Tourism can and should lead sustainable development: UNWTO Secretary-General opens ITB 2018
Berlin, Germany, 6 March 2018 – The tourism sector’s role and responsibility in contributing to sustainable development on a global scale was the central message delivered at the opening of the 2018 edition of the ITB Berlin travel trade show by Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Speaking in the presence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, tourism ministers from around the world and the leaders of the tourism sector, Mr. Pololikashvili stressed how tourism not only needs to consolidate current growth rates, but “to grow better”.
Walking the talk: the value of human rights on the Camino de Santiago
Madrid, Spain, 16 March 2018 – Tourism as an instrument for mutual understanding and sustainable development is at the centre of the international university project “The Value of Human Rights on the Camino de Santiago: Harnessing the Power of Tourism to Promote Cross-Cultural Dialogue and the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals”. Over five days, students specializing in a variety of fields, from twenty universities in 13 countries, will travel 100 km on different routes of the Camino de Santiago, putting into practice the principles of sustainable tourism they have previously analysed.
New UNWTO Agenda for Africa moves ahead in Berlin
Berlin, Germany, 9 March 2018 – An African ministerial working meeting conveyed by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) during this year’s Berlin International Tourism Fair ITB (8 March) agreed to move ahead with a new ten-point UNWTO Agenda for Africa. The final document will be adopted at the UNWTO Commission meeting for Africa, taking place in Nigeria in June this year.
UNWTO/Chimelong Initiative on Wildlife and Tourism launches Media Award
“To engage the media and to recognize the work of journalists in the coverage of wildlife and sustainable tourism.” This is the ultimate goal of the Media Award announced by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) on the occasion of Wildlife Day celebrated on 3 March. The UNWTO/Chimelong Initiative aims to promote the value of tourism for wildlife conservation and includes also training to tourism administrations and to media on the theme.
UNWTO Deepens Tourism Cooperation with the European Union
Brussels, Belgium, 28 February 2018 – Advancing sustainable tourism across Europe is at the centre of an agreement signed today between the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the European Parliament. During his first official visit to Brussels (27-28 February), UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili, met with the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, the European Commissioner for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs, El?bieta Bie?kowska as well as the Vice-Chair of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and Responsible for the Tourism Task Force, Istvan Ujhelyi and the representatives of the European Tourism Manifesto. Addressing the Tourism Task Force of the European Parliament Mr. Pololikashvili highlighted the need to enhance integration, connectivity and technology to maximize the role of tourism in creating jobs and stimulating growth in the European Union (EU).
Human Resource Development and SME Development in Inhamabane, Mozambique
Over the last decade, UNWTO has been implementing various project activities in Inhambane, Mozambique in the framework of the ST-EP Initiative. The project aimed at enhancing the local economic impact from tourism through human resources and SME development. A major outcome of the project was the establishment of a multi-stakeholder platform with tour operators, hotels and restaurants, focused on marketing a major challenge for the destination. As a result, tourism enterprises collectively participate in international tourism trade shows, and jointly promote the destination to long-haul markets. The project shows that human resource development can help to create new employment opportunities, but also create more stable and better paid jobs.
Workshop on Communications and Media Relations on Wildlife and Sustainable Tourism (3-6 April 2018, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo)
International Seminar on Women’s Empowerment in the Tourism Sector (12-13 April 2018, Asunción, Paraguay)
63rd meeting of the UNWTO Regional Commission for the Americas (12-13 April 2018, Asunción, Paraguay)
8th UNWTO Silk Road Task Force Meeting (26-27 April 2018, Kayseri, Turkey)
44th Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for the Middle East (8 May 2018, Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt)
Executive Council – 108th session (23-25 May 2018, San Sebastián, Spain)
4th UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism (30 May – 1 June 2018, Bangkok Thailand)
Penetrating the Chinese Outbound Tourism Market – Successful Practices and Solutions
This report gives an overview of the key features of the Chinese outbound tourism market in terms of policy, demographics, socio-economic evolution, catchment areas, and market trends. It includes case studies from seven destinations in Asia and Pacific and three in Europe and the Americas, which have successfully developed the Chinese tourism market. These focus on issues such as product development, market segmentation, demand and supply analysis and, most importantly, marketing and promotion. The report also has a special focus on the millennial tourists who hold a prominent position in Chinese outbound.
Indonesia opens its doors to 169 countries with the support of UNWTO
Following a Presidential Decree of March 2016 which granted visa exemption to 169 countries, Indonesia advanced its visa facilitation policy significantly. This policy shift is intended to increase the number of international tourists to 20 million in 2019, generating USD 24 billion and making tourism the number one export earner for Indonesia. This change in the government’s visa regime was prompted primarily by the findings of a joint research by UNWTO and WTTC done in 2012 which concluded that policy changes involving visa facilitation brought about growth in tourist arrivals ranging between 5% and 25% annually on average over a period of three years. Complementing this research, UNWTO undertook a study to provide Indonesia an analysis of the first year of the application of Indonesia’s visa free policy. The report concluded that the visa free policy had a very positive impact on tourism to Indonesia with a significant growth in demand.
