Brazil Played Host to Annual Summit on Tourism for Peace

The historic city of Salvador de Bahia, in northern Brazil, was home from December 1 through 6 to Destinations 2004, the first Annual World Summit on Tourism for Peace and Sustainable Development that gathered representatives from 40 countries.

Members of private companies and civil institutions, researchers and students who attended the conclave, had the opportunity of coming together in an array of functions and events aimed at sharing information and assessing projects that seek to change the fate of communities and individuals, regions and countries, through sustainable development.

Francesco Frangialli, secretary-general of the World Tourism Organization (WTO), and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva were some of the international boldface names at the official opening ceremony.

The meeting was marked by a number of simultaneous gatherings that turned Salvador de Bahia into the tourism capital of the world for six days. The 74th Assembly of the WTO Executive Council, that brought 28 tourism ministers and their delegations to the city, was no doubt the main event of all.

A WTO-sponsored seminar on sexual exploitation of children by leisure travelers also took place in the first days of the summit.

This annual summit is a continuous initiative proposed by Brazil –the South American nation will be home to it through 2006- that seeks to generate millions of job and income opportunities for developing countries by means of sustainable tourism.

The integration of Latin America was one of the hot topics on the table and the Brazilian government staunchly stood up by the need to improve MERCOSUR. “Brazil has made its own contribution to this common effort by building new bridges and roads with nations like Bolivia, Peru and Paraguay,” President Lula pointed out.

Mr. Lula also underscored the importance of tourism as a tool for peace and development, even in the face of reigning violence just around anywhere in the world.