Destination 2006 - the World Tourism Forum for Peace and Sustainable Development
Destination 2006, the 3rd. Annual Summit of the World Tourism Forum for Peace and Sustainable Development in Porto Alegro, Brazil took place November 29 to December 2nd and brought together World Tourism Leaders.
During the three days, in panels, meetings and seminars delegates debated diverse themes relating to sustainable tourism, such of the preservation of biodiversity, economic development the valuing of cultural diversity and the creation of conditions of peace. Also to be debated were the role of the media in the dissemination of these concepts and the viewpoint of the tourist, as well as their responsibility as responsible consumers.
eTN Publisher Thomas Steinmetz attended the conference.
The opening of Destinations2006 was highlighted by a very special ceremony, held at the Ceremonial Hall of Rio Grande do Sul Pontifical Catholic University (PUCRS), attended by important guests, officials, partners and tourism leaders.
The guests included Mr. Walfrido dos Mares Guia, Brazilian Minister of Tourism; Mr. Francesco Frangialli, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO); Mr. Germano Rigotto, Governor of Rio Grande do Sul state; Mr. José Fogaça, Mayor of Porto Alegre city; and Sergio Foguel, President of the Foundation for Peace and Sustainable Development.
Mr. Fogaça, mayor of Porto Alegre city, opened the ceremony by welcoming the participants in the Forum, highlighting the importance of tourism as a public development policy for all nations.
Then, Mr. Foguel, President of the Foundation for Peace and Sustainable Development, outlined a history of the previous editions of the Forum in Brazil, until Porto Alegre.
Mr. Foigel left a question as a guideline for the next days’ discussions: How to make quality tourism a rule, driving the changes so many countries and regions throughout the world really require?
Mr. Francesco Frangialli, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (WTO), recalled the challenges faced by tourism development. Mr. Frangialli stressed the support of the UNWTO to the Forum and announced the building of an Excellence Center for Sustainable Tourism in Montreal, Canada.
Mr. Walfrido Mares Guia, Brazilian Minister of Tourism, highlighted the importance given to tourism during his tenure. Mr. Guia stressed the fact that tourism is one of the ways to face two global challenges: promoting the peace and reducing poverty.
Mr. Germano Rigotto, governor of Grande do Sul state, highlighted the evolution of his state in the sustainable tourism area, and welcomed all participants.
The highlight of the first plenary session of the 3rd Annual Summit of the World Tourism Forum for Peace and Sustainable Development (Destinations2006) was the quality factor in tourism.
Mr Sergio Foguel, President of the Foundation for Peace and Sustainable Development, opened the session with a video showing the evolution of the debates on sustainable tourism in the three-year history of the Summit. After the video, Mr Foguel reviewed the advancements in the deployment of sustainable tourism, starting a reflection on how to make this practice the rule, not the exception, for the global tourism destinations.
The session was chaired by Mr Tito Conti, President of the International Academy for Quality. Mr. Conti made a presentation emphasizing the need for deploying a collaborative network to build a true quality tourism experience. "We can't just do things right; we have to do right things in the right way," stressed the chairman.
Mr Cláudio de Moura Castro, Chairman of the Advisory Board of Faculdades Pitágoras provided a full-fledged reflection on the choice of the Brazilian Ministry of Tourism to certify institutions that comply with the regulations and requirements for quality tourism. "Certification will become a competitive differentiator for compliant companies," he said.
The importance of deploying quality processes for tourism from the outset of the projects has been the keynote of the analysis provided by Mr Henrik Handzuh, representative of the UN World Tourism Organisation.
Mr Walfrido dos Mares Guia, the Brazilian Minister of Tourism, participated in the session. Mr Guia, who has a track record in deployment of quality processes, underscored the importance given by the Ministry to the tourism quality issue, highlighting a survey conducted with visitors to Brazil.
According to the survey, the respondents believe the service quality in Brazil has a lot of room for improvement to attract more visitors to the country.
The closing of the technical track of the 3rd Annual Summit of the World Tourism Forum for Peace and Sustainable Development (Destinations2006), recommended decisions on the future of the global tourism.
Sergio Foguel, president of the Tourism for Peace and Sustainable Development Foundation, recalled the question posed at the beginning of the Summit: "How to make quality tourism a rule, driving the change many countries and regions of the planet need so urgently?"
Foguel reminded that, from the outset, the Forum has already brought together approximately 300 cases, 10,000 people and 100 countries. "More importantly than collecting cases, our biggest gain is the ability to bring people together and multiply experiences," he reflected.
The future of the Forum's cause was reviewed, with the analysis of the key topics addressed during the Summit.
Concrete agreements and decisions defined during the Summit were recalled in his presentation, which highlighted three of them: the creation of the Tourism and Biodiversity Preservation Network, the South-American integration for the fight against the sexual exploitation of children and teenagers, and the creation of the Tourism Committee of Rio Grande do Sul state's Quality and Productivity Programme (PGQP).
Then, Felipe Cruz, President of the Hospitality Institute, presented the recommendations collected from all 19 theme panels, 27 integrated events, an exhibition of 60 posters and four plenary sessions. Mr Cruz highlighted the contents of the discussions from of three viewpoints: competitiveness and sustainability, the quality factor, and the strategic management of destinations.
The session goes on with the presentation of a message prepared by the youth participating in the Summit, a presentation of Mr Gilberto Gil, Minister of Culture, and the announcement of the Forum's future.
December 5, 2006
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