UNWTO Regional Course Tourism Competitiveness: Tourism planning and Management, from 1 to 6 October 2012, in Oaxaca, Mexico.

Following the request of the Secretariat of Tourism of Mexico, the UNWTO Regional Course Tourism Competitiveness: Tourism planning and management was launched on October, 1, by Alejandro Varela, Deputy Director of the UNWTO Regional Programme for the Americas; Jorge Enrique Mezher, Deputy Secretary of Tourism Planning in SECTUR; Arik Staropolsky, General Director of the Tourism Higher Education Center (CESTUR) of SECTUR; Armando López, Deputy General Director for International Organizations and the European Union of the Foreign Affairs Secretariat of the Federal Government; Luis Ugartechea, President of the Municipality of Oaxaca de Juárez; and Gabriel Antonio Pedro, Deputy Secretary of State’s Tourism Promotion.

This 12th edition of the UNWTO courses in Mexico, facilitated by Humberto Rivas and Rodolfo Lizano, aimed to increase participants’ capacity to promote the development of tourism initiatives that improve the economic, social, environmental and cultural conditions in destinations, with planning and development tools, and the implementation of programmes and policies, in coordination with the public, private and social sectors.

As part of the course, the 53 participants went on a fieldtrip to the city of Oaxaca as well as Tlacochahuaya, Santo Tomás Jalieza, Teotiltán del Valle, San Martín de Tilcajete or San Andrés Huayapam; participated in debates, group discussions, group work and presented their final work on a tourism management strategy for the tourism destination of Oaxaca.

This initiative, which awarded scholarships to 15 officials from national, regional and local governments and the academic sector from Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Panama, Paraguay and Peru, finalized October 6 with the attendance of José Zorilla, Secretary of Tourism of the State of Oaxaca; Arik Staropolsky General Director of CESTUR; and Sonia Figueras, UNWTO.Capacity programme Manager of the UNWTO.Themis Foundation.