World Tourism Day tomorrow:
Tourism, biodiversity go hand in hand
By Pramod DE SILVA

A couple of years ago, I came across a book titled 1,000 Places to
See Before You Die which aroused my curiosity. The book made me wonder
how little we actually get to see of our vast world. Even within our
country, there are so many interesting places that we have not even
heard of. Indeed, yearning to see new places is a unique human trait.
Such wanderlust literally keeps us going.
There is a tourist in all of us. We want to discover new places and
learn new things all the time. Broadly speaking, this activity is called
tourism. Etymologically, the word tour is derived from the Latin 'tornare'
and the Greek 'tornos', meaning 'a lathe or circle - the movement around
a central point or axis'. This meaning changed in modern English to
represent 'one's turn'. The word tourism was used by 1811 and tourist by
1840.
In 1936, the League of Nations defined foreign tourist as "someone
travelling abroad for at least twenty-four hours". The UN World Tourism
Organization (WTO) defines tourists as people who "travel to and stay in
places outside their usual environment for more than 24 hours and not
more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes
not related to the exercise of an activity remunerated from within the
place visited." In other words, tourists want to explore the places they
visit and learn about new cultures.
Tourism has become a major global industry. In 2008, there were over
922 million international tourist arrivals, with a growth of 1.9 percent
compared to 2007. International tourism receipts grew to US$ 944 billion
in 2008.
Recognising the importance of tourism to the global economy, the
United Nations has designated September 27 as the World Tourism Day (WTD).
The UN has marked the event since 1980. This year's theme is Tourism and
Biodiversity. This year's host country for WTD events is China,
especially the Guangdong Province.
Alongside a series of cultural events organised by the Chinese
Government, the China National Tourism Administration will host the 2010
World Tourism Day Think Tank around this year's theme. The Think Tank
will bring together leading public and private tourism stakeholders, as
well as biodiversity experts and members of the media, to highlight the
close relationship between tourism and biodiversity, and identify how
tourism can contribute to preserving life on Earth and its unique
biodiversity.
The theme 'Tourism and Biodiversity' provides a unique opportunity to
raise public awareness of the importance of biodiversity to tourism and
the role of sustainable tourism in the conservation of life on Earth,
according to the WTO.
Specialised segments
With tourism increasingly focused on specialised segments such as
ecotourism, biodiversity has become a key tourism asset. Intact and
healthy ecosystems form the cornerstone of thousands of tourist
enterprises and products worldwide, attracting hundreds of millions of
tourists each year. Tourism generates funds that can help governments to
preserve and manage these biodiversity hotspots.
The theme Tourism and Biodiversity is particularly significant in
2010. Concerned by the continued loss of biological diversity, the
United Nations General Assembly has declared 2010 the International Year
of Biodiversity. The year coincides with the target adopted by
Governments in 2002, to achieve, by 2010, a significant reduction in the
rate of biodiversity loss.
"Tourism and biodiversity are mutually dependent. WTO hopes to raise
awareness and calls upon the tourism stakeholders and travellers
themselves to contribute their part of the global responsibility to
safeguard the intricate web of unique species and ecosystems that make
up our planet", said WTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai in a message to
mark World Tourism Day 2010.
As he rightly points out, the value of biodiversity for tourism is
immeasurable. "One of tourism's greatest assets, the diversity of life
on Earth causes millions of people to travel the world each year. Yet
biodiversity, the intricate web of unique species and ecosystems that
make up our planet, is at risk on a global scale. Recognising the value
of Earth's natural capital to its long-term sustainability, the tourism
industry is called upon to protect and sustainably manage biodiversity.
A healthy tourism industry depends on a healthy resource base, and
sustainable growth in tourism means increased funds for conservation,"
he said.
Thus, WTD 2010 will highlight the strong ties between tourism
development, biodiversity conservation and poverty reduction. The latter
is important, because tourism generates employment and millions depend
on those employed directly or indirectly by the tourist industry.
Biodiversity hotspots
The theme is ideal for countries such as Sri Lanka, which have
several biodiversity hotspots such as the Knuckles Range and the
Sinharaja Forest which are home to many endemic species of flora and
fauna. Sri Lanka also has several UNESCO World Heritage Sites, natural
and cultural. Augmenting this is the presence of ample pure holidaying
sites. Sri Lanka should actively promote its biodiversity sites through
the worldwide media in the light of this year's WTD theme. It is time to
commission a series of documentaries on Sri Lanka's biodiversity that
can be aired worldwide in high definition.
Sri Lanka is one of the hottest tourism destinations at present
following the end of the 30-year conflict and eradication of terrorism.
The New York Times selected it as the Number One destination for 2010.
Most countries have lifted their adverse travel advisories on Sri Lanka
and there has been an exponential increase in tourist arrivals to the
island after May 2009. A total of 63,336 tourists visited Sri Lanka in
July this year, compared to 42,223 in July last year.
Sri Lanka attracts around 600,000 tourists a year and the immediate
target is to increase it to at least one million tourists from all over
the world. Even one million tourists would be just a fraction of the
number of tourists visiting some competing destinations such as
Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and the UAE in our region. In this light,
one million is not an impossible target, but several more factors have
to be taken into account in making this a reality.
The authorities should address the shortage of star-class hotel
rooms. With the onset of peace, more hotels have been opened and others
are being built especially in the emerging East. The North too will need
new hotels. There is also a shortage of airline seats into Colombo and
certain prestigious airlines that withdrew from Colombo in the wake of
terror attacks should be invited to re-commence their flights. The two
local airlines should also increase inbound and outbound flights. More
school-leavers should be encouraged to enter the field of tourism, which
is brimming with employment opportunities due to unprecedented
expansion.
South Asia as a whole must formulate a collective approach towards
tourism development with a seamless integrated land, air and sea
transport network. South Asia will benefit from the proposed pan-Asian
railway network. There should be more direct flights between South Asian
capitals to facilitate tourism. The region should explore the
possibility of introducing a common visa on the lines of the EU's
Schengen Visa to enable tourists to visit all seven countries with one
visa.
Most travellers are also keen to offset the damage they may cause to
the ecosystem in the process of air and sea travel due to their
environmental awareness. Individual travellers and the tourism industry
are taking steps to offset their 'carbon footprint' through recycling,
energy efficient mechanisms, reduced fuel consumption and other such
steps. That fits in ideally with the goals of WTD 2010, because these
steps will finally strengthen the Earth's biodiversity.
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