UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon
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. |
