Fondazione Romualdo del Bianco – Life Beyond Tourism
Heritage for Building Peace Appeal 2025
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Fondazione Romualdo del Bianco – Life Beyond Tourism
Heritage for Building Peace Appeal 2025
Following the adhesion of the Tourism and Society Think Tank (TSTT) to the international initiative “Heritage for Building Peace 2025” (H4BP-2025), promoted by the Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco – Life Beyond Tourism, an institution based in Florence that for more than three decades has worked to promote cultural heritage as a tool for intercultural dialogue and peacebuilding, we believe it is of interest to the entire international community to present and disseminate an initiative like this, which is founded on a clear premise: without peace there is no tourism, and without intercultural dialogue tourism loses its human dimension.
The H4BP-2025 Appeal was officially presented on November 26, 2025, in Florence, on the occasion of the unveiling of the sculpture Stupore (Wonder), a symbolic work that transforms the metal associated with war into a universal message of peace through heritage. This artistic piece inspires the vision that World Heritage Sites, by virtue of their intrinsic multicultural richness, can become true laboratories of encounter, reciprocity, and mutual understanding.
The Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco maintains that heritage should not be understood solely as an asset to be preserved or a tourism resource to be exploited, but rather as an active builder of peace. Under the Life Beyond Tourism model, developed by the Foundation since the late 1990s, it promotes a transformation of traditional tourism—based on rapid consumption and the provision of services—toward a regenerative, ethical, and relational approach, in which the visitor’s experience is centered on meeting the other, mutual knowledge, and intercultural respect.
In this context, the TSTT joins the Appeal as an allied entity to disseminate, promote, and activate its principles across professional, academic, and institutional networks linked to tourism and sustainable development. The organization considers that this initiative is fully aligned with its mission to analyze, foster, and highlight responsible, inclusive tourism models oriented toward social well-being. This adhesion is not merely symbolic; it represents an active commitment to integrating the culture of dialogue into tourism policies, projects, and practices.
One of the central pillars of the proposal is a reinterpretation of the phenomenon of overtourism. Rather than addressing it solely as a matter of visitor flow management, the Appeal suggests recognizing that the high concentration of visitors from diverse cultural backgrounds also represents an unprecedented opportunity for human encounter. When professional activities focused on intercultural dialogue are designed, the simultaneous presence of people of different nationalities at the same heritage site can become a driver of global understanding.
To achieve this, the Fondazione proposes a “third way.” The first way is the conservation of heritage by the international community; the second is its enjoyment by visitors. The third way, promoted through Life Beyond Tourism, consists of consciously using heritage as a space for relationships among cultures, encouraging programs, services, and experiences that facilitate dialogue, reciprocity, and mutual learning. In this vision, travel is no longer just about moving to see monuments; it becomes traveling for peace.
The Appeal also calls for a shift in the local tourism economy. It advocates the development of a non-extractive, ethical economy capable of generating social value in addition to economic income. This implies fostering initiatives that connect visitors and residents, stimulate local creativity, and strengthen cultural identity, while avoiding the homogenization and loss of authenticity that often accompany mass tourism. Within this framework, World Heritage Sites can engage in virtuous global competition not by attracting more tourists, but by offering better conditions for intercultural encounter.
The participation of the Tourism and Society Think Tank is focused precisely on this strategic dimension. The TSTT will serve as an international dissemination platform for the Appeal, promoting awareness among destinations, universities, tourism companies, public institutions, and professional networks. It will also encourage spaces for reflection and debate on how to translate the principles of H4BP-2025 into public policies, destination plans, professional training, and the design of tourism products with positive social impact.
Fundazione.pdfWhat does the proposal specifically involve for those who wish to join? The Appeal invites institutions, organizations, companies, destinations, and professionals to sign and support the international manifesto, committing themselves to promoting activities and tourism approaches that foster dialogue among cultures. This is not merely a declarative endorsement, but a commitment to integrating these values into everyday practice: from hospitality management to cultural programming, heritage interpretation, and the design of visitor experiences.
Among the encouraged actions are the creation of workshops, encounters, educational programs, and cultural activities that facilitate interaction among people from different backgrounds, especially in heritage contexts. Destinations are also encouraged to develop narratives that highlight cultural diversity as a shared richness and to train tourism professionals in intercultural competencies, communication, and cultural mediation.
The Fondazione Romualdo Del Bianco also makes available the experience it has accumulated in Florence and through its international network, including best practices, methodologies, and exchange platforms such as the Life Beyond Tourism Best Practices Workshop, aimed at replicating this model in other heritage sites around the world. The goal is to build a global community of destinations and tourism stakeholders actively working to ensure that heritage becomes an instrument of peace.
Interested individuals and organizations can participate in several ways: by signing the Appeal online, disseminating the initiative through their networks, incorporating its principles into concrete tourism projects, and collaborating in the creation of activities that promote intercultural encounter. The underlying message is clear: every action counts, from a small local initiative to an international tourism policy.
Through its adhesion, the Tourism and Society Think Tank reinforces the idea that the tourism of the future cannot be measured solely in arrivals or revenue, but in its capacity to generate understanding, respect, and cooperation among peoples. In a world marked by tensions and fragmentation, cultural heritage and responsible tourism can become powerful tools for building bridges. The Heritage for Building Peace 2025 Appeal provides a concrete framework to make this vision a reality, and the TSTT now invites its broad international network to join this collective effort for a form of tourism that, beyond travel, actively contributes to building peace.
The authors are responsible for the choice and presentation of the facts contained in this document and for the opinions expressed therein, which are not necessarily those of Tourism and Society Think Tank and do not commit the Organization, and should not be attributed to TSTT or its members.
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