Air connectivity in the Asia Pacific region will be a key topic at the upcoming 26^th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the UNWTO commission South Asia (CAP-CSA). The annual meeting is the most important event on the calendar of the UNWTO´s Regional Programme for Asia and the Pacific (RPAP) and will provide an up to date overview of the UNWTO´s current and upcoming projects both globally and in the Asia Pacific Region. This also includes the activities of the UNWTO Regional Support office for Asia and the Pacific in Nara, Japan. In keeping with the theme of Air Connectivity, the findings of the recently  concluded  study on “Air Connectivity and Its Impact on Tourism in Asia and the Pacific” by UNWTO/PATA in partnership with The Tourism Promotion Organization for Asia Pacific Cities (TPO), will be presented in a thematic discussion of the subject on the 18^th May 2014.

2014 is an exciting year for UNWTO´s RPAP with the programme undertaking an extensive range of ventures in the region including projects in various countries relating to the development of Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) systems for the improved measurement of tourism statistics. As the Asia Pacific region has experienced rapid growth in tourist arrivals in recent years, with arrivals up by 6% in 2013, statistics are a crucial area for development to ensure the continuous growth of tourism in the region.

Highlights of some of the upcoming events and projects for the region include the launch of:

•  The study into the “Contribution of Islamic Culture to Tourism: Asia in Focus”
• The joint UNWTO-ASEAN study on river- based tourism development in the ASEAN region with special emphasis on the Mekong and Salween river  basins..
•   A research project on Asia tourism trends and the maritime silk route to be presented in  the  annual UNWTO/GTEF (Global Tourism Economy Forum) forum in Macao on 27 / 29  October 2014..

Highlights of activities carried out and planned for 2014 include the following:

• The 5th World Ecotourism Conference (WEC) – “Marine & Coastal Ecotourism: Oceans of  Uncertainties, Waves of Opportunities” in collaboration with UNWTO and International Tourism Solidarity Campaign for Cebu and Bohol (Cebu, 20-23 Feb)
• TSA workshop in Cambodia
• Workshop in Bangladesh on China outbound tourism
• 2014 UNWTO Asia-Pacific Executive Training Programme on MICE (28 April – 1 May, Bali, Indonesia)
• UNWTO/MTCO International Conference on Cultural Tourism (10-11 June) back to back with the Mekong Tourism Forum and the GMS Tourism Working Group Meeting (9 June) (Mandalay, Myanmar)
• 3^rd UN Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS), 1-4 Sept. Api, Samoa
• UNWTO/JATA Conference on Mega Events and Tourism (26 Sep) (Tokyo, Japan)
• 8th UNWTO/PATA Forum on Tourism Trends and Outlook (13 / 15 Oct Guilin, China)
• UNWTO/STB Symposium: Journey to Sustainability within the framework of the 2014 TravelRave (27 October, Singapore)

 The CSA/CAP meeting scheduled for the 19^th and 20th May 2014 will be held in conjunction with a UNWTO-ASEAN International Conference on Tourism and Climate Change. The conference will concentrate on several crucial issues including tackling climate change through policy making and national strategy making, tourism and low carbon development, an examination of approaches to dealing with climate change with a focus on the Asia Pacific region and consumer behaviour and climate change. The conference will also feature an engaging presentation of the major findings from the recently completed study conducted by UNWTO and the University Of Queensland´s School Of Tourism on: “Tourism´s Response to Climate Change: An Examination of Tourism Related Initiatives in Asia and Pacific UNWTO”. Dr. Andy Choi from UQ´s School of Tourism will present the results during session 1 on the first day of the conference.

The conference will conclude with the adoption of the Legazpi Declaration on Tourism´s Response to Climate Change, a significant step in the long term development and sustainability of tourism in the face of climate change.

The 26^th CSA-CAP Joint Meeting will be held in Legazpi, Philippines on Sunday the 18^th of May followed by the International Conference on Climate Change on Monday the 19^th & Tuesday the 20^th of May. Both will take place at the Oriental Hotel and Resort, Legazpi.  

Please find registration form and further information at /archive/asia/event/26th-cap-csa-joint-commission-meeting-0