Bangkok--17 Jan--eTurboNews
3rd Annual Summit of the World Tourism Forum for Peace and Sustainable Development, which took place from 29th November to 2nd December at the Pontif?cia Catholic University (PUCRS) in Porto Alegre, closed with important results and conquests. Representing 77 countries, approximately 5,000 people took part in the Summit, amongst them business, government, social and intergovernmental organisation leaders, the media and a broad range of professionals and specialists from the academic world.
The programme included approximately 60 simultaneous events, including 21 panels, 27 meetings and integrated seminars, an exhibition with 62 posters, 4 plenary sessions, an official opening ceremony and a special closing plenary session. With 140 new case studies presented, the Forum concludes its triennium of annual summits in Brazil with a collection of almost 300 real experiences of sustainable tourism from over 100 countries.
“The various initiatives of the Forum during this triennium prove not only the importance, but the necessity and viability of quality tourism, capable of generating conditions for peace and for sustainable development”, affirms Sergio Foguel, president of the Board of Directors of the Forum and of the Tourism for Peace and Sustainable Development Foundation. He highlights that from these Summits have emerged the bases that will orientate public policies, business decisions and community alliances, to ensure that quality tourism becomes the rule and gains scale. “These bases are fundamental to produce the changes that so many countries and regions of the planet urgently need”, he concludes.
The Summit was marked by important decisions for the future of world, Brazilian and regional tourism, such as the formation of the World Network of Tourism and Biodiversity Preservation, the South American integration on the prevention of sexual exploitation of children and adolescents and the creation of the Tourism Committee of the Gaucho Quality and Productivity Programme (PGQP).
With a rich cultural agenda, that began with a most beautiful presentation by the Dutch ballet Corpus Acrobatic Theatre, inspired by the Amazon and the cause of the Forum, and culminated in the celebratory Destinations Live concert, giving a special shine to the Summit. The concert brought together more than 20,000 people in the “P?r do Sol” (Sunset) amphitheatre, with performances from the three states through which the Forum Annual Summits have travelled, symbolising the conclusion of the triennium of summits in Brazil. Highlights were the Bahian singer Daniela Mercury’s performance and the vibrant special participation of the Minister of Culture, Gilberto Gil. The city’s programme included further exhibitions, musical performances, sporting events, gastronomic route and craft displays.