---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: S vidya, EQUATIONS <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Date: Aug 10, 2006 2:56 PM
Dear friends, On 21st July 2006, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) issued a statement that is an extremely insensitive response to the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon. The statement focuses on the economics of tourism and hopes of recovering the inbound tourist arrivals into the region at a time when people's homes and lives are shattered. It further exposes a mindset and thinking that prioritises tourism industry needs and tourists over the needs of people living in tourism destinations. As the world responds in solidarity to the crisis in Lebanon, we also think it is important to protest such insensitive statements coming from agencies like the UNWTO. Below is an open protest letter that we have drafted and are opening for endorsements. You could either endorse this letter (please reply to [EMAIL PROTECTED]) which will be sent to the UNWTO Secretariat or use its frame and points to draft a protest letter of your own. The statement of the UNWTO itself can be read at - http://www.unwto.org/newsroom/Releases/2006/july/middleeast.html Please endorse the letter below or put in your own word of protest to the UNWTO, In solidarity, EQUATIONS team. Open letter to protest the UNWTO's statement in the context of the Middle-Eastern crisis To, 3rd August 2006 Mr. Francesco Frangialli, Secretary General UNWTO Madrid, Spain. Dear Mr. Frangialli, Over the past weeks, citizens supporting peace and justice the world over are watching in shock the bombardment and devastation of Lebanon by Israel. Latest updates on the scale of the tragedy estimate above 900 Lebanese dead, 3000 wounded, a quarter of the population displaced - with one-third of the casualties being children. People are fleeing their homeland, and those who cannot or do not, stay back to count their dead. On 21st July 2006, the UNWTO (World Tourism Organisation) issued a statement on the situation in the Middle East and its impact on tourism. Its central concern seems to be on the growth of tourism and the safety of tourists visiting the region. At a time when people's lives are shattered and their homes destroyed, the statement of the UNWTO conspicuously focuses on the economics of tourism. It speaks of the damage to tourism infrastructure and hopes for diplomatic intervention for a "very needed rebound of the tourism activity" in the region. Ironically the UNWTO seeks consolation in the fact that "tourist attractions" in the region remained undamaged due to the conflict. The mission statement of the UNWTO states that, "it plays a central and decisive role in.contributing to economic development, international understanding, peace, prosperity and universal respect for, and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms." Its response to the Middle-Eastern crisis sadly reflects none of the above. The UNWTO seems to have missed the point that tourism is about people and that tourism destinations are peoples' homes. It seems that the operative definition for the UNWTO is to privilege interests of tourists and the tourism industry with little concern for people who live in tourism destinations. Sadly, this is not the first time the institution has reacted in such a manner to a humanitarian and human crisis. When the tsunami of December 2004 left approximately 2,25,000 people dead and many more devastated in South and South-east Asia, the UNWTO's priority was to initiate in haste its "tourism recovery programme". The World Tourism Organisation is concerned about tourism primarily as a commercial activity. With a stance such as this, we question its status and privilege as a specialized agency of the United Nations. We, the undersigned individuals and organisations, register our protest at the UNWTO's appalling statement in the context of the crisis in Lebanon. Signed: """""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""""" EQUATIONS #415, 2C-Cross, 4th Main,OMBR Layout Banaswadi Bangalore - 560043 Ph: +91 80 25457607/25457659 Fax: +91 80 25457665 email: <mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]> [EMAIL PROTECTED] Url: <http://www.equitabletourism.org/> www.equitabletourism.org --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ greenyouth mailinglist is the activist support mailinglist for kerala run by Global Alternate Information Applications (GAIA) To post to this group, send email to [email protected] -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
