Luis García Cordón: Respectful, Sustainable Tourism
Luis García Codrón, founder of Europamundo Vacaciones, was awarded the World Tourism Organization’s Ethics Award in honor of his efforts to encourage the tourism industry to promote quality, sustainable tourism with a culturally-aware approach that includes fostering peace and tolerance.
ByGladys Arosemana
Photos: Javier Pinzón
In 1973, young Luis García Codrón from Barcelona was very clear about what he wanted to do in life: conquer the world. And what better way to achieve this than by showing the world to others? Today, in the era of globalization and the internet, this may seem like an easy task, but in the 1970s things were quite different. The competition was tough, but no young person full of dreams has ever let that stop them.
After working for several travel agencies, Codrón set out to create his own tours, which led to his next step: organizing bus trips, first in his native Spain and then throughout Europe. And so began García’s ambitious work in a field he swims in like a fish, in waters that are sometimes calm and sometimes turbulent,
ssuch as during the recent global pandemic.
This interview gave us the chance to talk to him about his vision of sustainable tourism and the cultural tours he so passionately supports.
What do you consider the tourist industry’s main contributions to a harmonious world?
More than anything, my work of almost fifty years in the travel industry has proven to me that tourism contributes more than any other activity to sustainable development goals. Europamundo Vacaciones has worked with travelers from five continents and 110 different nations, of all races, religions, and languages.
This fosters a culture of peace. I always say that traveling makes it possible to get to know the world, not only through the destinations you travel to, but also through the other travelers you spend time with on the tour buses, where people talk about their cultures.
So tourism helps promote peace?
Of course it does! Too often we fear someone who is different; we look down on people because we don’t know them. Tourism is a chance to welcome other smiles, embrace other cultures, and foster a culture of peace. In the end, you realize that, deep down, there’s much more that unites us than separates us.
Europamundo Vacaciones expanded from working only in Spain to operating a network of partners in more than 800 travel agencies around the world. What’s your secret?
You have to be innovative and creative with your tours, open to new paths, and ready to lead in the field. It was also essential for me to find my own style that incorporated my different talents. Above all, it was important to team up with trustworthy local operators who had good basic values and treated our product as if it were their own.
How did your company manage to stand out in such a competitive market?
When we started, there were many well-known tourism companies with strong reputations. How do you enter the market without a reputation and almost without a product? We did it by being different: we created flexible circuits so travelers could purchase a portion of the tour and not necessarily the complete package, and we made it easy to change money at a time when there were more than fifty currencies in Europe. We also offered a departure guarantee, which sounds easy these days, but back then confirmations relied on faxes and waiting days for a response.
But your vision is also innovative, in terms of tourism ethics.
That’s right. We’ve always tried to push for coexistence, tolerance, peace, and respect for those who are different. And we try to benefit local communities. In 2011, we set up the Europamundo Foundation to create sustainable development through tourism.
And tourism fosters other things, such as good health and job creation.
Exactly. There’s much more to good health than just receiving proper medical attention. Health is well-being and traveling is well-being. Traveling is also a form of escape, which can help during periods of sadness. I’m a firm defender of tourism’s enormous contribution to employment, the empowerment of women, and the protection of natural and archaeological resources. I support the values of tourism and I’m proud to have created a company that doesn’t just sell trips.
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