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About the theme: Tourism - Linking Cultures

Tourism is not merely an economic and commercial activity, but one of the world’s principal instruments for human interaction. With a record 940 million international tourist arrivals in 2010, never before have so many people travelled so widely, nor come into contact with such a diverse range of cultures.

What are the global implications of this constant and ever growing interaction?

According to the United Nations Declaration on a Culture of Peace, the development of a culture of peace is integrally linked to “advancing understanding, tolerance and solidarity among all civilizations, peoples and cultures”. Surely tourism, an activity with intercultural dialogue and exchange at its very core, should be highlighted in this regard. Tourism is based on interaction, interaction prompts dialogue and dialogue builds mutual understanding and peace.   

World Tourism Day 2011 is being celebrated under the theme ‘Tourism – Linking Cultures’. As the most widely celebrated global day for tourism, it represents an opportunity to address how tourism can help build tolerance and understanding worldwide by serving as a catalyst for communication and exchange between the different cultures of the world.

Egypt, the cradle of one of the world’s earliest civilizations, provides the ideal setting to discuss the 2011 theme. For thousands of years, successive cultures have travelled across Egypt, resulting in a vibrant and rich heritage that attracts millions of tourists. It is this process of coming together through travel that is at the very heart of the 2011 World Tourism Day celebrations.   

Ban Ki-moon, UN Secretary-General

The theme of this year’s World Tourism Day, “Tourism – linking cultures”, highlights the powerful role of tourism in building international understanding and mutual respect.

There is no better way to learn about a new culture than to experience it first-hand. Tourism offers a wonderful connecting thread between visitor and host community. It promotes dialogue and interaction.  Such contact between people of different backgrounds is the very foundation for tolerance.   In a world struggling for peaceful coexistence, tourism can build bridges and contribute to peace.

Tourism’s contributions to development also advance the cause of global solidarity.  At a time of profound global economic uncertainty, tourism’s ability to generate socio-economic opportunities and help reduce the gap between rich and poor, is more important than ever.

I encourage all involved in tourism to embrace the ten principles of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism. These guidelines for sustainable and responsible tourism development, approved by the UN General Assembly in 2001, are based on the proven interaction between tourism and peace, human rights and understanding.

World Tourism Day is an opportunity to reflect on the importance of tourism to global well-being. As we travel, let us engage with other cultures and celebrate human diversity. On this observance, let us recognize tourism as a force for a more tolerant, open and united world.

Taleb Rifai, UNWTO Secretary-General

With 940 million tourists crossing international borders in 2010, never have the world’s peoples and cultures been drawn together as now. Through tourism, millions of people are brought closer every day.

World Tourism Day (WTD) 2011 is taking place under the theme Tourism – linking cultures and is a celebration of tourism’s role in breaking down barriers across cultures and fostering tolerance, respect and mutual understanding. In our often divided world, these values represent the stepping stones towards a more peaceful future.

Promoting and developing tourism with a view to contributing to economic development, international understanding, peace, prosperity, and universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms for all is at the heart of UNWTO’s mandate. Every people and every place possess a unique culture. Experiencing different ways of life, discovering new food and customs and visiting cultural sites have become leading motivations for travel, and as a result, a crucial source of revenue and job creation, particularly for developing countries. Income from tourism is often redirected towards the safeguarding of these sites and even the revitalization of cultures.

Yet tourism growth brings serious responsibilities to minimize any potentially negative impacts on the cultural assets and heritage of mankind. The Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, a set of universal values, principles and standards, guides tourism’s development so that it is sustainable, ethical and responsible.   

Ultimately, tourism is an economic sector based on human interaction, exchange and dialogue. WTD 2011 is a call to all those involved in tourism to act in a way that is conscious and respectful of culture, which promotes intercultural dialogue and ensures that local communities fully participate in, and benefit from, the development opportunities of tourism.  

We look forward to celebrating the cultures of the world with you.

 Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour, Minister of Tourism of Egypt

We are proud and honoured to be hosting the official celebrations of the World Tourism Day 2011 in Egypt. On this occasion it is a pleasure to send all my greetings and those of the Egyptian people and to wish the world peace and prosperity in the coming year. 

Tourism as an industry is now accepted by all nations as a major propellant of economic and social development.  More and more, countries are introducing tourism into their national strategies for growth.  In Egypt, it is one of the most important sectors of the economy, having accounted for close to 12% of our GDP and being responsible for one out of seven jobs.  But tourism is also linking cultures from all corners of the world, bringing people together and proving that despite the variety of races, cultures, customs and arts, the noble bond of humanity is what holds our world together. 

World Tourism Day is an excellent opportunity to raise awareness around the world of this vital economic sector and its contribution to social, economic and environmental wellbeing, but above all its contribution to world peace and understanding.

Andreas Müseler, Chairman, Tour Operators’ Initiative for Sustainable Tourism Development (TOI)

It is widely recognized that tourism has the potential to foster mutual respect and understanding among people from different backgrounds and cultures, as travellers learn to appreciate the value of tolerance and respect for diversity.

The role of tourism in promoting international understanding, peace and prosperity was reflected in the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), endorsed by the UNWTO General Assembly in 1999 and then officially recognized by the UN General Assembly in 2001 (A/RES/56/212). It calls on visitors and host communities to learn about, and show respect for each other’s traditions, recognizing that understanding and promoting the ethical values common to humanity, with an attitude of tolerance and respect for different religions, philosophical and moral beliefs, are both the foundation and the result of responsible tourism.

Members of the Tour Operators’ Initiative for Sustainable Tourism Development (TOI), the leading international tour operators’ Association, are fully engaged in advancing UN goals of sustainable development in respect of tourism and committed to support sustainable destinations while making a pragmatic contribution to forge partnerships and build interaction between diverse communities and across cultures. Founded by a group of tour operators with its Secretariat being hosted by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the TOI developed a Statement of Commitment to Sustainable Tourism Development to be signed by its members, which, inter alia, commits members to conserve cultural heritage, respect the integrity of local cultures and collaborate with local communities.

In its projects with destination communities, TOI works towards:

• Establishing close links with all stakeholders in the community, based on open and transparent dialogue in which the vision of the destination community is the primary focus;
• Ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and regulations;
• Combating all illegal or exploitative forms of tourism;
• Developing awareness and active involvement of visitors in the protection of the natural, social and cultural environment; and
• Encouraging better understanding and mutual respect between host communities and visitors.

Acting as intermediaries between visitors and local destination communities, tour operators have a central role to play in fostering informed, respectful and mutually beneficial relations among them. TOI members and supporting members – the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) - share a strong, common interest in preserving unique environmental, social and cultural values of destination communities while ensuring destinations’ sustained growth.

Michael Frenzel, Vice President of WTTC and CEO of TUI Group

As vice president of the (WTTC) World Travel & Tourism Council, I welcome the theme of this year’s World Tourism Day: "Linking cultures". 

Generating some 9 per cent of global GDP and supporting more than 258 million jobs, the tourism sector is not only a major industry spanning the globe.  No, our business goes far beyond a mere exchange of services, creating economic opportunities for large populations. Tourism embraces an immense opportunity for global society.  Our products bring people together and serve as a catalyst for interaction and exchange, encounter and dialogue. At the end of the day, we build ties between the world’s peoples and cultures. This is a crucial element of our business, whose effect cannot be overestimated. 

Travel creates experiences and impressions that the digital world will never be able to replace. Travel builds understanding and fosters mutual trust. We will only appreciate and defend what we have experienced first-hand. In travelling and thus experiencing foreign cultures, feeling, tasting and smelling all they have to offer, we lose our fear of the unknown and learn to appreciate it. 

Travel enables us to cross boundaries and break down mental barriers.  As an industry, we should therefore jointly fulfil and courageously develop our role in society. 

We therefore look forward to a broadly based, inspiring dialogue with all relevant stakeholders in the framework of the World Tourism Day.