(UNITED NATIONS, New York) – Government leaders joined the heads of major United Nations agencies, civil society and the travel industry in a call for the integration of tourism in national development plans.
The “Declaration on Tourism and the Millennium Development Goals” were endorsed this morning and will be presented to the full UN Summit.
The heads of UNICEF, UNCTAD, UNDP, ICAO, and the World Tourism Organization endorsed the declaration and, with the 20 countries represented at the ministerial level, will present the call to the summit session of the United Nations General Assembly.
Ann Veneman, Executive Director of UNICEF, said sustainable tourism development can protect children of the world from abuse and exploitation and urged others to endorse the declaration.
Secretary General of the UN Conference on Trade and Development, Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, said as investors attach more importance to local technical skills and efficient services than to cheap labor, poorer countries “will harness their assets of natural beauty and cultural wealth for development gains.”
Lelei LeLaulu of Counterpart International, representing civil society organizations at the high level “Roundtable on Harnessing Tourism for the Millennium Development Goals” at UNICEF headquarters, called for the teaching of tourism at the elementary school level to ensure the “best and brightest” can see careers in tourism “as the first, and not the last, resort.”
LeLaulu noted visitors from the richer states take more cash to the developing countries than their governments give in aid, and suggested the World Bank and other financial institutions look at funding air services to countries without reliable airlift. “These should be seen as important aerial highways bringing valuable foreign exchange – just like the terrestrial asphalt highways,” he said.
Francesco Frangialli, Secretary General of the World Tourism Organisation, underscoring the size of the world’s largest industry, said last year 763 million trips were taken with tourists spending US$622 billion.
Developing countries received $177 billion in tourism receipts in 2004 which was the primary source of foreign exchange earnings in 46 of the 49 poorest nations which the UN calls the Least Developed Countries.
