construction products, safety at workplace, professional qualifications, environment and package travel) may contribute directly or indirectly to the safety of tourism accommodation services.

As an example, in the framework of the implementation of the Construction Products Regulation (EU) 305/2011, the Commission has asked CEN/CENELEC to develop as soon as possible a harmonised standard on carbon monoxide detectors. The standard will foresee 3rd party certification for these products and will ensure appropriate sensitivity and end of life indication.

1.1.3.Monitoring and enforcement

The only existing European instrument regulating fire safety in tourism accommodation is non-binding by nature and therefore of no compulsory enforcement. In June 2001, the Commission presented a report on the application of the recommendation in Member States 2 . The report concluded that although the recommendation contributed to increase the level of safety in hotels across the EU, the minimum safety standards prescribed in the recommendation were not fully achieved.

At their own initiative, FTO-ABTA (the Federation of Tour Operators merged into the British Travel Association) carried out in 2009 a study on compliance with existing rules on fire safety including Recommendation 86/666 by tourist accommodation providers 3 applying the UK industry’s own inspection and reporting methods. 2.123 properties covering 10 EU Member States were inspected either by the tour operators’ own staff (i.e. specially trained resort staff or specialist health and safety staff) or by external consultants.

The study presented a summary of the property ratings by country which suggests large national differences in the standards of fire safety in resort hotels: In support of the reliability of the resulting data, the study stressed that there could be no possible motive for the tour operator’s own records (whether self-generated or consultant’s products) to depict a less satisfactory picture of a property than the one found.

Further, the study concluded that 38% of the properties audited by the tour operators and their consultants are likely to be non-compliant with the 86/666 Recommendation on Fire Safety in Existing Hotels.

1.2.Cross-cutting issues

1.2.1.SMEs

Small or micro sized tourism enterprises accounted in the past five years for over 97% of all tourism accommodation providers.

1.2.2.Eurobarometer surveys

A Flash Eurobarometer on service safety released in 2012 4 related to the safety aspects of certain paid-for service categories including tourism accommodation. 

25.524 European citizens aged 15 and above were interviewed between 7 and 10 May 2012 in all 27 European Union Member States. The purpose of the survey was to investigate Europeans perceptions and experiences with the safety of specific services including tourism accommodation. More specifically, the aspects investigated were:

Perceptions about the safety of these services.

The proportion using each service and the incidence of accidents causing injury.

The experience of safety aspects while using each service (the building itself, the room and the equipment, hygiene conditions, fire signs and equipment, recreational facilities, pool facilities, heating system and security against carbon monoxide leaks).

The perceived causes and the consequences of accidents leading to injury.

Whether consumers complain about accidents, and the reasons they do not complain.

The main results of the survey were:

In general terms, reports of accidents causing injury while using services were low

Most respondents (54%) said that injury causing accidents in paid-for services were caused by themselves/ the user.

As far as accommodations are concerned, 98% of the respondents did not report any accidents while staying in a paid-for accommodation in the last two years.

Basis: Those who used accommodation in the last 2 years = 12858 Those who used beauty and wellness centres in the last 2 years = 11749 Those who went to amusement parks and fairgrounds in the last 2 years = 9677 Those who went to swimming pools in the last 2 years = 12200 Those who participated to organized leisure outdoor activities in the last 2 years = 6147

At least nine out of ten users of paid-for accommodation rated the building and equipment and hygiene at their accommodation as safe, but they were less certain about the pool (64% safe) and heating systems (61% safe).

Basis: Those who used accommodation in the last 2 years and did not have any accident = 11792

Respondents are most likely to say that the fire signs and equipment in their accommodation were unsafe (8%), followed by hygiene conditions (7%). It is worth noting in the case of hygiene that 91% of respondents rated this aspect of their accommodation as safe - compared to 78% for fire signs and equipment.

Just over one in twenty (6%) said that the recreational facilities of their accommodation were unsafe.

Pool facilities were also rated as unsafe by 6% of respondents. Of all the aspects asked about, respondents were most likely to say that their accommodation did not have a pool (25%) or recreational facilities (17%).

One in twenty (5%) said that the heating system and security against carbon monoxide leaks in their accommodation were unsafe. However more than one in five (22%) were unable to give an opinion on the heating system of their accommodation.

Of the 12.585 users of accommodation services across the EU27, 164 reported having experienced an accident resulting in physical harm or injury. The breakdown by country from the Eurobarometer report is shown below.

When asked about what the accident was related to, the answers of those 164 citizens indicated the following:

Almost all (92%) said the premises and equipment were in good enough condition, while 82% said safety information was displayed, and 62% said the staff seemed to be properly qualified in terms of safety precautions. Respondents were most unsure about the safety qualifications of staff, with 20% saying they could not remember or were not sure

Basis: Those who used accommodation in the last 2 years and did not have any accident = 11792

In general, consumers' views on why accidents happen, the consequences of those accidents and the involvement of children in these accidents were also collected.

Most of the respondents (54%) said it was their own fault, or the fault of the user. One in five (20%) said the bad state of the premises or equipment was to blame, while 16% said that the staff were responsible due to insufficient competence. Around one in ten blamed insufficient supervision (13%), insufficient warnings about risks (12%) or insufficient instructions on use (8%). One in twenty (5%) said a lack of or poor emergency procedures was responsible for the accident. One in ten (10%) mentioned 'other' as a reason.

Overall the results of this survey contributed evidence about different aspects of the accidents experienced and confirmed that the general evaluation of safety aspects was not negative but nearly 10% of users identified common safety issues which should be addressed (mainly training and qualification of staff and lack of information about safety procedures and risks).

Furthermore, tourists’ concerns about safety have been regularly monitored via the “Eurobarometer survey on the attitudes of Europeans towards tourism” since 2008 5 . Four subsequent waves of surveys between 2008 and 2012 confirmed that safety did not have any effect in discouraging European travellers from going on holidays.

The latest Eurobarometer survey (launched in January 2014) 6 aimed at understanding whether there were specific concerns towards safety of tourism accommodations. The results were as follows:

Only a minority of respondents experienced safety problems with paid accommodation during their 2013 holiday. Overall, only 4% of respondents who travelled at least once in 2013 registered a complaint during their trip.

A high proportion of respondents (95%) were satisfied with the safety of their accommodation. A similar proportion (95%) were satisfied with the quality of their accommodation.

The vast majority of respondents (92%) did not experience any safety issues when using paid accommodation during their main holiday in 2013. Of the 6% that did, the most common experience was food poisoning or sickness (2%), followed by a slip, trip or fall (1%) and swimming pool incidents (1%).

1.2.3.Standards

Regulation (EU) No 1025/2012 7 on European Standardisation that became applicable on 1 January 2013 establishes conditions for European standardisation with a clear reference to the development of standards in the field of services and opens the door to European standardisation which can support the application of Union legislation and policies in the domain of service safety. Art 2(4)(c) establishes that the standards technical specification (requirements) for services refer to their levels of quality, performance, interoperability, environmental protection, health or safety 8 . This potentially creates room for discussion on standardisation of the safety of tourism accommodation services.

1.3.Level and instruments

1.3.1.Alternative instruments

In 2008, the Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Cafés in Europe (HOTREC), maintaining its preference towards industry performance-based rather than prescriptive, normative approaches, developed a self-regulation initiative, known as the MBS (Management, Building, Systems) Methodology, aimed at further enhancing fire safety in all hotels in Europe. The Commission services took part in a stakeholders’ Consultative Committee which was involved throughout the development of the Methodology. The MBS contains a set of performance-oriented recommendations aimed at guiding the Management of the hotels to make sure that the hotel's Building features and its Systems can efficiently fulfil the same objectives laid down in Council Recommendation 86/666.

The principle of an industry-led self-regulatory measure has received wide support. The 2010 Commission Communication on Tourism 9  foresees that the Commission will continue to cooperate closely with the member States, the tourism industry and stakeholders’ organisations in the sector to improve safety in accommodation structures, particularly with regard to fire risks 10 .

2.Specific actions on Tourism Accommodation Safety by the Commission

Some actions, outlined below, have been developed by the Commission in recent years in relation to tourism accommodation services.

2.1.Earlier actions (2003-2012)

The oldest still existing EU level text relevant to tourism accommodation safety is the above-mentioned Council Recommendation 86/666/EEC on Fire Safety in Existing Hotels.

When the EU legislator modernised the rules relating to the safety of consumer products, it did not include the safety of services in the same initiative. Article 20 of Directive 2001/95/EC on General Product Safety (GPSD) however required the Commission to "identify the needs, possibilities and priorities for Community action on the safety of services and submit to the European Parliament and the Council, before 1 January 2003, a report, accompanied by proposals on the subject as appropriate".

The Commission therefore launched a consultation and issued a report in 2003 on the Safety of Services for Consumers 11 , which mentioned specifically that “it would be appropriate to focus on the sectors most relevant for consumers in a cross-border perspective, for example mass-accommodation services like hotels, camping or other tourist facilities”. The Council endorsed the results of the Commission report and adopted in 2003 a resolution 12 on safety of services for consumers which called upon the Commission to examine "the need for concrete Community initiatives and activities in this field, which might include inter alia the development of a legislative framework with particular attention to the identified priority areas". It further prompted the Commission to study, in cooperation with Member States, the scope, priorities and the most appropriate and effective approaches, methodologies, and procedures for improving the knowledge on service safety and data collection, as well as to examine the possible contribution from European standards to reach a common high level of safety in services.

In 2005 the Commission launched a study 13 to identify and describe existing methodologies for monitoring accidents and data collection in relation to consumer services, with a particular focus on tourism services and related activities, to do a comparative analysis of these methodologies and to propose options for a future scheme at EU level. The study remarked that “tourism and leisure-related accidents are very unevenly distributed between regions (end even between individual towns of tourist resorts) within each member state. In contrast most product-related accidents tend to be evenly distributed across resident populations. The data capture methods best suited to safety needs are therefore significantly different to those best suited to product safety needs and this limits the potential for any one database to serve both needs optimally”. The study concluded that a single central database containing information on all relevant tourism and leisure services accidents would not be a feasible project in the medium term. The main recommendation was that in the long term there should be a common EU mandatory duty on consumer service suppliers to report all serious incidents involving consumers, pointing to Member states’ responsibility towards generating national accident estimates for each tourism and leisure-related sector in a standard format to be easily collated on a European web site to create comparison tables.

In 2005, the Commission asked the Member States' views on a possible revision of the Recommendation 86/666. At that moment, for some Member States the existing requirements at EU and national levels were sufficient, while others would welcome an update of the fire safety requirements in hotels at EU level, in particular to improve issues such as fire safety management, safety instructions, staff training and emergency planning. No consensus emerged at the time.

Recommendations from the study on data collection systems were further discussed and elaborated during an international workshop on “Accident and injury data collection for non-food products and service risk assessment”, held in Brussels in 2006. In line with the results of the study, the workshop concluded also that better access to existing databases and accident information should be provided via the Internet and that the extension of existing best practices would be the best approach for the short and medium term.

In parallel, during 2006, the Commission launched a study 14 into possible improvements of the European Injury Data Base (IDB) for the purpose of colleting service-related data. The study concluded that, while it would be difficult in practice to improve the database to include service-related injuries, specific follow-up research could be undertaken based on already available data in the IDB to obtain better insight into service-related accidents.

As indicated in the 2007 Commission Communication – Agenda for a sustainable and competitive European Tourism 15 , ensuring that tourists as well as the local communities where tourism services are offered are safe and secure is a further challenge and also a basic condition for a successful development of tourism. Ensuring the safety of tourists is a key aspect for the tourism sector, in line with the current momentum where inspiring confidence is vital.

In 2010 the Commission launched an ambitious study to describe the hotel sector by Member State, with the objective to identify its major safety risks (excluding food safety-related risks), and to carry out an inventory of injuries and accidents occurred in hotels in recent years. However, the study failed to fulfil its objectives due among other reasons to the variety of the hotel sector and the lack of availability of accident records relating specifically to the provision of the service, linked to also reputational issues. The recommendations of the study were not of the quality expected to serve as a base for policy decisions and the study was therefore not accepted by the Commission services.

The 2010 Commission Communication on Tourism mentioned earlier outlines a policy that aims at supporting this sector of the European economy and proposes initiatives to promote its competitiveness as well as its sustainable and quality-based development. It specifically mentions that "the Commission will continue to cooperate closely with the Member States, the tourism industry and stakeholders' organisations in the sector to improve safety in accommodation structures, particularly with regard to fire risks." The Communication stresses the potential for boosting tourism by improving safety in the tourism industry.

Finally, the European Parliament own-initiative report 16 in response to that Communication "stresses the importance of paying due attention to the question of safety in various types of accommodation, particularly in regard to fire safety regulations and carbon monoxide safety measures”.

2.2.Most recent actions (2012-2013)

One of the possibilities discussed recently by the Commission services was undertaking a revision of the Recommendation 86/666 on Fire Safety in Existing Hotels using as a basis the MBS Methodology. A consultative stakeholder workshop was organised for this purpose in June 2012 to discuss this option. There was consensus on the general principles of this initiative, especially on the need to adapt and improve the content of the Recommendation regarding among other issues its requirements, scope and application at national level. Also, a majority of stakeholders went one step further and questioned the non-binding nature of the Recommendation as the most suitable tool to tackle the issue of fire safety in hotels across Europe, on the grounds of lack of consistent implementation and enforcement across Member States. However, there was no consensus among the stakeholders on the further course of action, in particular regarding the content of the MBS Methodology. A number of suggestions were put forward regarding aspects that would need to be further considered and which are included in the scope of the Green Paper.

(1)

OJ L 376, 27.12.2006, p.36-68

(2)  COM (2001) 348 final, http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cons_safe/serv_safe/fire_safe/ps06_en.pdf

(3)  An analysis of the implementation of existing regulations on fire safety in tourist accommodation, an FTO European tourist accommodation study by Stewart Kidd, 2009

(4)  Flash Eurobarometer 350, Safety of Services, http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_350_en.pdf

(5)  Flash EB 258/2009, 291/2010. 328/2011, 334/2012. 370/2013

(6) http://ec.europa.eu/public_opinion/flash/fl_392_en.pdf

(7)  OJ L316 ,14.11.2012, p12

(8)  From a safety perspective, it underlines in recital (3) that standards "may maintain and enhance service quality, provide information and ensure interoperability and compatibility thereby increasing the safety and value for consumers".

(9)  Communication from the Commission to the European parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Region – Europe, the world's No 1 tourist destination – a new political framework for tourism in Europe, COM(2010) 352 final

(10)  The European Parliament own-initiative report (2010/2206(INI))  in response to the Communication refers to self-regulatory tools as it “considers that incentives should be given for adherence to the MBS (Management, Building and System) method, without prejudice to national regulations in force in line with the 1986 Council recommendations, or alternative regulatory actions should be taken wherever self-regulation fails".

(11)  Report from the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council on the Safety of Services to Consumers, COM(2003) 313 final

(12)  Council Resolution of 1 December 2003 on Safety of Services for Consumers (2003/C 299/01)

(13)  “Methodology for systematic collection of statistics in relation to safety of services”, by Consumer Risk Ltd, http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cons_safe/serv_safe/datacollect/rep_idb2005_en.pdf  

(14)  “Improving the product and service dimension of the IDB – a feasibility study”, by the Consumer Safety Institute

(15)   COM/2007/0621 final

(16)   (2010/2206(INI)) - Europe, the world's No 1 tourist destination - a new political framework for tourism in , Committee on Transport and Tourism.