Tourism and Peace: towards the Jubilee 2025 - Message for World Tourism Day

21-07-24

The central theme of the Message for the 45th World Tourism Day, promoted by the First Section of the Dicastery for Evangelization, is “Tourism and Peace”. This binomial, chosen by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, will be the focus of the traditional celebration on September 27, 2024.

The Message highlights the relevance of tourism as a vehicle for reflection and personal commitment. “One could not think of a better choice,” it states, underlining how cultural exchange, which finds in tourism its most effective expression, can be transformed into a concrete commitment for peace.

In current times, marked by wars and their devastating consequences, tourism has suffered greatly. “The lack of tourists creates a further expression of poverty among the population, which sees the disappearance of a form of livelihood necessary to live with dignity,” the text notes.

The Dicastery for Evangelization, responsible for religious tourism, feels the duty to contribute so that the message of peace reaches the workers in the tourism sector, making them authentic builders of peace. In this complex year due to geopolitical and social events, the Message expresses gratitude for the pastoral work of priests and lay people dedicated to keeping tourism and pilgrimages alive and fruitful. Despite the insecurity, they are invited to explore new paths, keeping alive the hope that pilgrimages to the holy places will soon resume.

The Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery, H.E. Msgr. Rino Fisichella, in his document for World Pilgrimage Day, emphasizes that “the interest that moves millions of tourists can easily be combined with a commitment to fraternity”. Travelers and pilgrims can become true “messengers of peace” in the world. The beauty of landscapes can be a key to peace, awakening true life and the desire to exist.

Tourism fosters a “culture of encounter,” far removed from selfishness and individualism, as Pope Francis reminds us. This culture must be central to the pastoral commitment to tourism. Religious tourism in particular is called to be a credible promoter of these bonds, turning travelers into peacemakers.

World Tourism Day 2024 will be celebrated a few months before the opening of the Holy Door on December 24, marking the beginning of the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025 under the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.” This tourism, characterized by hope, can be a tangible sign for peace building.

To read the message of the Dicastery for Evangelization on the occasion of World Tourism Day 2024, click here.

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