PR No.: PR13031

Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, the event, entitled “Tourism & Aviation: Building a common agenda for growth”, was opened by UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai and Mark Walsh, Portfolio Director, Reed Travel Exhibitions, organiser of ATM.

Addressing the issue of tourism and aviation Mr. Rifai highlighted that tourism and aviation need to move out of working in silos. “Tourism and aviation are siblings, and have been working together in parallel lines. We cannot see them separate from one another; with 52% of world travellers reaching their destination by air, their growth is intrinsically linked,” he added.

The UNWTO address set the scene for the ensuing discussion, which was dominated by the challenges and opportunities facing the aviation sector in the region, with Mr. Rifai touching on the related twin issues of taxation and visa facilitation. “There are visa regimes still belonging to a century that has past. Despite the fact that the UAE and Dubai are leading the way in opening up in terms of visa accessibility, the Middle East is still lagging behind as 70% of people still need visas to enter the region,” he said.

HRH Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, launched the debate by reaffirming the region’s geographical relevance to the tourism sector.

“The Arabian Peninsula has always been a crossroads for different civilisations. These days those roads are in the sky rather than on the ground, and the same role that Arabia has played in the past is now similarly happening with airline networks,” he said, adding: “The alliance between tourism and air transportation is very much a non-separable alliance, and it is very important focus on aligning these two sectors to make places more accessible and affordable.

Highlighting the potential of regional cooperation, HE Reem Al Hashemi, Minister of State and Managing Director of the Higher Committee on International Expo Dubai 2020, said: “For mega events, we have to build synergies and expand the traveller experience.  Expo 2020 is not just about Dubai, the region will benefit with visitors going on to explore Muscat or Petra, for example.  We are promoting the region as a whole, expanding the picture, becoming more attractive and appealing - both to visitors but also to other airlines.”

HE Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General, Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing of Dubai, used the Middle East as a prime example of how tourism and aviation can work together, and what the rest of the world can learn from the region. “First and foremost, to foster tourism and look to the future, countries and cities should look at adopting open skies policies. The development of airport, attractions, and hotels are all important but the key is to allow airlines to fly without restrictions,” he commented.

Participants stressed the need to identify the links between tourism and aviation and set structures where tourism, civil aviation and airlines can work together. Other issues highlighted were the need to extend the principle of liberalization to more and more countries, the opportunities existing for regional cooperation in the Middle East, particularly in view of attracting long haul markets and the importance of aligning tourism objectives with airlines profitability.

Participating in the Ministerial Forum moderated by CNN Task Group’s Anita Mendiratta, were the Ministers of Tourism of Bahamas, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Gambia, Lebanon, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Niger, Oman, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia, Seychelles, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, the Director General of the National Council of Tourism and Antiquities of the UAE, the Vice-Minister of Tourism of Azerbaijan, the Assistant Under Secretary of Tourism of Kuwait, the Director General of the Jordan Tourist Board and the CEO of the Mozambique Tourism Authority. Representing the aviation industry were the Vice President of International & Public Affairs of Etihad Airways, the CEO of Dubai Airports and the Senior Vice President, Revenue Optimisation and Distribution, of Emirates Airline.

Concluding Mr .Rifai highlighted the importance of moving this agenda forward. “We have started a debate that has to go on and on. We will carry on at World Travel Market in London in co-operation with Reed Travel Exhibitions after setting a framework today and keep the conversation going”.

“The theme of Dubai’s Expo candidacy – connecting minds, creating the future - can become that which unites us together – so let’s connect our minds, put our thoughts together, and declare that we are on target to handle the issues of the time, and lead the way for the international community.”

Useful links:

Arabian Travel Market

Contacts:

UNWTO

Principal Media Officer: Marcelo Risi

Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60

www.UNWTO.org

Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing of Dubai

Acting Director of Public Relations: Charlie Taylor

Tel: (+971) 55 293 1263

www.dubaitourism.ae

Arabian Travel Market

Account Manager: Josse Dulka

Shamal Marketing Communications

Office: +971 4 3652711

Mobile: +97150 6540229

www.smc-pr.com

PR No.: PR13030

“The Middle East is one of the fastest growing tourism regions in the world in spite of facing countless challenges; much of this dynamism has been led by the strong political commitment awarded to tourism in the region and the vision that tourism is a key pillar of development in the Middle East of which the UAE is a perfect example” said Mr. Rifai.  

“The UAE play a central role not only in the development of tourism in the region but also in linking the Middle East with other regions and we expect that by working together we will enhance tourism within and to the Emirates as well as increase regional cooperation”, he added.

The UAE and UNWTO will work on several initiatives including the measurement of the economic impact of tourism, statistics and human resources development.

The Middle East is one of the fastest growing tourism regions in the world. Between 1980 and 2010, international tourist arrivals in the Middle East rose from 7.1 million to 60.9 million, an average annual increase of 7.4% compared with a world average of 4.2%.

According to UNWTO’s long-term forecast, Tourism Towards 2030, this growth is set to continue; in 2030 arrivals to the Middle East are expected to reach 149 million, an average annual increase of 4.6% compared with a world average of 3.3%.

Contacts:

Senior Media Officer: Marcelo Risi

Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60

PR No.: PR13024

The extraordinary growth of international tourism over the 6 last decades – from 25 million tourists in 1950 to one billion in 2012 – is as much due to advances in air transport as to the rise of the middle class, the growing wealth in industrialized and emerging countries and the forces of globalization.

Nonetheless, and in spite of the immense linkages between aviation and tourism, separate sectorial policies result in a fundamental, and too often even conflicting, disconnect which constitutes a severe constraint on the development of both sectors.

The UNWTO/ATM Ministerial Forum on “Tourism and Aviation: Building a Common Agenda for Growth”,  held Under the Patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the Arabian Travel Market, will bring together Ministers of Tourism and leaders from the aviation industry to discuss how aviation and tourism policies can come closer to set a common agenda for connectivity, economic growth and sustainable development.

Speakers include H.R.H. Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, President of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, H.E. Mrs. Reem Al Hashemi, Minister of State and Managing Director of the Higher Committee on International EXPO Dubai 2020, H.E. Mr. Hisham Zaazou, Minister of Tourism of Egypt, H.E. Mr. Alain Saint-Ange, Minister of Tourism and Culture of the Seychelles, H.E. Mr. Jamel Garma, Minister of Tourism of Tunisia and  H.E. Mr.  Issa Mohammed Al Mohannadi, Chairman of the Qatar Tourism Authority.

The role of air transport is central to the future development of tourism and its contribution to the economy. UNWTO forecasts international tourists to reach 1.8 billion by 2030, 52% of which will arrive to the visited destinations by air, and issues such as taxation, regulation, visa facilitation or climate change require a strong aviation and tourism agenda.

With the Middle East as a backdrop, the UNWTO/ATM Ministerial Forum will focus on how to remove current obstacles to the growth of aviation and tourism, how to align transport and tourism policies and how to promote connectivity between the Middle East and other world regions. The conclusions of the meeting will serve as a basis for a broader global debate on aviation and tourism during the World Travel Market UNWTO Ministers Summit in London (November 2013).

The UNWTO/ATM Forum will take place on Tuesday 7 May 2013 at the Arabian Travel Market and will be open to all exhibitors, visitors and media registered to attend Arabian Travel Market.

Useful links:

Arabian Travel Market

Contacts:

UNWTO

Principal Media Officer: Marcelo Risi

Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60

www.UNWTO.org

Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing of Dubai

Acting Director of Public Relations: Charlie Taylor

Tel: (+971) 55 293 1263

www.dubaitourism.ae

Arabian Travel Market

Account Manager: Josse Dulka

Shamal Marketing Communications

Office: +971 4 3652711

Mobile: +97150 6540229

www.smc-pr.com

PR No.: PR12074

Cutting-edge alternative aircraft fuels, emissions trading schemes for aviation, water recycling systems on cruise liners and improvements in hotel insulation were among the innovations presented during the UNWTO side event, The Tourism Sector Response to Climate Change, at the 18^th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP18) in Doha, Qatar (29 November 2012).  

“As tourism continues to grow, providing economic opportunities and jobs for millions worldwide, its carbon dioxide emissions are also on the up,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, ahead of the event. “We have a window of opportunity right now to move away from business as usual policies and to put the right strategies in place to significantly reduce our emissions.”

On the occasion of the event, which counted on the participation of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the Oxford University Centre for the Environment and the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), UNWTO officially launched the publication Tourism in the Green Economy.

The publication builds on the tourism chapter of the 2011 UNWTO/UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Green Economy Report, which finds that an investment of just 0.2% of global GDP per year between now and 2050 would allow the tourism sector to grow steadily over the coming decades, contributing to much-needed economic growth, employment and development while ensuring significant environmental benefits such as reductions in water consumption (18%), energy use (44%) and CO2 emissions (52%), as compared to a business as usual scenario.

Relevant links:

UNWTO Press Release: Investing in sustainable tourism will stimulate the Green Economy and job creation, says UN report

The Green Economy Report

UNWTO Sustainable Development of Tourism Programme

Contacts:

UNWTO Principal Media Officer: Marcelo Risi

Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60

UNWTO Communications Programme

Tel: +34 91-567-8100

Fax: +34 91-567-8218