The University School of Tourism of Lanzarote (EUTL) has joined the celebration of the centenary of the birth of José Saramago, dedicating the inaugural conference of the 2022-2023 academic year to the figure and legacy of the writer.
This talk, which took place this Thursday, October 6, at the Castillo de San José, has focused on literature and tourism, being given by Pilar del Río, president of the José Saramago Foundation and widow of the writer.
Del Río, has reflected on the difference between being a tourist and a traveler, recalling the words of the Nobel Prize winner: "José Saramago said that the tourist who respects himself will respect the environment, and that if Lanzarote respects itself, the places are respected and people respect themselves, they will receive respect. If not, they will be treated as numbers".
Walking towards sustainable tourism
During this opening day, the Minister of Education of the Cabildo de Lanzarote, Myriam Barros, was also present, who highlighted that "throughout the trajectory of the EUTL, more than 1,500 students have already passed through its classrooms, whose job placement is around 100% of the graduates”, adding that this "success figure has been achieved thanks to the work done by the great staff of teachers who are part of the educational center, as well as the support of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC)" -entity on which this center depends-.
Likewise, Barros has subscribed to the words of del Río, highlighting the importance of walking towards sustainable tourism and training professionals in this regard: "Sustainability is a hallmark of our island, but the climate crisis and the energy crisis demand that we multiply our efforts to move forward quickly".
In this same line, the director of the EUTL, Eva Crespo, has spoken, who has appealed to the need to "rethink tourism, always in a way that continues to bet on conserving the territory".
Crespo has also mentioned the legacy of César Manrique, of whom "José Saramago was a staunch defender, naturally taking up the baton in the defense of the environment".
Finally, the Vice-Rector for Internationalization, Mobility and International Projection of the ULPGC, Jin Taira, welcomed the students of the School of Tourism of Lanzarote, "who will lead or contribute to the transformation of the conception of tourism in the islands”, as he stated.
In this first act of the academic calendar, which was also attended by representatives of the educational community of the island and the tourism sector, the EUTL has placed the Saramago universe as a starting point to unite literature and tourism: tourism as the embodiment of the literary imaginary and the realization of the myths created by man; and literature as a form of diversification and dignification of an industry that occupies a primary place in the economic and social spheres.
