Paris, March 13 {No.2000-20} - UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro Matsuura addressed the International Tourism Fair in Berlin, highlighting the role tourism can play in heritage preservation, during an official visit to Germany on March 10 and 11.

Mr Matsuura - who before being appointed Director-General of UNESCO in November 1999 chaired its World Heritage Committee - declared that "it is impossible to tackle the issue of safeguarding heritage sites without facing fundamental questions posed by tourism."

The Director-General insisted that "the world heritage will continue to be an economic asset as long as we continue to respect its non-monetary value," and spoke of the need to "find that vital balance between protecting sites from the damage caused by numerous visitors and encouraging visitors' access to these sites."

Mr Matsuura urged collaboration between UNESCO, the international community and the private sector for "the development of durable high quality tourism that is a vector of prosperity and well-being for local communities." In this context, he highlighted the success of initiatives whereby tour operators and hotel chains contribute to restoration projects, notably through the levy of a "tax" per visitor to certain sites. Mr Matsuura emphasised the importance of UNESCO's "Memories of the Future" project for natural and cultural world heritage site preservation operations.

In his address, Mr Matsuura announced the launch at the Fair on March 12 of industry-wide guidelines designed by industry members, UNESCO, the World Tourism Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Trade Organization to promote "ethical tourism" that is mindful of the natural and cultural environment. This unprecedented initiative in favour of sustainable tourism, involving the three United Nations agencies in partnership with the largest tour operators, has already been signed by the Chief Executive Officers of 15 tour operators.

Mr Matsuura spoke of the tourism industry - "one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy" - as a partner for heritage preservation and stressed that "cultural tourism offers the prospect of more adequate resources for cultural heritage protection."

The Director-General also stressed the need to preserve intangible cultural heritage: "It is not only stone monuments but also the language, customs, dances, myths and many other aspects of intangible heritage that must be protected when a community opens up to mass tourism."

For more information:
UNESCO's World Heritage Center Homepage
UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage Homepage