Silmapiir ei ole piir ... : Tourism & Pilgrimages

1st UNWTO International

Congress on Tourism & Pilgrimages
www.pilgrimage2014.com

Santiago de Compostela, Spain

17-20 September 2014

The Hostal dos Reis Católicos, also called the Hospital dos Reis Católicos, is a 5-star Parador hotel, The hotel was constructed as a religious work in 1486, by Ferdinand and Isabel, the Catholic Monarchs. It is widely considered the oldest continuously operating hotel in the world, and has also been called the "most beautiful hotel in Europe"

UNWTO (United Nations World Tourism Organisation) esimene rahvusvaheline palverännakute teemaline kongress tõi kokku rohkem kui 20 riigi eksperdid, et vahetada infot ja kogemusi ning üheskoos arutada, mismoodi edasi.
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The UNWTO First International Congress about the pilgrimages brought together experts from more than 20 countries to exchange information and experiences in order to discuss how to continue from here.

Mons. José Brosel Gavilá, in charge of Tourism, Pilgrimages and Sanctuaries, Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, Vatican
José Miguel Andrade Cernadas, Scholar of Mediaeval History, Vice-President of the Academy “Auriense-Mindoniense de San Rosendo”, Spain – Rituals and hospitality, Way of Santiago
Rev. Michael Kagan, Education Director of the Nava Tehila Community of Jerusalem, Israel -
Pilgrimage – Aliya l’Regel – Uplifting the Soul

Imtiaz Muqbil, Executive Director, Travel Impact Newswire, Thailand
Guadalupe Vargas, Professor University of Vera Cruz, México – Devotion, pilgrimage and tourism at Sanctuary of Guadalupe
Brad Towle, International Tourism Promotion & Development Director, Kumano Tourism Bureau,Japan – Popular piety and pilgrimage on the road to Kumano, Japan
Adel El Gendy, General Manager, International Relations & Strategic Planning, Ministry of Tourism, Egypt – The Holy Family Trip To Egypt

Claudio Ricci, Mayor of Assisi and President of the Italian Association of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites, Italy – Assisi, the city of Saint Francis: spiritualism and tourism
Marcela Bacigalupo, Minister of Tourism Paraguay - Franciscan routes and Jesuit missions in Paraguay
Father James Gardiner, Director of special projects at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in Washington, DC, United States of America

Jin Yung Woo, Special Adviser to the UNWTO Secretary General on Tourism and Culture - Pilgrimage tourism and historical and cultural heritage
Maru Acevedo, Vice-Minister of Tourism, Guatemala – Black Christ Pilgrimage to Esquipulas
H.G. Bishop Gregorios of Mesaoria, Church of Cyprus, Chairman of the Synodical Office of Pilgrimage Tours – Along the Pathways of Faith in Cyprus
Bela Bhattacharya, Professor of Pali, University of Calcutta, India – Important Relics and Places of Pilgrimages of Buddha and his disciples in India
Ahmed Hassen, Director, Institute of Ethiopian Studies, University of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia - Traditional Ethiopian pilgrimages in the context of tourism

I Gede Ardika, Member of the World Committee on Tourism Ethics, former Minister of Tourism and Culture of Indonesia – Spiritual tourism in Bali and sustainability
Marijana Belaj, Professor, Department of Ethnology and Anthropology, University of Zagreb, Croatia – Natural space and pilgrimage in Medjugorje, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Xue Yunwei, Vice-Mayor of Zhengzhou, China – Shaolin Temple and pilgrimage tourism in China
John King, Chairman of the Australian Tourism Export Council and member of the Board of Management of Uluru Kata Tjuta National Park, Australia – Indigenous Tourism: the most ancient of journeys
Nava Castro Domínguez, Director of Tourism Galicia (Xunta de Galicia) – Jacobean pilgrimage and tourism: Contemporary perspectives of the Way of St James
Alison Hilliard, Deputy Secretary-General, Alliance of Religions and Conservation, ARC, United Kingdom – The Green Pilgrimage Path
Devesh Chaturvedi, Principal Secretary, Department of Planning, Government of Uttar Pradesh and Divisional Commissioner of Allahabad during Kumbh Mela 2013, India – Magnificence of Kumbh Mela

Ven. Myeong Beop, Former Deputy Director of International Affairs Dept. International Seon (Zen) Centre of Jogye Order – Buddhist Temple stays in the Republic of Korea
Paolo Caucci von Saucken, President, Committee of Experts on the Way of Saint James – Rome, Santiago and Jerusalem – Alliances, gatherings and promotion of pilgrimage between shrines
Alicia Lonac, National Director for Tourism Development, Ministry of Tourism, Argentina -The Andean Route, an experience that combines nature, culture and faith
Jesús Hernández Galán, Director of Universal Accessibility, ONCE Foundation for social inclusion of people with disabilities – Pilgrimage routes and universal accessibility, Spain
Juan Felipe Hunt Ortiz, Deputy Director, PARDEV, International Labour Organization (ILO)

What is the difference between a pilgrim and a tourist? Is there any?
How different are their needs?
What are the examples of difference pilgrimages in the world?
What is real and what is artifical about those places?
What is the thing people are actually looking for and hoping to experience?

How to improve the quality of the services and develop the overall principles or world tourism in order to support the pilgrimages?

These are just some questions which were on the table during those days.
Below you´ll find some general ideas, bits and pieces from different speakers.

The Way poses only question: "Who are you?"
Life itself is a Way.
A life of a man is a pathway inside.
Are we really traveling light?

What happens when HOLYDAYS are turning into HOLIDAYS?
Man seeks movement, has always been seeking for it.
Traveling, especially on foot, is not only contributing our physical but also for our mental health.
Many don´t travel for religious purpose but are on a way to find and connect with themselves.
Often people start the Way as travelers but end of as pilgrims.

NYEPI in Bali, The Day of Silence.
A silent New Year´s in Bali.
Everything stops: traffic, flights, tv, radio.
Creating time and space for retrospective:
are you doing good;
what is being done well;
what could be changed?

"I believe we are all pilgrims, no matter what we do and where we are"

~Reverend Michael Kagan~

People read history the way they want to read history.

Positive influence of pilgrimages:

better co-existence between different religions;

tourism development;

self-recognition and inner peace.

The saying "Galicia, where the rain is art" must be taken into consideration :)

Kas ja mille poolest erineb palverändur tavalisest turistist?
Kui erinevad on nende ootused ning vajadused?
Milliseid palverännuteid meie praeguses maailmas eksisteerib?
Kuidas läbi teenuste kvaliteedi parandamise ning turismi üldsuundade arendamise sellele kaasa aidata?
Need on vaid mõned küsimused, mis arutlusele tulid ning mille osas erinevate riikide kogemusi vahetati.
Allpool on mõned üldised ideed ja killud esitlustest.

Mis on nende kohtade tõeline, mis kunstlikult juude poogitud tähendus?
Mis on see, mida inimesed tegelikult otsivad ja kogeda loodavad?

Tee esitab Sulle vaid ühe küsimuse: "Kes Sa oled?"
Elu ise ongi Tee.
Inimese elu on Tee iseenda sees.
Kes me reisime piisavalt kerge "pagasiga"?

Mis juhtub siis, kui pühad päevad (holydays) muutuvad puhkepäevadeks (holidays)?

Inimene püüdleb liikumise poole, on seda alati teinud.
Reisimine, eriti jala, ei mõju hästi üksnes füüsilisele, vaid ka meie mentaalsele tervisele.

Paljud ei reisi religioossetel eesmärkidel, vaid on teel, et ennast tundma saada ning iseendaga paremat luua.

Sagedane on olukord, kus inimene alustab teekonda lihtsalt rännumehena, kuid lõpetab palverändurina.

NYEPI Bali saarel. NYEPI tähendab Bali keeles "Vaikuse Päev". See on nende viis Uut Aastat tervitada.
Kõik peatub: liiklus, k.a lennuliiklus, televisioon, raadio.
Luuakse aeg ja ruum, et vaadata tagasi lõppenud aastale:
kuidas Sul läheb;
mis on hästi tehtud;
mida tuleks muuta?

"Ma usun, et me kõik oleme palverändurid, ükskõik, mis me teeme või kus me oleme."
~ Reverend Michael Kagan ~

Inimesed loevad ajalugu nii, nagu nad tahavad ajalugu lugeda.

Palverändurluse positiivne mõju:
erinevate religioonide koos eksisteerimise soodustamine;
turismi areng;
enese tundma õppimine ja sisemine rahu.

Pärleid ja mõtlema panevaid kohti, häid üllatusi, uskumatuid lugusid. Seal kongressi esitluste hulgas leidus ikka kõike. Korea templid, Iisreali nutumüür, üle-maailmsed palverändurite rajad ja pühad paigad, müüdid ning legendid, mis segunenud tänapäeva reaalsuse ning kõikjal vohava kommertslikkusega.

Minu jaoks üks vaieldamatult kõige meeldejäävam esitlus oli Devesh Chaturvedi oma. Devesh kuulus sinna korraldusmeeskonda, kelle vastutusalas oli India 2013 a Kumbh Mela, mis on siiani teadaolevalt suurim rahvaste kogunemine, tuues kokku 120 miljonit inimest!!??

34 000 tualetti, 16 000 pissuaari, 20 000 politseinikku, 7000 koristajat on vaid mõned numbrilised faktid selle hiigel-linnaku ehitamise ja komplekteerimise kohta. See on ikka müstiline, mida nad seal Indias Gangese kallastel seda "üritust" planeerides ja läbi viies korda saatsid.