|
|
16 / 07 / 2004
Javier Gómez Navarro (Former minister of Tourism): “Tourism of masses is mainly devastating for ecology
The afternoon session of the Dialogue “Tourism, cultural diversity and sustainable development” has dealt with the application of new technologies in tourism
Javier Gómez Navarro, the former Spanish Minister of Tourism, has explained that the development of tourism of masses in the fifties and sixties resulted in wide-scale improvisation, given that the supply was not ready to cope with the then emerging tourist industry. Navarro pointed out that over the last forty years in Spain “there has been no significant investment in the supply; there was an increase in the demand but the economic establishment of the time considered tourism as a passing fad”.
Navarro said, “tourism of masses is mainly devastating for ecology and cultural diversity, and tends to standardize cultures”. In this sense, Navarro thinks that we have to be aware of these effects in order to make decisions. For Navarro we have to choose between conserving the environment, cultural heritage and not growing in terms of income or else increase income significantly, but at the expense of other aspects.
The former minister thinks that “diversity is not economically profitable and to maintain it goes against social trends, which tend towards unification”. And, therefore, it is necessary to launch an attack from the Administrations in order to preserve diversity; always from the political arena, since the business world is concerned more with economic profit”. Navarro has questioned the effectiveness of Internet in terms of tourism: “we don’t have any guarantees as to what we are buying”.
The minister of Economy, Development and Competitiveness of Cabo Verde, Joâo Pereira Silva, presided over the session dedicated to new technologies. Silva pointed out that Internet allows the tourist to find more personalized options”. In this sense, Silva said that the search for information “is in itself cultural motivation that allows us to find authenticity”.
The professor of the University of Hawaii, Pauline Sheldon, stated that information technologies and communications in tourism “are not used in aspects related to sustainability, but that they are limited to business and marketing”.
Sheldon considers that new technologies make it possible to lower costs since intermediaries are removed as a result of the new channels of distribution. “Consumers themselves are the ones who look for information”, Sheldon added. In addition to the new factors of provision, virtual communication in tourism means that tourists are informed before, during and after their trip. Sheldon pointed out that among the main benefits of virtual tourism are aspects such as customization, price reductions, added services and shared experiences.
The general director of SAVIA Amadeus, Felipe González Abad, referred to the Global Distribution System as the networks that connect the suppliers of services with travel agencies, with the advantage that they can offer a wider selection of services. Abad talked about Amadeus as being one of the main networks and added, “technology does not invent businesses but it is based on real needs”.
|
|
|
Send to a friend
print