Vatican calls for sustainable tourism

Message for World Tourism Day, Vatican calls for eco-friendly, sustainable tourism

The Message for World Tourism Day published by the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant Peoples was issued on the theme this year: "Tourism and Sustainable Energy: Powering Sustainable Development".

"The Holy See has adhered to this initiative from its first edition. It considers it an opportunity to dialogue with the civil world and offers its concrete contribution, based on the Gospel, and also sees it as an occasion to sensitise the whole Church about the importance of this sector from the economic and social standpoint and, in particular, in the context of the new evangelisation".

"The concept of ‘sustainable development’ is already engrained in our society and the tourism sector cannot and must not remain on the margin. When we talk about ‘sustainable tourism’, we are not referring to one means among others, such as cultural, beach or adventure tourism. Every form and expression of tourism must necessarily be sustainable and cannot be otherwise. Along this way, the energy problems have to be taken into due consideration. It is an erroneous assumption to think that ‘an infinite quantity of energy and resources are available, that it is possible to renew them quickly, and that the negative effects of the exploitation of the natural order can be easily absorbed’".

"We cannot separate the theme of environmental ecology from concern for an appropriate human ecology in the sense of interest in the human being’s integral development. In the same way, we cannot separate our view of man and nature from the bond which unites them with the Creator.

"God has entrusted the good stewardship of creation to the human being. in the first place, a great educational effort is important in order to promote ‘an effective shift in mentality which can lead to the adoption of new life-styles’. This conversion of the mind and heart ‘allows us rapidly to become more proficient in the art of living together that respects the alliance between man and nature’.

"It is necessary to cultivate the ethics of responsibility and prudence and to ask ourselves about the impact and consequences of our actions. In this regard, the Holy Father says: ‘The way humanity treats the environment influences the way it treats itself, and vice versa. This invites contemporary society to a serious review of its life-style, which, in many parts of the world, is prone to hedonism and consumerism regardless of their harmful consequences’. On this point, it will be important to encourage both entrepreneurs and tourists to consider the repercussions of their decisions and attitudes. In the same way, it is crucial ‘to encourage more sober lifestyles, while reducing their energy consumption and improving efficiency’.

"Pope Benedict XVI says that ‘the new evangelisation, to which all are called, requires us to keep in mind and to make good use of the many occasions that tourism offers us to put forward Christ as the supreme response to modern man’s fundamental questions’. Therefore, we invite everyone to promote and use tourism in a respectful and responsible way in order to allow it to develop all of its potentialities, with the certainty that in contemplating the beauty of nature and peoples we can arrive at the encounter with God".

Valere Tjolle
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