Clave Digital reports that the World Toursim Organization (WTO) has warned that it will never support commercial development in National Parks, when referring to the Ministry of Tourism’s plan to promote the development of tourism infrastructure on Bahia de las Aguilas beach, a site located inside a protected area in the southwestern part of the country. Speaking for the organization, Secretary General Francesco Frangialli has informed the Coalition for the Defense of Protected Areas that they have never indicated that they support such development in National Parks, nor have they made estimates of the number of rooms that could be built. Frangialli’s letter, signed in Madrid, Spain, comes as a response to press statements made by Tourism Minister Felix Jimenez (Felucho), the main promoter of hotel construction in Bahia de las Aguilas, who had assured that the WTO supported the government’s plans. Frangialli declared that the World Tourism Organization is a UN agency, and as such it supports criteria such as sustainable development, respect for nature and its resources and it promotes policies that respect the natural and social environment as unavoidable requisites for a quality tourist development.
See also
http://www.caribepreferente.com/