Speech by Francesco Frangialli, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization, Third UN Conference on the Least Developed Countries, International Trade, Commodities and Services

(Brussels, Belgium, 17 May 2001)



Mr. Chairman,

Ladies and gentlemen,

I am grateful for the opportunity to address this 3rd UN LDC Conference on behalf of the 136 members of the World Tourism Organization and, in particular, on behalf of the least developed countries themselves - most of them being members of our Organization. I should like to use this opportunity to emphasize the essential contribution tourism can make towards economic and social development and the alleviation of poverty, which justifies the fact that for the first time it has been put on the agenda of such an important conference.

The reduction of poverty has become one of the most compelling challenges of our time. Poverty is more than a lack of income - it is a multidimensional and complex phenomenon with an intricate relationship to issues such as disease, illiteracy, infant mortality, environmental degradation and many other aspects.





Francesco Frangialli