...knowledge that we can be
different and that our differences
can draw us closer is one of the ways
tourism in general works
The Mediterranean Tourism Forum and the Foundation behind the forum are not going to change terrorists; they surely will not make suicide bombers renounce
their cause and their blind faith in causing horror. But,
as tourism and travel flourishes, there will always be less
cause for hatred and for not tolerating others.
Tourism is contagious—it spreads not just economic well-being but
also opens your mind and liberates you.
This fear can be our undoing; a fear which is very understandable and tangible because no one wishes to go
to a public spectacle and be torn to shreds by some mad
man or woman. This is where we need to stop, think
and fight back. We need to fight fear, we need to show
the ones who want us to be afraid that we will not succumb to their ways, to their threats. They want to instil
fear in us and we need to say no—let us travel on!
It is with supreme courage that we need to combat this
madness that has gripped the world. Tourism is threatened every time a bullet is shot blindly by some aggressor with no justification. Is there an answer to all this?
In the short term the answer is not to be provoked, not
to let mayhem produce more mayhem and death. But,
as we see in all realistic scenarios, being non-aggressive
and pacifistic does not always solve the problem. If you
turn your other cheek to a bully you might be a good
man but it is hardly the best strategy to stop the bullying.
In travel terms we, both as individuals and as countries, are
all potential targets, so what we need to do is put that fear
aside and go on travelling to all lands and all destinations.
That is the only way to defeat fear and defeatism itself.
Added security will not stop our fear or terrorism itself,
but even if we face longer queues, stricter rules and delays
or inconvenience this will be a step in the right direction.
INSIDER SPECIAL EDITION
As tourism grows so does more understanding; knowledge that we can be different and that our differences can
draw us closer is one of the ways tourism in general works.
Imagine I eat m eat with my hands and find the use of a
fork and knife satanic and barbaric—it sounds mad and
unreal but when one thinks how these men and women shout out the name of god before killing innocent
people, surely finding forks satanic is possible. If I then
meet someone eating their food with a fork and knife I
won’t necessarily start using cutlery but I would realise
that people who eat meat with a fork are after all normal
and not slaves to a demon. Seeing people, meeting people, frees us. Travel—and most travellers to our land—
makes us not just open our arms in welcome but also
our heart and soul.
Tourism is contagious—it spreads not just economic
well-being but also opens your mind and liberates you.
Like everything else tourism has its downsides, its onslaught on our world with new development. And that is
where the Forum and Foundation can be instrumental
in making travel ever so reachable and desirable. They
will also point out ways to curb any horrors that can
come out of tourism.
The Foundation’s main idea is to encourage and develop tourism with a sustainable and human face. This
is what will give tourism a better name, a better way to
open up new territories.
Inside this Insider Special Edition you can start exploring a
new world, a world where the Mediterranean is united.
Many know it is not easy but all agree that tourism and
travel in general can unite and free us from demons and
from old ideas that are shackling us.
2015
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