The statement comes days ahead of World Tourism Day which takes place on 27 September. Governments and civil society groups around the world will hold special events to mark the day, with numerous churches running activities which highlight their concerns with the current tourist trade.
Church groups are particularly keen to highlight the reality of the shadier side of the tourism industry for people and nature in tourist destinations, concealed by the motto of this year’s World Tourism Day, “Travel and transport: from the imaginary of Jules Verne to the reality of the 21st century”.
In the statement entitled “Respect for People and Nature”, Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia said: “Travel can genuinely enrich peoples' lives in encounters that safeguard the dignity of every person, respect multiple cultural identities, protect and promote the earth's integrity and thus make tourism a way forward for global understanding, harmony among people and between people and nature.
"Understood in such a way, tourism can contribute to peace and justice in the world, help to overcome patterns of hatred and violence, and strengthen respect for the wonders of nature," he said.
"As an important economic activity, however, the benefits and burdens of tourism are very unequally shared. In "receiving countries", mostly situated in the developing world, patterns of tourism have shown that the benefits of tourism bypass the local populations,” said Rev. Kobia.
He also highlighted the growing poverty in the very places where tourism is expanding, with women and children and nature the particular victims of exploitation.
He said: “The tourism industry is dominated by a small number of enterprises focusing on high returns.”
The WCC is halfway through its Decade to Overcome Violence (DOV). Rev. Kobia said: “For all those involved in the DOV, it must be a strategic choice to recognise the dehumanising and violent aspects of tourism, especially in relation to women, children, marginalised communities, cultures, and the environment.
“This in turn requires churches to be part of the ongoing processes and wider movements which are involved in questioning and resisting the negative consequences of commercial tourism,” he said.
The WCC general secretary also criticised the millions of dollars of tsunami aid that have failed to change substantially the impoverished lives of so many people in the affected areas. Rev. Kobia said that much of the impact of the tsunami could have been avoided if the tourism industry had been environmentally responsible.
He made a final appeal to the churches around the world to keep the trends of the tourism industry under close observation: “Churches have to pay attention to how tourism happens and how the tourism industry maintains and enhances the ecological balance and assumes its social and cultural responsibility as expressions of the basic care for the dignity of human life and the integrity of creation.”
Maria Mackay
Christian Today Correspondant