Montevideo was the headquarters of First International Colloquium on Law and Sustainability in Tourism. The objective of the colloquium was to carry out an analysis of the rights of tourists and providers, emergency and assistance situations, informality, new technologies, the need for integrated legislation and a general coordinated framework for tourism both in Uruguay like in other countries.
The activity brought together academics, professors and exhibitors at a national and international level, with the participation of very prestigious universities from Europeas the University of Salamanca (Spain), and also from the region, as Argentina and Brazil Besides, the University of the Republic (UdelaR).
“There are several rights issues that we discuss in Congress, such as the protection of tourists in contracts, the certainty they must have, transparency in information and what is the International Protection Code for Tourists“, said to Area Ignacio Curbelo, general director of Ministry of Tourism. In that sense, he explained that “after the pandemic, the World Tourism Organization began to work with the Member States to develop a code that today is a reality and to which Uruguay “It has been one of the first countries in the world to join.”
Uruguay and the assistance policy developed during the ship tragedy Greg Mortimer He is one of the examples to follow on the subject, according to the leader.
“The pandemic has shown a variety of situations regarding tourists, some were stranded with better luck, others with worse luck, millions of flights were cancelled, there are people or tourists who had their money returned, others were able to reschedule, others were able to reschedule but with fine. And that showed the absence of a international regulations, harmonized and coherent, allowing give tourists confidence in their travels. This is exactly what this code aims to do. The example is paradigmatic, a cruise ship of Australian origin with more than 120 passengers, many of them infected with Covid, that was stranded in the ocean Atlantic, that no port in the region wanted to host, and finally Uruguay, fulfilling its humanitarian tradition, it allowed a disembarkation that was very successful, allowing those passengers to be repatriated to their place of origin.”
Sustainable tourism
Curbelo also defined the sustainability as one of the pillars of global tourism.
“Without public and private policies that protect the environment from human aggression, tourism is in danger. And sustainability is training, education, investment and innovation. All key and fundamental concepts in current tourism,” defined the leader.
“Today, sustainability in multiple factors in tourism is of vital importance to maintain a destination that can be attractive. The pandemic has led tourists to look for natural spaces, places that are not crowded, outdoor activities and nature tourism. Our country brand Natural Uruguay, It has all those conditions that must not be lost and that must be taken care of so that Uruguay continue to be an attractive place,” he concluded.
Source: Ambito
