"Declaration of Fortaleza" highlights sustainable tourism promises for global community

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The International Seminar on Sustainable Tourism have released its official “Declaration of Fortaleza”.The document, sponsored and endorsed by 19 Brazilian States as well as 13 countries across the Americas and Europe (U.S. included), was complied according to results of the II International Seminar on Sustainable Tourism. The seminar took place from May 12 through May 15 in the city of Fortaleza in Northern Brazil.

The declaration highlights the countries’ support and actions to promote “community-based solidarity tourism”, respecting the autonomy and socio-economy of local cultures:
“We highlight that the lifestyles that link the traditional populations to the local ecosystems, narrowly related to the historical processes of resistance to the logics of colonization and degradation of the
environment, are the background from where creative processes of implementation of community-based solidarity tourism emerge as the expression of a life project that affirms several cultures, empowers
social actors and defends territories.”

In addition, the document recognizes the obstacles present that counter ethcial, sustainable, community-based tourism. It places emphasis on the building of strategic relationships within the global community that denounce the impacts of mass tourism – gender/race oppression, social inequalities, gross compensation, corruptive competition – while exploring solidarity practices of local experiences that strengthen community-based solidarity tourism and their links to social struggles in various territories, preserve ecosystems and further promote such tourism within the travel market.

“Recognizing the range of issues that involve the affirmation of community-based solidarity tourism, we conclude our meeting inviting the whole society to participate in this great collective trip in utopia and in action, making feasible this new solidarity tourism, committed with human rights, with justice (socio-environmental, of gender, race and ethnics), democracy, sovereignty and autonomy of all peoples.”

For the full declaration, Download the PDF here.

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