Pope Benedict's message says tourism can aid development

(27 Sept,2006): - “Tourism can promote authentic human and social development and it can become another valuable resource for the true enrichment of Humanity,” states a papal message sent on the occasion of World Tourism Day, held Wednesday, Sept. 27th. The message was sent in Pope Benedict XVI’s name Sept. 8, by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, a week before he retired as Vatican secretary of state. Addressed to Francesco Frangialli, Secretary-General of the Spain-based World Tourism Organization – WTO, the message encourages reflection on this international day, the theme of which is “Tourism Enriches”.The message notes,how the WTO has on numerous occasions recalled, that tourism is above all an affair of human beings. The enrichment that it can produce must not, therefore, be simply economic or material. Rather, it must promote an authentic human and social development, thanks to the growing opportunity it offers for a sharing of goods, for rich cultural exchanges,for approaching natural or artistic beauty and for a comparison between different mentalities, traditions and religions.The message observes that travelling enriches the human spirit, when one sets out to discover something new; when one is drawn to know the answers that others have given to the great questions of human existence. "Especially in our time,” continues the message, tourism appeals to the human person, who wants to grow in knowledge, and to experience how men and women are the bearers of civilization and of good. The message says "It is desirable that states, associations of tour operators, academic and cultural institutions, and unions of the tourist sector, encourage the formation of specific competencies and then offer dynamic guarantees for the welcoming of tourists. Only thus will tourism and leisure become a resource for true human enrichment for all, concludes the message.