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Corporate Responsibility Report 2008 37 tourism is one of the world's biggest businesses. it employs more than eight per cent of the world's labour force and produces more than ten per cent of the world's gross domestic product. tourism's impact on the world whether it be good or bad is huge. Sustainable development is vital for tourism An absolute prerequisite for continued growth of tourism is sustainable activity. In addition to ethical perspectives, the tourism industry must ensure that travel destinations remain in a state such that people wish to travel to them. Destinations, as well as their environment and culture, must remain distinctive so that travellers have enough to see and experience. It is pleasanter and safer to visit places which are economically prosperous than those where poverty and misery are rife. Only by applying the principles of sustainable development can the local people be offered, in future too, beneficial living conditions and tourists can enjoy rich experiences in beautiful locations. At the Matka 2009 travel fair in January, the Finnair Group signed the Helsinki Declaration together with more than 70 other tourism operators. The declaration is a commitment to sustainable development. It is not a list of access requirements, but a promise to develop one's own activities in a sustainable direction. "For Finnair, this is a good continuation to the work that has already been done throughout the Group for many years now. The Helsinki Declaration covers sustainable development as a whole; it doesn't simply address environmental issues. It's important in terms of sustainable development to remember the whole package, namely social and economic responsibility as well as environmental responsibility," explains VP Sustainable Development Kati Ihamäki. orldwide cooperation between different tourism operators has a key role in implementing sustainable development. Aurinkomatkat-Suntours has been closely involved in the international development of sustainable tourism. "The most notable form of international cooperation is the Tour Operators' Initiative for Sustainable Tourism Development (TOI), a joint project of tour operators, UNESCO, the UN's environment project UNEP and the WTO (World Tourism Organisation)," says AurinkomatkatSuntours' Deputy Managing Director Tom Selänniemi. The total passenger volume of the 20 or so TOI member tour operators is over 60 million customers per year. Aurinkomatkat has served as chairman of the project for six years. "Tour operators have a direct business interest in including sustainable tourism as part of their core strategy, because no-one wants to spend their holiday in a spoiled environment or amidst severe social problems. Among the TOI's activities is the lobbying of travel destination decision-makers to develop environmental infrastructure, training and social conditions at their locations so that tourism would have a good future there," says Selänniemi. The TOI and the WWF have just initiated large joint projects to reconcile nature protection and the travel business at the Riviera Maya in Mexico and the Andaman Sea coast in Thailand. W The beauty, welfare and distinctive characteristics of travel destinations must be cherished if tourism is to have a future.
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