Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ders that are controlled by a government that issues visas, stamps passports or turns people
away.
That is only the beginning. Governments are like the head of the octopus, controlling
in obvious and subtle ways just about everything that affects travel and tourism. Govern-
ments can preserve cultural sites or allow them to be destroyed; they can set aside wilder-
ness areas or issue permits to build resorts along a deserted beach; they can require sewage
and water installations for any new construction or they can build super airports that flood
rural areas with tens of thousands of tourists. Some preservationists see proper tourism as a
salvation for remote areas; others see tourism as slow death. Governments—local, region-
al and national levels—decide whether an international company can build a new hotel,
whether to give a new route to an airline, whether to build a conference center, whether
to bid for an international event like the Olympics. The list is endless and is critical to the
industry.
Finally, governments are the main sales force for tourism. Offices and ministries of tour-
ism spend millions of dollars promoting their country to tourists, with brands and slogans
like “New Zealand—100% Pure”; “Incredible India”; “Austria. You've arrived!”; “South
Africa: Inspiring new ways” or “Smile, you're in Spain.” National tourism websites are the
starting point for many travelers; some websites are translated into up to ten languages.
Embassies in foreign countries provide tourism information as well as visas. The best wild-
life resort in Zambia depends on the government promoting Zambia to lure tourists to the
game parks.
The United States is the exception. The Republican members of Congress sponsored
and passed legislation to remove government from the tourism business in 1996. The
Clinton administration dismantled most of the government tourism agency and the Un-
ited States resigned from the U.N. World Tourism Organization. Patrice Tedjini, the his-
torian of the UNWTO, said the U.S. resignation created a crisis for the organization. The
tourism industry is built around countries. Cooperation, innovation, improved policies,
require government participation. When the United States pulled out of UNWTO, it was
the most popular tourist destination in the world. Since then, the U.S. growth has flattened
and countries like China are becoming big forces in the industry.
“Now we are in a new period,” said Tedjini. “We believe we are in a great period.”
I interviewed Tedjini and six other UNWTO experts during several days at the Madrid
headquarters near the Cuzco subway stop. The city sparkled; now it is anything but a pun-
ishment to be posted in Madrid, with its noble museums and restaurants that stay open
late, serving tapas long after midnight. Marcelo Risi, spokesman at the UNWTO, organ-
ized my visit and guided me through the cramped office complex. In several decades
covering international organizations, I have probably seen only one underfunded U.N.
agency—this one. As the smallest full-fledged U.N. agency as well as the newest—winning
that status in 2003—the tourism organization is strapped for cash and operates with a staff
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