No L 291/32 Official Journal of the European Communities 6. 12. 95 COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 95/57/EC of 23 November 1995 on the collection of statistical information in the field of tourism THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION, Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community, and in particular Article 213 thereof, Having regard to the proposal from the Commission, Whereas the Resolutions of the European Parliament of 11 June 1991 (') and 18 January 1994 (%) stress that the Community has a major role to play in developing tourism statistics ; Whereas the elaboration of a Directive aimed at channel- ling efforts currently expended in a fragmented manner at national level has been approved by the Economic and Social Committee (%) ; Whereas, under Decision 90/655/EEC (*), a Community methodological framework for the compilation of Community tourism statistics has been developed ; Whereas the results of the two-year programme (1991- 1992) for developing Community tourism statistics under Decision 90/655/EEC highlight the needs of users in the private and public sector for reliable and comparable statistics on tourism demand and supply at Community level available at short notice ; Whereas the development of Community statistics on tourism was recognized as a priority by Council Decision 92/421/EEC of 13 July 1992 on a Community action plan to assist tourism () ; Whereas the recognized role of tourism as a tool of deve- lopment and socioeconomic integration can be better ensured through knowledge of the basic related statistics, notably established at regional level ; Whereas, in order to assess the competitiveness of the Community tourist industry, it is necessary to gain greater knowledge of the volume of tourism, the characteristics thereof, the profile of the tourist and tourist expenditure ; Whereas monthly information is required to be able to measure the seasonal influences of demand on tourist accomodation capacity and thereby to assist public autho- rities and economic operators to develop more suitable () OJ No C 183, 15. 7. 1991, p. 74. () OJ No C 44, 14. 2. 1994, p. 61. () OJ No C 52, 19. 2. 1994, p. 22. (4 OJ No L 358, 21. 12. 1990, p. 89. () OJ No L 231, 13. 8. 1992, p. 26. strategies and policies for improving the seasonal spread of holidays and the performance of tourist activities ; Whereas further Community activity in this field must continue to be based on a pragmatic approach which is consistent with the principle of subsidiarity ; Whereas the necessary synergies between national, inter- national and Community statistical projects impinging on tourism must be ensured in order to reduce the onus of collecting information ; Whereas methodological work developed in cooperation with other international organizations, such as the Orga- nization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the World Tourism Organization, and the Recom- mendations adopted by the Statistical Commission of the United Nations in March 1993 should be taken into account in order to ensure better comparability of tourism statistics at world level ; Whereas reliable and efficient monitoring of the structure and evolution of tourism demand and supply can be significantly improved by establishing an appropriate recognized Community framework ; Whereas such a system may generate economies of scale, while producing information benefiting all Member States and parties concerned ; Whereas a Community instrument could facilitate the dissemination of comparable tourism statistics ; Whereas Council Decision 93/464/EEC of 22 July 1993 on the framework programme for priority actions in the field of statistical information, 1993 to 1997 (%) provides for the setting-up of an information system on tourism supply and demand; Whereas a Council Directive can provide a common framework to maximize the benefits of the various actions which are being carried out at national level; Whereas the statistical data compiled under a Community system must be reliable and appropriate to ensure compa- rability between Member States; whereas it is therefore necessary to establish jointly the criteria enabling these requirements to be met, () OJ No L 219, 28. 8. 1993, p. 1.