PR No.: PR12026
Ministers of Tourism and leading tourism companies from the Middle East and North Africa reiterated their confidence in the growth of tourism in the region during the first UNWTO/Arabian Travel Market Industry Forum (Dubai, 30 April 2012).
Entitled The Future of Tourism in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA): Ensuring sustainable growth in challenging times, the forum debated short and long term prospects for tourism in the region, stressing the encouraging signs emerging from destinations affected by the political changes of last year as well as the on-going strong expansion plans of tourism infrastructure in the countries of the Gulf.
Participants in the forum reiterated their confidence in the growth of tourism in the region, where the sector has become a key pillar of local economies and employment and a central part of national development policies.
Moderated by John Andrews, Editor for The Economist and one of its most experienced foreign correspondents, the forum counted on the participation of H.R.H. Prince Sultan bin Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al-Saud, President and Chairman of the Board of the Saudi Commission for Tourism and Antiquities, Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, Minister of Tourism of Egypt, Ahmed Abdulla Al-Nuaimi, Chairman of Qatar Tourism Authority, Mohammed Rashed, Chief Executive Officer, Hotel and Tourism Sector of the Al Kharafi Group, Gerald Lawless, Executive Chairman of the Jumeirah Group and Frederic Bardin, Senior Vice President of Emirates Holidays.
UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai said: “Despite recurrent challenges, the story of tourism in the Middle East and North Africa is one of success. The sector has become an economic powerhouse for the region, generating US$60 billion in export earnings and creating millions of jobs. This outstanding performance is the result of strong and committed public tourism policies aimed at diversifying national economies and create much needed jobs, especially for the youth, and strong private sector investment. These conditions remain unaltered”.
Reed Travel Exhibitions Managing Director, Richard Mortimore said: “The launch of this high-level forum could not come at a more opportune moment. It is a sign of the importance of tourism to the region that this high-profile group of ministers and industry leaders have come to share a platform at Arabian Travel Market, the region’s premier travel trade exhibition. It is sure to prove to be as successful and as influential as the well-established UNWTO and WTM Ministers’ Summit has been at fellow Reed Travel Exhibitions event World Travel Market over the past five years.”
The need for the region’s key players to work together in order to achieve a greater share of the global pie, was a key theme of the summit, with the Undersecretary of Oman's Ministry of Tourism, Maitha Al Mahrouqi, saying: “I don’t see us [Oman] competing with the UAE, we are complementing the UAE.”
“We need to work with other industries to make the whole touristic experience a pleasure,” added Egypt’s Minister of Tourism, Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour.
While examples of visa facilitation exist in the region - Oman has a joint tourist visa arrangement with Qatar, the panel also flagged the need for the opening up of the visa system within the region. “A common electronic visa platform would actually enhance security – not decrease it – and facilitate smoother travel globally,” said Gerald Lawless, Executive Chairman of the Jumeirah Group.
The UNWTO/Arabian Travel Market Industry Forum brought together ministers as well as travel industry leaders from the region to discuss how to boost demand and foster employment under challenging economic and political conditions. International tourist arrivals in the MENA region rose from 34 million in 2000 to 79 million in 2010, making the region one of the fastest growing tourism destinations worldwide. In 2011, the region lost some seven million tourists, in spite of the good performance of some destinations.
In 2010, international tourist arrivals to the Middle East and North Africa were at 79 million (60 million in the Middle East and 19 million in North Africa). Receipts from international tourism reached US$ 60 billion (US$ 50 billion in the Middle East and US$ 10 billion in North Africa) in 2010. In 2011, due to recent political development, international tourist arrivals to the Middle East were down by 8% to 55 million and to North Africa by 10% to 17 million.
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Contacts:
Principal Media Officer: Marcelo Risi
Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60
UNWTO Communications Programme
Tel: +34 91-567-8100
Fax: +34 91-567-8218
PR No.: PR12024
Leading media representatives met with tourism players in Egypt to explore how to develop more effective relations, particularly in times of crisis (Marsa Alam, Egypt, 26-27 April 2012).
“What drives tourism is the perception the traveler has of a destination. Fair reporting of both the negative and the positive will play a vital role in the recovery of Egyptian tourism,” said Egypt’s tourism minister, Mounir Fakhry Abdel-Nour, as he opened the Conference.
The two-day meeting, Partnering with the Media in Challenging Times, is the second in UNWTO’s series of conferences on the relationship between tourism and the media. Organized in collaboration with the Egyptian Tourism Authority (ETA), and with CNN as media partner, the conferences aim to increase awareness of tourism among the mainstream media and forge closer relations between the two.
Stressing the potential role of the media in communicating tourism’s contribution to development, UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, said he was greatly encouraged that participants had come together to explore opportunities for strengthened outreach.
“A staggering one billion tourists will travel abroad in 2012. Tourism has become a truly global socio-economic phenomenon which is not yet fully reflected in the media,” said Mr. Rifai. “We believe that to maximize the potential of tourism as a true driver of development and wellbeing for all we need to bring tourism administrations, the private sector and the media closer together.”
Tony Blair, Quartet Representative to the Middle East, highlighted the role of the media in addressing misperceptions in a special message to the Conference. “Tourism is undoubtedly a bright spot and a vital contributor to the process of economic development,” he said. “But one of the misperceptions we have to deal with is that places, such as Palestine, are dangerous, when in fact the numbers simply do not bear this out.”
Sessions at the Conference provided participants with practical tools for more efficient media relations, ranging from how to plan the appropriate social media strategy to response protocol in times of crises.
Tourism is a mainstay of the Egyptian economy, representing 30% of the country’s exports and employing 16 million people. While international tourist arrivals were down in 2011, at 9.5 million compared to 14 million in 2010, Egypt remained the second most visited country in the Middle East. Results for the first few months of 2012 show encouraging results, “excellent news for both the economy and the strengthening of the political processes underway,” said Mr. Rifai.
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Presentations and further conclusions will be made available on the website of the 2nd International Conference on Tourism and the Media
Video message of Quarter Representative to the Middle East, Tony Blair
Contacts:
Principal Media Officer: Marcelo Risi
Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60
UNWTO Communications Programme
Tel: +34 91-567-8100
Fax: +34 91-567-8218
PR No.: PR 12022
Participants at a major United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD XIII) have underscored the role of tourism as a vital service sector, contributing to GDP and employment in developed and developing countries alike (Doha, Qatar, 21-26 April 2012).
The theme of UNCTAD XIII, Development-Centered Globalization: Towards Inclusive and Sustainable Growth and Development, focuses on how the global economy can spread its benefits more inclusively and sustainably, creating jobs and raising living standards for poor people and nations.
Currently ranking among the top three export sectors for nearly half of the world’s least developed countries (LDCs), tourism has emerged as one of the economic sectors best able to address these concerns. With tourism growth rates in developing countries currently outperforming those in developed countries, tourism today is one of the most promising and viable options for global development.
“It is encouraging to see that the contribution of tourism to development, poverty reduction and economic growth is increasingly recognized. This can only be achieved by better policy coherence between and among the various ministries and government departments that provide the enabling environment for tourism to flourish,” said UNCTAD Secretary-General, Supachai Panitchpakdi.
At two separate events UN officials, high-level policy-makers, representatives of the tourism private sector and other stakeholders, gathered on the sidelines of UNCTAD XIII to deliberate on the critical role of tourism in national development strategies.
The Global Services Forum – organized to discuss developments in the services sector, which currently accounts for 50% of the GDP of developing countries – pointed to the many growth and employment opportunities of tourism as a major internationally traded service.
“Tourism has its place in the green growth agenda, as an important economic sector for many developed and developing countries and an extremely promising development perspective for the coming decades, contributing to a sustainable planet, a growing economy and a better life for all,” said UNWTO Executive Director for Competitiveness, External Relations and Partnerships, Márcio Favilla.
An event organized by the Steering Committee on Tourism for Development (SCTD), Towards Inclusive and Sustainable Growth and Development: What Can the Tourism Sector Contribute, convened countries at different stages of tourism development - including the Secretary of State of the Ministry of Commerce of Cambodia and the Ministers of Tourism of Lesotho and Paraguay - to present the policies and measures needed by developing countries to spur internationally competitive tourism strategies in the framework of the promotion of service exports.
“The implementation of support measures in sustainable tourism at the level of policy makers, institutions and enterprises, particularly in the services sector, will be crucial for the beneficial integration of developing countries and LDCs in the world economy,” said Mr. Favilla.
The event was also an opportunity to draw attention to what UNWTO and other member organizations of the SCTD are doing to assist developing countries in maximizing tourism’s development impact.
Note to Editors:
In line with the UN commitment to ‘Deliver as One’, the Steering Committee on Tourism for Development (SCTD) brings together nine UN agencies and programmes to coordinate their tourism-related work and maximize its impact, primarily in LDCs and developing countries.
Members of the SCTD: International Labour Organization (ILO), International Trade Centre (ITC), UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), UN Environment Programme (UNEP), UN Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), World Trade Organization (WTO).
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Steering Committee on Tourism for Development
Contacts:
Principal Media Officer: Marcelo Risi
Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60
UNWTO Communications Programme
Tel: +34 91-567-8100
Fax: +34 91-567-8218
Following the success of the UNWTO & WTM Ministers’ Summit in London, Reed Exhibitions and UNWTO are jointly taking the initiative to bring together the tourism leaders of the increasingly important Middle East-North Africa (MENA) tourism sector to debate the challenges and opportunities facing the region into moving the sector ahead as a key driver for growth and development.
The first edition of the UNWTO & Arabian Travel Market Industry Forum will be held on 30 April 2012, at the ATM in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
The Middle East-North Africa (MENA) has been one of the fastest growing tourism regions in the first decade of this century. Yet, unfolding events are affecting tourist flows to several destinations and creating uncertainty over the future of tourism in the region. At the same time, many countries and companies continue to expand their businesses.
The UNWTO & Arabian Travel Market Industry Forum will focus on:
- What are the most recent trends of tourism demand, investment and employment in the region and what lessons to learn from those?
- What are the short and long term prospects for tourism in the Middle East and North Africa?
- What are the main challenges and opportunities that changing market conditions are generating?
- What are the key policies and measures required to address those challenges and seize growth opportunities?
In these challenging times, the Forum will be a crucial opportunity to debate the direction the sector must take moving forward. As the premier travel trade exhibition for the region, the Arabian Travel Market is the only place to host such an event.
The Forum will be run in Arabic and English for Ministers and high-level representatives from the private sector. The Forum will also be open to press and other delegates from the exhibition to listen to the proceedings.
For confirmation of attendance please register online at www.arabiantravelmarket.com/ministers.
PR No.: PR 12019
Time Magazine and The Huffington Post are among the top media outlets scheduled to take part in the 2nd UNWTO International Conference on Tourism and the Media. The event, which also counts on the presence of The Independent, Deutsche Welle TV and Ogilvy Mather PR will focus on how tourism and the media can work together in challenging times (26-27 April, Marsa Alam, Egypt).
Time’s Egypt correspondent Abigail Hauslohner and the Associate Travel Editor of the Huffington Post, Andrew Burmon, will join a long list of confirmed speakers including the Associate Business Editor of The Independent, Mark Leftly; Senior International Correspondent for Deutsche Welle TV, Michael Altenhenne; and the Director of Sales of FvW-Mediengruppe, Matthias Schulz. Representatives from the tourism sector include the Minister of Tourism of Egypt, Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour, and Amr Badr, Regional Managing Director of luxury travel company Abercrombie & Kent.
Organized in cooperation with the Ministry of Tourism of Egypt, and featuring CNN as global media partner, ‘Partnering with the Media in Challenging Times’ is the second in UNWTO’s series of conferences on the relationship between tourism and the media. Following the 2011 edition which focused on how to improve the extent and accuracy of tourism coverage, the 2012 conference will bring together members of the global media and communications officials from tourism administrations to debate where tourism fits in a news agenda dominated by economic and social upheavals.
Practical workshops, including a session on social media with the Vice-President for Digital Strategy of public relations firm Ogilvy & Mather, Layla Revis, will offer an opportunity for tourism professionals to hone their communications skills. Further workshops will provide insights into the running of a newsroom and how tourism officials can position their stories within the news agenda, while a workshop on risk and crisis management will provide participants with practical tools to communicate effectively in times of crisis.
Useful links:
Follow the conference on twitter: #tourismmedia
Contacts:
Principal Media Officer: Marcelo Risi
Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60
UNWTO Communications Programme
Tel: +34 91-567-8100
Fax: +34 91-567-8218
