WTO Calls for Media Responsibility

The First World Conference on Tourism Communications (TOURCOM) –organized by the World Tourism Organization- called on news media to act responsibly when covering events that could have serious repercussions on the livelihood of destinations and populations that depend heavily on tourism.

The extraordinary number of applications for TOURCOM (some 830 delegates from 126 countries) laid bare the enormous interest in communications “following a three-year crisis within the sector that has shown the important ties that might exist between the travel industry and mass media,” WTO Secretary-general Francesco Frangialli said in his opening remarks.

”This tough period has made both destinations and travel companies twice as much aware of the need to count on efficient communication programs. Technological breakthroughs in communications, nonstop news coverage, mass media globalization and the proliferation of new media that offer different views, are some of the new things that now make communications a fast-changing field and force us to upgrade our strategies and technical knowledge.”

In underscoring the extremely positive role played by mass media in the promotion of tourism, Mr. Frangialli noted the panic among travelers in the face of such occurrences as the SARS outbreak last year, is “a reaction to the excess of new coverage and a threat of overblown proportions compared to the actual reality.”

The WTO Ethical Code reflects the need to rely on “trustworthy and well-balanced information on occurrences and situations that might exert influence on tourist inflows and outflows. This is what the travel sector is asking you all for,” he went on to say.

Likewise, Secretary-general Frangialli unveiled a new campaign dubbed Tourism is Wealth, aimed at highlighting the importance of tourism for all sectors of the society.

Mr. Frangialli remembered that during a conference held within the framework of Spain’s FITUR Fair this year, the WTO introduced a new concept of tourism development, just like the concept of cooperation between the private and public sectors that once popped up. Since then, that concept has turned out to be one of the backbones of the organization he heads.

“Through TOURCOM, the WTO would like to enhance that concept in order to include a third partner; mass media. It’s clear that tourism blooms with the help of transparent, trustworthy and efficient communication. Mass media are key players in this venture, as much as journalists covering the travel industry are,” he concluded.

Attendants to the conference made a few suggestions of their own, too. Among them, the need to plan local or regional conferences and seminars within the framework of TOURCOM, including a series of programs adapted to certain specific regions. The WTO will soon put together a TOURCOM Communication Expert Network in an effort to provide off-the-record consulting services to the World Tourism Organization and in order to implement results agreed on at the Conference.