VATICAN - “Tourism reveals a universal richness, which does not reject the human person, but rather preserves his footprints, his trace.”: Message issued by the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples for World Tourism Day 2006

Vatican City (Agenzia Fides) - “Tourism enriches precisely insofar as it helps in rendering the so-called “rich” systems “relative” and opens them up to the perception of other forms of “being rich”. Nature, in its primary richness, as manifested in the cosmic cycle, is the welcoming mother who is embraced by our eyes in contemplating the Everest or Kilimanjaro, who is touched by our hands in the blue of the ocean, whom we tenderly welcome in the grey depths of the Black Forest, or whom we admire when, as we fly on the wings of an aircraft, we see what looks like a carpet of cotton wool below us, while the blue of the sky reigns supreme over us.”. This is part of a Message issued by the Pontifical Council for Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples, signed by the Council’s President and secretary respectively Cardinal Renato Martino and Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, made public in view of World Tourism Day 2006, 27 September. The theme chosen for this year is: “Tourism Enriches”.
The Message continues: “Cultural heritage highlights the history of everyone, which has left traces of civilisation on bell towers and minarets, on frescoes and pyramids, on bridges and satellites in outer space. This is a limitless wealth that belongs to us all, the common heritage of humanity. It does not only give a voice to human efforts, but also offers each person a memory of the bonds that link us to previous generations and structure history. Tourism therefore reveals a universal richness, which does not reject the human being, but rather preserves his footprints, his trace.”
The Message speaks of the continual increase in the number of people involved in tourism and questions the type of experience. “For many people it means land, air and greenery - in a word, nature -, woods and mountains, water, sea and wind. Others think of planes, trains or cars. For quite a few people it has to do with a financial opportunity, business, a monopoly or a credit card, capital, financial interest or the stock market. For some - and we hope they are many and growing in number - it signifies ties with people, neighbours, family and community, a matter of the heart and feeling, with attentiveness and respect. For a large number it is about expectation and hope, trust and perseverance, spirit and faith and the future. Still for others, it is history that manifests itself, artistic heritage, archives and libraries, painting and sculpture, poetry, literature, cathedrals, churches, temples, mosques, buildings, diplomatic documents, culture, in brief, and … even cuisine. A many-faceted wealth, therefore, facets which are linked up throughout the wide world. A wealth that intersects with hegemonies, in time and space.”.
Tourism leads to encounter: “Peoples meet and the number of visits multiplies, in an unstoppable flow of tourism. The richness of peoples, who at the same time suffer from underdevelopment, are admired. Feelings of solidarity, often weak in configuration, are stirred up at the end of a trip. Nevertheless - thanks be to God - the impression remains that the economic and financial system is not unique, but rather hegemonic, and is not the best but the present system, a source of great imbalances”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 29/8/2006 - righe 34, parole 508)