Promoting better understanding between people of different cultures

The UN Conference on International Travel and Tourism held in Rome in 1963 declared inter alia that it was ?fully aware of the social, educational and cultural impact of tourism and of its significant contribution to the promotion of international goodwill and understanding and to the preservation of peace and understanding between the people from different parts of the world?. In Kerala also the tourism sector got a boost and started developing further only in the late 1960s. When considering the proliferation in the number of people preferring to reside in a homestay kerala is leading other states in this one aspect. Home stays in Kerala had a humble beginning, but they have now scaled phenomenal heights within a short period of time. While the shortage of hotels rooms helped the home stays in the beginning, now a days, the international tourists specifically ask for home stays to understand the local culture and traditions.

In 1966, the UN General Assembly designated the year 1967 as the ?International Tourist Year?, declaring tourism as a ?passport to peace? with the hope that it ?should help to promote goodwill among men, a heightened awareness of the rich cultural heritage of the different nations and a deeper appreciation of their worth and thus contribute to the strengthening of peace in the world. National and international initiatives were launched and public and private organizations undertook a variety of programmes to foster tourist interchange and also to develop ?tourism?.

The Manila declaration of 1980 restated the significance of international tourism thus: ?With respect to international relations and the search for peace, based on justice and respect of individual and national aspirations, tourism stands out as a positive and ever-present factor in promoting mutual knowledge and understanding and as a basis of reaching a greater level of respect and confidence among all the people of the world?. To put it briefly, therefore, the role of tourism as an ambassador and vehicle of international understanding, amity and peace need not only be recognized and emphasized but should also be realized in practice.