TOURISM MUST RESPECT MAN AND THE ENVIRONMENT

VATICAN CITY, DEC 4, 2000 (VIS) - This morning in Madrid, Spain, Msgr. Pietro Monni, Holy See permanent observer to the World Tourism Organization, addressed the 20th meeting of the WTO's planning committee.

"At the dawn of the third millennium," he said, "tourism is firmly established as one of the principal economic resources at the disposal of governments, and as one of the most effective methods for favoring mutual knowledge between peoples. This process involves economic interests as well as the differing traditions and important cultures that have marked the history of peoples in a world that we now define as globalized."

Consequently, continued Msgr. Monni, international organizations must promote "effective tourism development policies." In this matter, he concluded, "it is not enough to recall that the logic of profit must never prevail, but elements must be developed that favor a lasting and sustainable tourism, one that is respectful of man and of the environment."

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