First Summit of the Americas:
TOURISM
The members States of the OAS view tourism as
important to their economies and valuable to the promotion of
understanding among the people of the Americas. For these reasons,
Governments, States and the OAS have taken important steps to
increase tourist flows and improve the tourism industry since the
Miami Summit in 1994. A special unit on tourism, a plan of action
with 32 initiatives on tourism, and the Inter-American Program for
the Sustainable Development of Tourism are the main plans that aim
at developing the economy through tourist exchange. Other
Hemispheric efforts such as the 1996 meeting of the Inter-Sectoral
Unit for Tourism of the OAS, the Seventeenth Inter-American Tourism
Congress in 1997, and annual efforts of each member State. Between
1994 and 1997, revenue from international tourism in the Americas
increased from $95.4 billion to $119.8 billion, and the number of
tourists entering each of the major regions of the Hemisphere rose
substantially. It is these types of efforts that will help sustain
and develop this economic activity, the largest in the world.
Initiatives Undertaken to Stimulate Tourism
Leaders understand that tourism is the world's
largest industry and represents the largest peace-time movement of
peoples in the history of humankind. They also recognize that
tourism is an important driving force in economic development and
growth, and that the Western Hemisphere is the second largest
tourism-revenue-earning region in the world. This is why they have
undertaken several initiatives to support the industry. One example
is Declaration AG/DEC. 8 (XXV-O/95), in which the General Assembly
decided to support and promote OAS technical cooperation on matters
related to tourism, the development of which is of special interest
to the states of the region, particularly those of the Caribbean.
Another is the Declaration of the Summit of the Association of
Caribbean States (ACS) on Trade, Tourism, and Transportation, held
from August 14 to 18, 1995, in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
Here, Heads of State and Government affirmed that the tourism
industry constitutes the major vehicle of development for many of
the small states of the Caribbean region and that it is not only the
single economic activity common to all ACS States but also a
priority economic sector for all the states concerned. In addition,
the Declaration of Montelimar II and the Regional Program of Action
for Tourism Development, in which the Central American presidents
undertook to consolidate and recognize the tourism sector as a
strategic and priority economic activity for sustainable development
in Central America, develop the industry also.
Inter-Sectoral Unit for Tourism
Since 1975, key mandates have been approved that
would help member states develop their tourism sectors. In its 1996
proposal for the creation of an Inter-Sectoral Unit for Tourism, the
OAS reassessed the importance of the tourism industry and laid the
foundation for improved and deepened OAS involvement in this sector.
The Secretary General’s proposal (1) highlighted why the tourism
industry is the most important tool for continued regional and
national economic growth (2) responded to the priority placed on it
by the Member States and (3) recommended the establishment of a
specialized unit within the General Secretariat of the OAS (the
Inter-Sectoral Unit for Tourism) to address issues and fill in gaps
that Inter-American Travel Congress could not respond to adequately.
On June 28, 1996, the Secretary General of the OAS followed through
with his proposal and created the Unit. It is responsible for
matters directly related to Tourism and its development in the
Hemisphere. The functions of the Inter-Sectoral Unit for Tourism are
to:
|
- Provide support to the Inter-American Travel Congress
forum for formulating hemispheric tourism policy;
|
|
- provide support in the area of Sustainable and Integral
Tourism Development;
|
|
- provide support to other sectors of the General
Secretariat engaged in activities related to sustainable
and integral tourism development;
|
|
- provide support to hemispheric and subregional
conferences, workshops and seminars;
|
|
- to formulate, evaluate, and undertake execution of
selective technical cooperation projects and promote
public/private sector cooperation;
|
|
- to facilitate the exchange of information related to
sustainable and integral tourism development in the
region;
|
|
- conduct research and analysis of tourism issues;
|
|
- and promote cooperation with international, regional and
subregional tourism organizations.
|
The Meeting of Heads of State and Government of Central América
and Mexico (Tuxtula II)
In San José, Costa Rica on February 16, 1996,
eight countries from Central America and Mexico committed to
advancing together and forming a unique partnership resolved to
"highlight the importance of tourism, infrastructure and
transportation sectors in their countries' economies and in the
development and strengthening of economic ties".
Eighth Plenary Session Support for Tourism Initiative (June 7,
1996)
Bearing in mind that the General Assembly adopted
the sustainable development of tourism as one of the cooperation
priorities of the OAS and of the Inter-American Council for Integral
Development, among other things, leaders resolved to:
- To support the proposal presented by the Secretary General to
establish an Inter-Sectoral Unit for Tourism.
- To call upon the Permanent Executive Committee of the
Inter-American Council for Integral Development to undertake the
necessary measures to support, with the assistance of the
General Secretariat, the Inter-American Travel Congress in the
preparation of a plan of action for integral and sustainable
tourism development in the Hemisphere.
- To request the General Secretariat to report on the
implementation of this resolution to the General Assembly at its
twenty-seventh regular session.
Inter-American Program for the Sustainable Development of
Tourism:
Tourism became a priority area for the Permanent
Executive Committee of the Inter-American Council for Integral
Development at the OAS General Assembly in Lima, 1997. As a result,
an Inter-American Program for Tourism was drafted which consists of
policies, projects and activities directed toward the following
objectives:
- To offer a hemispheric forum for the promotion of dialogue and
for the coordination of tourism policies;
- To promote the exchange of information and experiences in the
area of tourism;
- To strengthen cooperation among tourism institutions operating
in the hemisphere;
- To promote better relations between the private sector and OAS
member states;
- To improve technical capabilities of the industry;
- To insure the effective participation of the community in the
implementation of programs.
Uruguay took the lead in developing projects that
would implement these ideas. The Regional Tourism Statistics Program
and the Inter-American Technical Meeting on the Effects of Free
Trade Agreements on Tourism are both good examples. Uruguay has
actively sought to include bilateral tourism cooperation agreements
and implemented tourism projects in a number of fora.
|