THE GLOBAL CODE OF ETHICS FOR TOURISM

Minister for Tourism Michael Refalo today addressed a	media conference to launch the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism approved by the World Tourism Organisation General Assembly.
The Code is on the Agenda of the UN Economic and	Social Council currently meeting in Geneva. The Global Code of Ethics for Tourism is a set of inter-dependent principles on which the stakeholders in tourism development should model their conduct at the dawn of the twenty-first century.
The Code was called for in a resolution of the WTO	General Assembly meeting in Istanbul in 1977. Over the following two years, a special committee for the preparation of the Global Code of Ethics was formed, and a draft document was prepared by the Secretary-General and the legal adviser to WTO in consultation with the WTO Business Council, WTO’s Regional Commissions, and the WTO Executive Council. The United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development meeting in New York in April 1999 endorsed the concept of the Code and requested WTO to seek further input from the private sector, non-governmental organizations and labour organizations. Written comments on the Code were received from more than seventy WTO Member-States and other entities. The resulting ten-point Global Code of Ethics for Tourism – the culmination of an extensive consultative process – was approved unanimously by the WTO General Assembly meeting in Santiago in October 1999.

The Code’s objective

In a general sense, the Code aims to promote an equitable, responsible and sustainable world tourism order, whose benefits will be shared by all sectors of society in the context of an open and liberalized international economy.

Specifically, the Code sets principles which should guide stakeholders:

in promoting and developing tourism;

in contributing to economic development, international understanding, peace and prosperity, and universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;

in reconciling tourism with environment protection;

in increasing leisure, business, culture, sport, religious and health travel;

in enhancing contact among regions; and

in promoting a genuine partnership between public and private	stakeholders in tourism development.
The Code includes nine articles outlining the	"rules of the game" for destinations, governments, tour operators, developers, travel agents, workers, and travellers themselves. The tenth article involves the redress of grievances and marks the first time that a Code of this type will have a mechanism for enforcement.

The Code affirms the following nine principles:

tourism can contribute towards mutual understanding and respect among peoples and societies;

tourism can serve as a vehicle for individual and collective fulfilment;

tourism can be regarded as a factor of sustainable development;

tourism can be looked upon as a user of the cultural heritage of	mankind and as a contributor to its enhancement;
tourism should be reckoned to be a beneficial activity for host	countries and communities;
tourism implies obligations on the part of stakeholders in tourism	development;

tourism is a universal right;

tourism should be regarded as an expression of the liberty of	movement of all peoples; and
the rights of workers and entrepreneurs in the tourism industry	should be upheld and safeguarded.
Copies of the Code are being sent to all tourism	related constituted bodies.