It is indeed a pleasure for me to welcome you this morning to the Organization of American States and to this Preparatory Meeting for the Nineteenth Inter-American Travel Congress. At the outset, I would like to thank the Government of El Salvador for kindly agreeing to host the Nineteenth Inter-American Travel Congress, to be held in San Salvador on September 29 and 30 of this year. I would like to recognize the leadership of El Salvador´s Tourism Minister Jose Napoleon Duarte and his commitment to ensuring the success of the Travel Congress. We believe that this Nineteenth Inter-American Travel Congress will be equally successful and effective as the just concluded Regular General Assembly in San Salvador.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Inter-American Travel Congress is one of the oldest institutions of the inter-American system. It was created in 1939 with the aim of promoting tourism development in the Americas, demonstrating the early interest and the vision of our countries to promote cooperation in this sector.

Tourism has become one of the most important sectors in the world economy and for many of the OAS Member States it is the main source of employment and exports, helping drive economic growth. I do not need to tell you the importance of this industry and related activities for your societies and economies, and especially for the small economies in the Caribbean and Central America.

This year´s Travel Congress is particularly meaningful because it takes place at a critical time for our economies. Tourism is one of the economic activities that allowed the region to recover from the recent global financial crisis. After eight years, since the last Travel Congress in Guatemala, you now have the opportunity to resume and continue regional cooperation and dialogue to develop public policies for the tourism sector and to enhance business opportunities for SMEs linked to the tourism industry. In my view, the need for a regional dialogue is more relevant than ever as the region faces not only the global economic crisis and volatile oil prices, but also climatic disturbances, and security challenges, as well as the need to build and strengthen existing strategic alliances within countries with the business community and between sub-regions so as to optimize the existing opportunities.

Ladies and gentlemen, this year´s Travel Congress will also take place against a backdrop of increased awareness about the important contribution of tourism to economic growth and poverty reduction. The earnings generated by tourism are not only received by large conglomerates or multinational hotels, but also by small and medium-sized hotels, restaurants, tour operators, transportation companies, travel agencies and artisans, many of them small economic units, or family enterprises. Small towns are also identifying themselves as tourist destinations and SMEs engaged in these activities are very well positioned to take advantage of this new demand. Thus, in our view, tourism businesses are contributing to a more equitable distribution of wealth in our region. And the adoption of joint initiatives to enhance the competitiveness of the SMEs in the tourism sector will continue to boost the impact of the sector on poverty reduction.

New trends in tourism are particularly encouraging for reaching the aim of sustainable tourism. Our region has assets of enormous value to the tourism industry – authentic culture, art, music, natural landscapes, protected areas, wildlife and climate. This is also relevant not only for the material benefits for the poor but also cultural pride. It creates greater awareness of the natural environment and its economic value, and a sense of ownership.

And the demand for more responsible tourism products, such as adventure and nature-based tourism help raise awareness that for tourism, climate change is not a remote event, but a phenomenon ‎that already affects the ‎sector and certain destinations in particular. Therefore, a common approach to face the impact of climate change is an area where countries can benefit from mutual collaboration.

The current threats of organized crime also offer a space for regional and hemispheric collaboration with a view to strengthening the capacity of the public and private tourism sectors to prevent and respond to potential security attacks on tourist sites and facilities.

An important issue that needs to be addressed head on is how to improve the connectivity and accessbility by sea and air within our sub-regions as well as between the sub-regions. Affordable and competitive pricing for airfares, hotels and attractions, as well as frequency and quality of service are key elements to attract tourists, as well as investors.

The OAS has built up considerable experience in supporting Member States particularly in relation to small and medium tourism enterprises. We must consolidate and expand on the successes of our flagship program Small Tourism Enterprise program (STEP), and replicate where possible and transfer successful programs from and to different subregions. I am pleased that the OAS has been working with the countries in promoting social responsibility among tourism operators, and that Corporate Social Responsibility among tourism operators is a topic that will be addressed in the upcoming XIX Congress in El Salvador.

Before closing, I would like to echo the United Nations World Tourism Organization´s message on the celebration of the World Tourism Day, on September 27th, two days prior to the Inter-American Congress. Through tourism, millions of people from different cultures are being brought together around the world like never before, and this interaction between people of different backgrounds and ways of life represents an enormous opportunity to advance tolerance, respect and mutual understanding.

I applaud the fact that this Congress will be held in Central America and especially in El Salvador, a small country in a subregion rich with history, culture and nature.

I am confident that together we can seize the great opportunities available to us. The dialogue and the exchange of ideas that take place in the context of the Inter-American Travel Congress will go a long way toward executing the opportunities for boosting tourism and its impact to our economies and populations.

Again, I wish you all a warm welcome and I look forward to seeing the results of this meeting in preparation for El Salvador.

Thank you very much for your attention.