Euralarm calls for an united EU Directive for safety in tourism accommodations

Europe is the number one tourism destination in the world for international travellers. These tourist expect maximum safety and security of their accommodations. Euralarm proposes an EU Directive on fire safety and security for all tourism accommodations. They believe that this is the only way to guarantee a unified level of safety across Europe for all types of accommodation.

To ensure safety in tourism accommodations is regulated more consistently, more effectively, and is properly enforced horizo ntal legislations at European level are necessary. These legislation s should not only establish minimum requirements for safety and security , but should also standardize the definition of the accommodations. T hese are currently inconsistent which makes synchronization of stand ards extremely difficult and hard to implement. In addition to fire risks, the regulations should also address CO-related risks.

This invisible and odorless gas cannot be detected by gu ests and is a deadly poison at very low concentrations. The same alarms which should be used for fire can also be used for Carbon Monoxide an d that is why this should be incorporated in the EU Directive. It shou ld also give special attention focused on the elderly, children, and th e physically impaired. They are a large part of the population an d require specific alarms. Intelligent evacuation systems using both visu al and voice alarm could save lives of the most vulnerable people.

To assess the current level of safety of tourism accommodations across Europe, sufficient and harmonized measurement tools and statistics are required. This factual information is lacking an d in the countries where data exists, the sources are not harmonized and cannot be aggregated. These statistical requirements and measur e should also be integrated into the EU Directive according to Eu ralarm.

Euralarm’s position is clearly in favor of an EU-wide binding i nstrument. Not adopting strong measures would constitute a missed opportun ity to put an end to what in many cases are preventable deaths and injuries.