PR No.: PR 14015

The two-day International Seminar on Tourism Destination Management in Cultural Heritage Sites gathered leading experts from both cultural and tourism public and private sector, academia and the UN system, to address tourism’s role in safeguarding and promoting cultural assets and engage local communities in heritage protection and management in the region.

Opening the Seminar, President Danilo Medina, who on the occasion was presented the UNWTO/WTTC Open Letter on Travel and Tourism by UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, reaffirmed its commitment to tourism as vital sector in the economy and the society of the island nation, highlighting the importance of promoting the cultural heritage of the Dominican Republic as a means to preserve the country’s rich heritage and build a more competitive and sustainable tourism sector.

“There could be no better occasion to present this Open Letter to you Mr. President than today as we gather here to discuss the link between culture and tourism, and particularly the prominent issue of tourism management in cultural heritage sites, considering the commitment that the Dominican Republic as placed in promoting its cultural heritage as a key competitive tourism factor”, said Mr. Rifai.

On the occasion, the Minister of Tourism of the Dominican Republic, Francisco Javier García, explained that the country’s tourism sector has advanced significantly due to the efforts and commitment placed on the sector. As an example, Mr. Francisco Javier Garcia highlighted the recent legislative change proposed by the President to the Tourism Incentives Law which will from now onwards benefit the whole country and not only some areas.

Participating in the Seminar, which was followed by a Ministerial Roundtable on Tourism and Air Transport, a key issue in the region, were the Ministers of Tourism of Costa Rica, Haiti and Paraguay, the Vice Ministers of Tourism of Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Guatemala and Venezuela, the Director of the World Heritage Centre of UNESCO as well as representatives of the Inter-American Development Bank.

On the occasion, further highlighting the commitment of the Dominican Republic in addressing tourism’s, social, cultural and economic impact, 16 Dominican tourism companies and associations signed the Private Sector Commitment to the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, pledging to implement and promote the ethical principles of the Code in their policies and operations.

Useful links:

International Seminar on Tourism Destination Management in Cultural Heritage Sites

UNWTO Publication: Turismo y patrimonio cultural inmaterial (Spanish only)

UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism 

Contacts:

UNWTO Senior Media Officer: Marcelo Risi

Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60 

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218 

The Ministry of Tourism has engaged its local and regional partners in forging strategies aimed at continuing the sustainable growth of their respective economies, during the Small Island Developing States Conference.
The Rt Hon Perry Christie, Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas officially opened the two-day conference at the Melia Nassau Beach Resort, Cable Beach on Wednesday, February 19, 2014.

The two-day conference held under the theme: “Tourism is a Key Sector for Development in Island States”, attracted approximately 250 delegates from around the region, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, the Inter-American Development Bank and the United Nations Environment Programme.

The conference is being held as the country celebrates 50 years of Tourism and the observation of February as Sustainable Tourism Month.

Minister of Tourism the Hon Obie Wilchcombe in his welcoming address observed that although tourism is the “cash cow” for The Bahamas and other Caribbean economies, it is imperative to look at sustainable measures.

“We need to discuss what we can do to make this industry thrive and to generate opportunities for our people,” he sad.

The focus of the conference is to build up on the conclusions on Sustainable Development of Tourism in Islands held in Reunion Island in September 2013. Its purpose is to serve as guidance to National Tourism Authorities and the international community as an input to the Third International Conference on SIDS, schedule to be held in September 2014 in Samoa.

By Lindsay Thompson, BIS

SOURCE: TOURISM TODAY

PR No.: 14001

Emphasizing that sustainable tourism in Central America is a cross-cutting activity with close linkages to other sectors and thus generating trade opportunities, the UN General Assembly recognizes tourism as a fundamental pillar of regional integration and an engine of social and economic development, income, investment and hard currency in the region. The resolution further “encourages giving appropriate consideration to the issue of sustainable tourism in the elaboration of the post-2015 development agenda", which will follow the deadline of the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Against this backdrop, the UN General Assembly invites States and other stakeholders, as well as the World Tourism Organization, to continue to support the activities undertaken by the Central American countries for the promotion of responsible and sustainable tourism and extend the benefits of tourism to all sectors of society, in particular the most vulnerable and marginalized groups of the population.

International tourism in Central America grew significantly in recent years. In 2012, Central America received almost 9 million international tourists who generated US$ 8 billion in revenues, up from, respectively, 4.3 million arrivals and US$ 3 billion in 2000. Today, international tourism accounts for as much as 17% of all Central American exports.

The UN resolution was sponsored by 51 Member States: Argentina, Australia, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Canada, Cape Vert, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Finland, Georgia, Greece, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Maldives, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Morocco, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, United States of America, Ukraine and Uruguay.
 

Contacts:

UNWTO Senior Media Officer: Marcelo Risi

Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60
 

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218

PR No.: PR13082

Mr. Rifai, the first speaker from outside the aviation industry to give the Assad Kotaite Lecture, highlighted the interdependent relationship between air transport and tourism in his address, Tourism and Aviation: Building Common Policies for Sustainable Growth. He reiterated the need to position both sectors collectively to help stimulate the growth of the overall economy and create opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship.

“If we are to achieve the forecast rise in international tourist arrivals from 1 billion in 2012 to 1.8 billion in 2030, with all the concomitant economic and social benefits, we must work as one,” Mr. Rifai said. “Increased coordination among airlines, tourism destinations and airport authorities at national level, and the joint work of UNWTO and ICAO at the global level, will help position travel and tourism as a strategic sector with air transport at its core,” he added.

Mr. Rifai emphasized market liberalization as a key factor for the development of civil aviation and tourism, citing World Trade Organization (WTO) estimates that show that replacing the most restrictive bilateral air agreements by most liberal ones may increase traffic by over 75%.

On visa facilitation, Mr. Rifai stressed that restrictive visa issuance policies and complicated entry formalities are still stifling travel and tourism growth, particularly from emerging economies, which are some of the fastest-growing source markets for tourism. Supporting visa facilitation will help stimulate the economy and generate employment - as many as 5.1 million additional jobs in the G20 economies by 2015, and 2.6 million new jobs in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies by 2016, according to recent research by UNWTO and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).

Other key issues addressed were tourist/consumer protection, intelligent taxation, and the fight against climate change, issues which he maintained were areas of common concern for both the tourism and aviation sectors to achieve a significant impact in promoting sustainable growth and development.

Useful links:

Full speech by UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai

The Impact of Visa Facilitation in APEC Economies

Facilitation of Tourist Travel

The Impact of Visa Facilitation on Job Creation in the G20 Economies

Press release: ICAO and UNWTO Affirm Cooperation on Joint Aviation and Tourism Goals

Contacts:

UNWTO Senior Media Officer: Marcelo Risi

Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

Tel: +34 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218

PR No.: PR13032

“We are very happy to welcome Trinidad and Tobago back into the Organization, a country which was in fact a founding member of UNWTO as it pertained to the International Union of Official Travel ‎Organizations (IUOTO), the predecessor of UNWTO,” said Mr. Rifai.

“Trinidad and Tobago has placed tourism as a priority within its strategy to diversify the national economy and we look forward to working with the tourism sector in the country to achieve this objective”, he added.

Trinidad and Tobago is an important tourism player in the Caribbean, a region where tourism is set to continue expanding. According to UNWTO’s long-term forecast, Tourism Towards 2030, by the year 2030 international tourist arrivals to the Caribbean will reach 30 million, up from 21 million in 2012.

The 55th Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for the Americas, held in San Jose, Costa Rica, gathers the Members of the Organization in the region to debate the latest regional tourism trends, examine the programme of work of UNWTO in the Americas for the period 2014-2015 and elect the candidate country to host World Tourism Day 2014. The Commission meeting will be complemented by an International Seminar on Tourism and New Technologies, looking into topics such as mobile marketing, social media or the role on technology in travel facilitation.

Contacts:

Senior Media Officer: Marcelo Risi

Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

Tel: +34 91-567-8100

Fax: +34 91-567-8218