UNWTO welcomes Indonesia as the 30th Member State to join the Silk Road Programme
In June 2013, UNWTO was pleased to welcome the Republic of Indonesia as the 30th Member State to join its Silk Road Programme. The Programme is a collaborative initiative designed to raise the profile of tourism along the ancient Silk Road through driving development that is sustainable, responsible and internationally competitive. It provides a platform for Member States to work together on three key focus areas: marketing and promotion, destination management and capacity building, and travel facilitation. The concept was originally launched in 1994, when 19 countries convened in Samarkand, Uzbekistan to support the Samarkand Declaration on Silk Road Tourism. UNWTO established a new phase for the programme in 2010, which has seen the Silk Road gain more prevalence in major tourism trade fairs, on travel shows and at international conferences held throughout the region.
Historically a central component of the maritime Silk Road, Indonesia will play a key role in contributing to the growth of the Silk Road network across the Asia Pacific region. ‘We are delighted to welcome Indonesia as our 30th Member State,’ said UNWTO Silk Road Programme Manager Alla Peressolova. ‘This milestone is testimony to the excellent achievements and collaborative efforts that our Member States, together with UNWTO, are making to promote the Silk Road as one of the world’s leading tourism networks. The Silk Road offers huge potential for tourism development, and it is fantastic to see our Member States collaborate on this exciting initiative.’
Indonesia will join a host of Silk Road destinations, including the recent incorporations Albania, Bangladesh, Bulgaria and Croatia, at the 6th International Meeting on Silk Road Tourism, to be held in Dunhuang China on 1-3 August.
Additional Information:
For more information on the 6th UNWTO International Meeting on Silk Road Tourism, please click here
Member States intesrested in joining the Silk Road Programme should contact silkroad@unwto.org
Photo by Kurt Gross (Flickr)
Did you know...?
Did you know that the use of maritime routes linking the Mediterranean basin to Asia began during the Roman Empire? The main maritime route started at Canton (Guangzhou), passed through Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, finally reachnig Alexandria. A central node was the Maluku Islands, commonly referred to as the 'Spice Islands'. For many centuries, these Indonesian islands were the world's only source of cloves and nutmeg.
