In our apparently wealthy world, poverty still affects four billion
people throughout the the world, of which two billion are living
with less than $1 a day. ... By selecting poverty alleviation, job
creation and social harmony as the World Tourism Day theme for
2003, our 14th General Assembly firmly expressed its will to fully
support one of the key issues stated in the UN Millennium
Development Goals and, at the same time, recalled the fundamental
role of tourism as a positive instrument towards the reduction of
poverty, the creation of job opportunities as well as contributing
to social harmony.
There is an evident ethical need for tourism to support such
goals. A major sector of the services economy, tourism is
increasingly recognized as contributing to social and economic
development as well as a beneficial activity for host countries and
local communities to combat unemployment by creating direct and
indirect jobs. Tourism also can contribute significantly to rural
development, especially in depressed rural areas threatened by the
decline of traditional agricultural activities. And it is precisely
in rural areas of developing countries where most poor people live.
...
In a year shaken by political turmoil, environmental and natural
disasters, international conflicts and new diseases that have
affected tourist movements, we are more confident than ever that
tourism has the capacity to contribute to the alleviation of some
of the main factors which are at the root of such problems.
Excerpts from a statement by Francesco Frangialli,
secretary-general of the World Tourism Organization, about World
Tourism Day Sept. 27. www.world-tourism.org