By Lee Hyo-sik
There is an old saying: “Give a man a fish he can feed himself for a day, teach a man to fish he can feed himself for life.” This has been a motto for Korea when it comes to aiding underdeveloped countries.
Of course, it is also important to provide them with grains and other essential materials for survival. But it is more crucial for donors to transfer the necessary skills and knowledge to help them escape from poverty on their own.
South Korea, one of the world’s poorest countries, was able to rise from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War on the back of international aid, and has emerged as one of the leading economies in the world. With Korea’s transition from an aid recipient to a donor country, many underdeveloped and developing countries view Korea as an economic role model.
At the upcoming 2nd T20 Tourism Ministers’ Meeting, Asia’s fourth largest economy plans to extensively deal with the eradication of poverty in the underdeveloped world as one of the main agendas, urging participants to do more to help poor countries develop their tourism industry.
“Korea has been lagging behind other advanced economies in aiding underdeveloped countries. But we have begun to make more efforts by not only supplying daily necessities, but also transferring agricultural skills and industrial knowledge so they can become more self-sustainable,” said an official at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.
The official then said tourism has become an effective tool for underdeveloped economies to lift many from poverty. “In partnership with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), we have been assisting poor countries in fostering the tourism industry to help them create jobs, spur growth and eventually eliminate poverty. This year, we are working with many countries in Africa, South America and Southeast Asia.”
During the meeting, Korea will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Ghana to help the African nation build travel-promotion billboards across the country in a bid to boost its tourism infrastructure.
The ministry said the tourism industry is a useful tool to eliminate poverty across the globe because many travelers from developed countries travel to underdeveloped countries and spend money. In 2007, global travelers spent about $295 billion in underdeveloped and developing countries, five times more than the official development aids.
Many developing countries earn hard currency from tourism and spend that money to buy food and energy resources, build infrastructure, pay off foreign debts and finance a range of development projects.
In 2003 Tunisia earned $1.5 billion, accounting for 14 percent of its GDP. The amount is equal to the money sent home by the country’s laborers working overseas. Realizing the importance of the tourism sector, the Tunisian government has been placing top priority on fostering the tourism sector by launching a worldwide promotional campaign, boosting infrastructure and holding a range of festivals and promotional events.
Additionally, the tourism industry accounts for more than 30 percent of economic output in Ethiopia and Gambia, providing them with much necessary resources for economic growth.
“At the upcoming ministers’ meeting, Korea will discuss a range of development-related issues with participants to help underdeveloped countries foster their tourism industry, and eradicate poverty and spur economic growth. We will also try to draw up ways of achieving UN Millennium Development Goals, which is to reduce the number of people in poverty in half by 2015,” the ministry official said.