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Honourable President of the WTTC
Ladies and Gentlemen,

Portugal once again hosts the “Global Travel & Tourism Summit”, a worldwide forum, justly recognized as the most important gathering to discuss the issues of tourism.
The number of personalities present, the embracing and interactive character of the debate and the topicality of the issues being debated throughout these days, will have resulted in a reflection that, I feel certain, will greatly contribute towards a better understanding of the new challenges and opportunities which surround the industry, and to determine the adjustments required in the global strategy for the development of the tourist activity.
It is thus with great satisfaction that I associate myself to this initiative and heartily welcome all the participants.
Tourism is, today, in terms of income generated, the main worldwide business in the sector of goods transacted, and that which shows the greater potential for economic growth. It contributes 10% to the world product, employs approximately 8% of the active population and has represented, on an annual average, 12% of global investment.
In 2006, the international flow of tourists numbered 842 million, a 4.5% growth over the previous year, sustaining an average growth of the sector’s world product at a rate slightly higher than 5%. It is interesting to ascertain that the growth originating from the more developed economies was approximately 3%, whilst that of the emerging and developing markets was greater than 7%. This same trend should be confirmed in the next years.
Special reference should be made to the current positioning of China – seventh place – and of the Russian Federation – ninth place – amongst the ten largest spending countries in tourism and leisure, in absolute values, in a ranking led by Germany, followed by the U.S.A, United Kingdom, Japan, France and Italy.
The current forecasts for the industry until 2020, point towards a continuing annual rate of growth ranging between 4 and 5 per cent. Southern Asia and the Pacific are outstanding, with China reaching, in 2020, the topmost ranking of the receiving countries, and the fourth place as an emitting country.
These projections are even more outstanding if we attend to the fact that the growth in the industry has been practically constant along the last five decades, demonstrating the great resilience of the sector after crisis situations.

Ladies and Gentlemen,
Tourism is well inserted in the dynamics of the global market, where the economies are less and less shielded and the communication and information technologies command new levels of competitiveness and complexity. Consumers today thirst for the enjoyment of tourism, travelling and leisure, and the industry shows such a fast growth, that it cannot be ignored by the political economy of the countries that want to generate higher added value and create employment.
In the era of globalization in which we live, each day sees the emergence of new destinations, previously inaccessible or not very safe, and which now are attractive and competitive. Promotion is multiplied in creative, involving and motivating formats. Transport has price options which do not weigh in terms of personal economy. Demand is segmented by interest groups where the attributes of the quality of the supply and the factors generating emotion and new experiences highlight the positioning of the consumers.
The new tourists are also more independent and more trusting, and show greater interest. They require destinations which offer them quality, exoticism, diversity and knowledge. More important than just travelling, they want to live and register experiences that can be later reminisced. They are demanding, proactive and susceptible to the attraction provided by trade marks and innovating concepts, but they are also less constant and there is greater difficulty in securing their loyalty.
It will thus be more and more difficult to attract and maintain customers, secure market share and guarantee operating results. Enterprises must be more and more efficient in their management, and effective in innovation, quality, marketing and in selling their products.
The propagation of the use of the internet, the fast advance of the low cost transporters, the mergers of the operating and retail groups, the offer of original and flexible solutions for tourist accommodation, the heavy investment in websites, in loyalty securing programmes, in call centres and on-line bookings, as well as in large areas of thematic and creative animation, are recent and objective answers to the needs and demands of the new generations of tourists.
Dynamism thus exists, which national and international institutions responsible for following up the Tourism industry, and for its balance as a worldwide economic activity, cannot naturally ignore.

Ladies and gentlemen,
Tourism promotes the relations and the knowledge among persons, peoples and nations. Travelling arises in people the sense of discovery, provides them with new experiences and emotions. While providing a direct contact between different communities and an interchange between cultures and ways of life, tourism encourages the mutual understanding of the realities of our era and allows for the knowing, the understanding and the tolerating of “the other”.
Tourism is thus an instrument of culture and a potential carrier of Peace.
In the process of the development of countries, tourism generates the rising of new supporting infrastructures and services, forces the recovery of the existing heritage, develops the relevance of the values and identity of the regions, aids the qualification of the surroundings, encourages the environmental recovery and motivates the external promotion of the newly installed reality. For the local communities, these are factors of economic progress and well being, as well as components which assemble self esteem and confidence in the future.
With these realities in mind, many are the countries and the international institutions which believe that the issues of sustainable development, reduction of poverty and strengthening of security may result from the adequate use of the potentials offered by the tourist industry. They believe that Tourism, as a dynamic component of economic development, is the correct instrument to fight against poverty and is the consolidating agent of worldwide peace and security.
Few economic activities can really contribute as effectively and as fast to economic growth in regions with low production, as Tourism.
However, and as now widely recognized, the specificity and the fragility of many of the resources used in the production of tourism imply that extreme care is taken in the management of the impacts associated to its growth. Should these not be adequately cared for, the pressures exerted on the territory, the environment, the culture and the social and economic enclosure can be disastrous, and, in the long term, a loss for all: to tourists, who will be frustrated in their expectations, and to the destinations watching the degrading of their offer.
Society and the future generations demand from the current performers of tourist development, be they entrepreneurs, institutional decision makers or international organizations, a particular sense of responsibility. We are aware that projects must be economically feasible, but we also know that, to be sustainable, they must also be culturally rich, environmentally responsible and socially fair.
I well recognize that it is not easy to fulfil this number of joint requisites, but it is our duty to succeed in so doing.
I anyway see, with great pleasure, that the industry is becoming more and more aware of these challenges and of what they mean for the good management of its own growth. I salute all the participants of this 5th edition of the “Global Travel & Tourism Summit”, wishing that your stay in Lisbon has been a successful working opportunity and, for those that visit us, a tourist experience which will incite you to come back to Portugal.