World Tourism Blog

In 1889, when the Tour Eiffel was completed, it was the tallest building in the world at 300m. The Tour Eiffel was originally built as a tempory structure to commemorate the centenary of the Revolution. And since, the Eiffel Tower has become an enduring symbol of the city of Paris. The Tour was originally built for the 1889 Exposition. This steel construction defied all traditional rules in architecture. It is now the television transmitter for the greater Paris region.

The Tour selected by a competition which was won by Gustave Eiffel, an engineer who had experience of constructing high level railway viaducts. In the public eye, the tower had many mixed opinions, celebrated and loathed in equal measure. Throughout its construction, the residents became convinced that it would collapse, and Eiffel had to personally assure them. The author Guy de Maupassant left Paris permanently to avoid looking at its ‘metallic carcass’ but others who espoused more self-consciously modern views championed the tower: Seurat and Douanier Rousseau were among the first to paint it, in 1889 and 1890 respectively. On a clear day, it is possible to see Chartres Cathedral from the high level viewing platform.

Oviedo is a city made for strolling. When you are there, you will realise why Woody Allen (who shot some of the scenes from his film “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” in this city) said that Oviedo was “pleasant, peaceful and kind to pedestrians (…) Like a fairy tale”. You’ll love wandering around the historic centre of the town, full of squares and elegant mansions, visiting the Cathedral and the Campoamor Theatre (where the prestigious Prince of Asturias prize-giving ceremony is held), and then stopping to enjoy its most famous drink: Asturian cider.

You can also enjoy the pleasant area around the city by taking a trip to the top of Monte Naranco, a broad green zone which offers an outstanding view of Oviedo. From there you can take a guided tour to see some of the monuments declared World Heritage Sites by the UNESCO, and which are in the distinctive Asturian pre-Romanesque architectural style.

México is a land of contrasts. From the vibrant colors woven into our textiles to the stunning hues of its landscape. From mountain ranges that run right down to the ocean’s edge to lush tropical jungles and high snow capped volcanoes.

The original people of México had advanced knowledge of science, mathematics, astronomy and medicine. That past still permeates this land. It can be found in the traditions that have been passed down from generation to generation. It lives on the arts and music. And in the peculiar philosophy about life and death that make the Mexican people so unique and so charming.

So whether one comes to explore the archaeological treasures, wander through the colonial cities, or simply relax on the beautiful beaches, rest assured, one will take home memories and some of the magic of México as well.

México has a wealth of natural and cultural resources due to the diverse climatic conditions and to a historic tradition of more than 3,000 years. This makes the country an ideal destination for international tourists.

The Northern Area is the most spectacular and fascinating region of Pakistan. It is here that the world’s three famous mountain ranges meet - the Himalayas, the Karakorams and the Hindukush. The whole Northern Pakistan has come to be known as a paradise for mountaineers, climbers, trekkers, hikers and anglers of the most famous “Trout fish”.

In the northern regions of Pakistan, at a stone’s throw from the Amu Darya, is” Bam-e-Dunya” (the roof of the world). This was the name given to the great Pamir plateau, apex of six of the mightiest mountain ranges of the world.

The historic Karakoram pass 5,575 metres, an ancient trading route between Kashmir and Xinjiang, gives its name to the range west of it that forms the watershed between the Indus and the Central Asian deserts. The eastern boundary of the Karakoram is the upper Shyok River from where it extends over 322 km. westwards to the Karumbar river and the Hindukush range. To the north the Shaksgam tributary of the Yarkand River and south by the Indus bound the Karakoram. Here, the Nanga Parbat 8,126 metres massif is the western anchor of the great Himalayan range which stretches in an arc 24,124 km. east to Burma, a boundary and barrier, “the razor’s edge” which for centuries has determined the destiny of the Indian sub-continent.

Such is the setting of Karakoram Range, this remnant of a primeval ice age, “the third pole,” with extensive glacier systems and the greatest concentration of lofty mountains in the world. Some of the largest glaciers outside sub-polar regions flow in the Karakorams. For its sheer mountain grandeur and breath-taking panorama of beauty, few places can match the superb landscape through which the Karakoram Highway snakes. A fantastic and unforgettable spectacle is the passage of the Highway along the Baltura glacier, rated among the worlds seventh largest.

The Khunjerab Pass, which the Highway crosses, and the nearby Mintaka Pass lie astride the fabulous ancient Silk Route that led from Europe to Asia and over which history’s most famous tourists once travelled. These include the Venetian trader Marco Polo after who has been made the wild Marco Polo sheep in the thirteenth century, the Chinese Monk Fe Hien in the fourth century and the Arab historian, Al-Beruni in the eleventh century.

The Siachin glacier is 75 km, the Hispar, (52 km) joints the Biafo at the Hispar La 5,154 metres to form an ice corridor, 116 km. long.The Batura too is 58 km. in length. But the most outstanding of these rivers of ice is the Baltoro (62 km). This mighty glacier fed by some 30 tributaries constitutes a surface area of 1,219 sq. km. Of the fourteen over 8,000 m peaks on earth, four occupy an amphitheatre at the head of Baltoro. There are K-2 (8,611) second only to Everest, Broad Peak (8,047 metres) Gasherbrum-I (8,068 metres), Gasherbrum-II (8,035 metres).

Europe is the world’s region most visited by tourists: in fact, six EU countries are in the world’s top ten destinations for holiday-makers. Not surprisingly the sector is very important to the European economy. Tourism is a cross-cutting sector, involving a big diversity of services and professions, linked to many other economic activities and policy areas.

Tourism is a dynamic and growing industry – turnover grew by about a quarter between 1999 and 2002. In 2004, foreign tourists spent more than 860 million nights in European accommodation.

Mainly dominated by SMEs, it accounts for 4% of the Community’s GDP, with about 2 million enterprises employing about 4% of the total labour force (representing approximately 8 million jobs). When the links to other sectors are taken into account, the contribution of tourism to GDP is estimated to be around 11% and it provides employment to more than 12% of the labour force (24 million jobs).

Besides growth and jobs creation, tourism plays an important role in the development of the vast majority of European regions. Infrastructure created for tourism purposes contributes to local development, and jobs are created or maintained even in areas in industrial or rural decline, or undergoing urban regeneration.

Sustainable tourism plays a major role in the preservation and enhancement of the cultural and natural heritage in an ever expanding number of areas, ranging from arts to local gastronomy, crafts or the preservation of biodiversity. This led the Commission and the tourism stakeholders to work for the elaboration of a European Agenda 21 for Tourism

A new policy approach is being developed, linking tourism to the demands of the Lisbon strategy, which seeks to stimulate European competitiveness and growth.

The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Poznań (Poland 1-12 December 2008) ended successfully with a clear commitment from governments to shift into full negotiating mode next year in order to shape an ambitious and effective international response to climate change, to be agreed in Copenhagen , Denmark, at the end of 2009.

“Governments have sent a strong political signal that despite the financial and economic crisis, significant funds can be mobilized for both mitigation and adaptation in developing countries with the help of a clever financial architecture and the institutions to deliver the financial support,” said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

“We now have a much clearer sense of where we need to go in designing an outcome which will spell out the commitments of developed countries, the financial support  required and the institutions that will deliver that support as part of the Copenhagen outcome,” he added.

Countries meeting in Poznań made progress on a number of issues that are important in the short run - up to 2012 - particularly for developing countries, including adaptation, finance, technology and reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

Progress was made in the area of technology with the endorsement of the Global Environment Facility’s “Poznań Strategic Programme on Technology Transfer”.  The aim of this programme is to scale up the level of investment by levering private investments that developing countries require both for mitigation and adaptation technologies

In addition, the conference discussed in detail the issue of disaster management, risk assessment and insurance, essential to help developing countries cope with the inevitable effects of climate change.

Governments meeting under the Kyoto Protocol agreed that commitments of industrialized countries post-2012 should principally take the form of quantified emission limitation and reduction objectives, in line with the type of emission reduction targets they have assumed for the first commitment period of the protocol.

Almost universally the participants were impressed with three issues:

• The incredible tourism product.
• The real difference between our perceptions before arriving and the positive realities of the tourism experience.
• The way in which the people inside the industry and the citizens generally reflected the spirit of the Colombian national and tourism brands – “Colombia is Passion” and “The only risk is wanting to stay”.

UNWTO believes that brand will be an increasingly important competitive factor and asked the Colombian Minister of Commerce, Industry, and Tourism Luis Guillermo Plata, to undertake some more in depth analysis of the Colombian case. The goal was twofold:

• To objectively dissect the Colombian Brand and the evolution of its tourism product, promotion, perception and performance.
• To use the results as a basis for continuing support for Members, in the context of UNWTO’s “competitiveness” activity, in particular with the World Economic Forum.

The report represents an overview of that analysis and underscores the contribution of tourism to the success of this national branding programme as a model example of the important role played by tourism not only in social and economic development, but also in forging the image of a country.

Furthermore the report highlights the smart decision to tackle head-on the perception of Colombia as a risky destination using a clear and direct message, without shying away from mentioning risk, and using that very same perception in a positive sense, turning its originally negative connotation upside-down.

Peru is a large country on the Pacific coast of South America, encompassing a desert coastline, tropical rainforest and soaring mountains, each with distinct environments. These offer an exceptional opportunity for travellers to experience a variety of landscapes, an abundance of wildlife, a rich history and archaeological heritage, and the vivacious character of durable native cultures, all within one nation.

Fishing villages, fine beaches, agricultural lands, and Peru’s major towns and cities, including the capital of Lima, are interspersed along the narrow belt of desert coastline that stretches the length of the country. The lush Amazon Basin takes up half of Peru and is an ecologically rich area of tropical rainforest that encompasses some of the world’s most remote and least explored areas, sparsely populated and for the most part, inaccessible. Separating the coastal desert from the jungle is the splendid Andes mountain range, an endless chain of soaring peaks over 22,000ft (7,000m), and home to millions of indigenous highland people, speaking the ancient Inca language of Quechua, and living in traditional villages with steeply terraced agricultural fields, with their wandering herds of llamas and alpacas.

If any European capital knows how to enjoy the good life, it’s Vienna. Compared to most modern urban centers, the pace of life here is slow. Locals linger over pastry and coffee at cafes. Concerts and classical music abound. And chatting with friends at a wine garden is not a special event but a way of life.

For many Viennese, the living room is down the street at the neighborhood coffeehouse, which offers light lunches, fresh pastries, a wide selection of newspapers, and “take all the time you want” charm (just beware of the famously grumpy waiters).

Each coffeehouse comes with its own individual character. Cafe Sperl dates from 1880, and is still furnished identically to the day it opened — from the coat tree to the chairs. Cafe Hawelka has a dark, “brooding Trotsky” atmosphere, paintings by struggling artists (who couldn’t pay for coffee), smoked velvet couches, and a phone that rings for regulars. Mrs. Hawelka died a couple of weeks after Pope John Paul II. Locals suspect the pontiff wanted her much-loved “Buchteln” (marmalade-filled doughnuts) in heaven.

The Bahamas welcomed the new millennium with a travel and tourism renaissance. A change in government in 1992, an adjustment in marketing strategy and a $2.0 billion investment in the island’s infrastructure has helped re-invent the destination for leisure and business travelers.

The Bahamas were presented with the Crystal Palm Award for Excellence by the Caribbean Hotel Association in January of 1998. This prestigious award recognized the Bahamian government for its excellence in tourism management and visionary leadership. This honor was mirrored in the growing popularity of the destination as the Ministry of Tourism reported The Islands Of The Bahamas to be the most popular destination among all Caribbean Islands.