The slogan accompanying World Tourism Day 2024 is almost obligatory, considering the historical moment dramatically marked by wars and tensions. Never before has the event that the UN celebrates every 27 September has been dedicated to the profound connection between travel and peace.
In his message, the Secretary General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, emphasized, “Let’s build bridges and promote mutual respect. Let’s reflect on the great connection between tourism and peace.”
In this sense, sustainable tourism is essential: “It can transform communities, create jobs, promote inclusion, and strengthen local economies. Enhancing and preserving cultural and natural heritage can help reduce tensions and promote coexistence. Tourism can also promote economic interdependence between neighboring countries, encouraging cooperation and peaceful development.”
In addition to its social and cultural roles, another essential aspect of the tourism phenomenon is its importance for most economies. It is one of the most important sectors on a global level, accounting for up to 30% of the GDP in some countries.
Message from the Italian Minister of Tourism, Daniela Santanchè:
«Today, we celebrate not only the right to tourism but also the fundamental role of the tourism phenomenon as a promoter of peace and friendship between peoples. In addition to being an industry and an economic activity. Tourism is a social factor that unites cultures and creates bonds».
The Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, adopted in 1999 by the World Tourism Organization – Santanchè underlines – also reminds us that it serves as a tool for territorial enhancement as well as a vector for dialogue and communication: Tourism, encouraging meetings between people and institutions from different nations, allows us to keep channels of intercultural exchange open.
And the minister underlines, «we must all work together – public and private – to build a tourism ecosystem that promotes collective well-being, based on values of equality, accessibility, inclusiveness and ethics. To do this, we must reiterate how the tourism right has both an active value – in guaranteeing everyone the possibility of enjoying the wonders of our planet – and a passive charge, in recognizing the right of territories to enhance their specific tourism potential”.
Finally, the hope aligns with the thought of the United Nations leaders: “Tourism can and must be a bridge toward a future of peace. Every trip is an opportunity to learn, understand, respect differences, and find what unites us. Together, we can make tourism an engine of mutual growth and a factor of harmony between peoples. The sector’s future is tourism, which enriches our economies, nourishes our souls and promotes peace in the world.”
The Pope’s homily on the occasion of the opening of the Saint Peter Cathedral Holy Door, symbol of the Jubilee 2025:
“Peace is not only a state of absence of war, but it is also a goal to be achieved with a continuous commitment to reduce the causes of conflicts (poverty, injustice, inequality, selfishness, misunderstanding between people) and to prevent them.
Sustainable tourism development means not only improving the experience of tourists who visit a destination, bringing economic and cultural wealth but also improving the quality of life of its citizens and the relationships that the latter have with their territory.
The tourist often faces a reality different from the imagination that brought him to that place, especially with the advent of social media, since common points are discovered only with a real encounter with the community.
Conflict arises from the non-acceptance of diversity and the other, while in tourism, we get used to seeing the other as an opportunity and a completion of what we and other people are. Responsible tourism allows us to confront our limits and difficulties through meeting other people.”
