Fri Sep 27 17:18:54 UTC 2024: ## Tourism Pledges to Foster Peace and Understanding on World Tourism Day

**Tbilisi, Georgia -** World Tourism Day 2024 saw a global gathering of tourism leaders in Tbilisi, Georgia, united by a commitment to establishing a “peace-sensitive” sector. The event, hosted by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), brought together nearly 500 participants from 51 countries, including 13 Ministers of Tourism.

**Peace as a Foundation for Tourism**

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili emphasized the inextricable link between peace and tourism, stating that “without peace, there is no tourism.” He called on all stakeholders to build a tourism sector that actively contributes to peacebuilding efforts, promoting education as a tool for peace and connecting tourism to other peacebuilding initiatives.

**Ministers Highlight Tourism’s Peacebuilding Role**

A Ministerial Debate explored practical ways to foster peace through tourism. Ministers from Georgia, Uzbekistan, Sierra Leone, and Bahrain highlighted how peace and security are crucial for prosperity, providing examples of how tourism connects people and promotes understanding. The discussion underscored tourism’s role in combating disinformation and ensuring equitable benefits across societies.

**Private Sector Engagement**

The event also featured a private sector panel, highlighting the potential of the private sector to leverage its strengths and resources to promote peace and stability. The dialogue emphasized the importance of collaboration between the public and private sectors to achieve these goals.

**Investing in Peace through Tourism**

Natalia Bayona, Executive Director of UNWTO, advocated for tourism investments as key to both economic growth and peacebuilding, emphasizing tourism’s transformative potential in post-conflict regions.

**Georgia: A Case Study for Tourism Investment**

To coincide with World Tourism Day, UNWTO launched its latest investment guidelines, “Tourism Doing Business: Investing in Georgia,” highlighting the country’s burgeoning tourism sector as an attractive destination for international investment. Georgia’s sustained economic growth and increasing FDI inflows, reaching a record USD 2.3 billion in 2022, make it a compelling example of how tourism can drive economic development.

**The Essence of Peace through Tourism**

The day concluded with a message from Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism of Jamaica: “Tourism recognizes differences, it embraces similarities. Tourism has a place for you and embraces you. That’s the essence of the power of tourism to make peace.”

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