UNWTO and Facebook Partner to Support Members States to Leverage Digital Marketing to Restart Tourism

• All Regions
• 16 Apr 2021

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and Facebook have partnered to help global destinations make use of the power of digital marketing as they look to welcome tourists back safely.

Over the past year, the United Nations specialized agency for tourism has been supporting its Member States on a series of initiatives relating to market intelligence and marketing. Now, as tourism begins to restart in some parts of the world, a series of special sessions were held jointly with Facebook to deliver a range of key insights into how the effective use of digital marketing can help destinations gain a competitive advantage in the challenging months ahead.

Three sessions, one each in English, Spanish and French, welcomed participants from 30 countries. The sessions focused on Facebook and Instagram Communication Insights and Best Practices, with participants also given an overview of digital tools and tips for communicating with their target audiences, including through Messenger and WhatsApp. Alongside this, the sessions highlighted the importance of metrics and other key tools in measuring the success of digital marketing campaigns, and role of advertising and creativity in reaching new audiences.

Sandra Carvao, UNWTO Chief, Market Intelligence and Competitiveness, says: “We are very happy to have Facebook on board with us to bring the fundamentals and best cases of digital marketing to our Members. Our partnership will help destinations be better prepared for a new market framework and allow them to use data and digital marketing to reach new audiences and restart their tourism sectors.  

Nicolai Gerard, Facebook EMEA Government Politics & NonProfit Marketing Solution Director says: “We are very pleased to work with UNWTO to help global destinations take advantage of all the benefits that digital solutions and tools can offered. In the times we are living, it is key for the travel industry to implement digital marketing strategies to accelerate the road to recovery.  With this partnership, we believe that travel destinations will gain the necessary tools and skills that will allow them to use all the services available through our family of apps”.

Related Links

• Download the news release in PDF
• UNWTO and Facebook Immersion Session (English)
• UNWTO: Tourism Market Intelligence
• UNWTO and COVID-19: Guiding Tourism’s Recovery

UNWTO, ONCE Foundation and ENAT - Delivering Accessible Tourism for All

• All Regions
• 14 Apr 2021

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) will continue to build on its successful partnership with the Spanish ONCE Foundation and the European Network for Accessible Tourism (ENAT). The three parties have agreed to extend their partnership agreement for a further four years to ensure that their work to improve accessibility, in every part of the tourism value chain, continues during and beyond the pandemic.

The joint work will continue to focus on the promotion of good practices during the current crisis, the application of standards, the measurement of accessible tourism, as well as labour inclusion and institutional disability inclusive policies. The three partners are currently collecting success stories of destinations and companies which have adopted new sanitary protocols to facilitate access to travel and tourism for all, including both residents and visitors. In line with the key UNWTO Recommendations released early on during the pandemic, the Accessibility Champions initiative is still open for submissions illustrating how the guidelines to restart tourism without imposing new obstacles are being successfully implemented. The most outstanding cases will be promoted by the partners through an e-publication and webinars.

The three partners are also committed to raising awareness of the forthcoming ISO Standard on Tourism for All. All three have worked with the International Standardization Organization (ISO) on the new requirements and recommendations. The ISO standard will represent a milestone, being the first global standard aimed at implementing and improving accessibility throughout the tourism value chain.

The awareness-raising work will sensitize institutions, governments and service providers  o the importance of accessibility for all and inclusion. It will make clear that this is not only a question of human rights and equal opportunities, but also a major competitive advantage for destinations and the private sector.

UNWTO, the ONCE Foundation and ENAT jointly state: “Accessibility for all is about service quality, innovation and comfort for all tourists, new sources of revenue and new clients with disabilities, seniors and families with young children, among many other individuals, with specific access requirements. By adopting Universal Design principles in the development of environments and services, the tourism sector can fulfil its moral responsibility and, in many countries, legal obligations to cater to those with specific requirements, making tourism for all a reality.”

Related Links

• Download the news release in PDF
• UNWTO Accessibility Champions initiative

Advancing Harmonized Travel Protocols and Financing Tourism’s Survival

• All Regions
• 9 Apr 2021

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has again convened its Global Tourism Crisis Committee to lead the sector in harmonizing travel and health protocols and securing vital financing for businesses struggling to survive an historic crisis.

The ninth meeting of the Crisis Committee advanced solutions to the biggest challenges standing in the way of international travel returning.

Committee members, drawn from political leadership, international organizations, including UNWTO’s sister UN agencies, finance and the private sector, discussed the Crisis Committee’s Recommendations, which focus on four core areas: the resumption of safe, cross-border travel; promoting safe travel at all points of the tourist journey; providing liquidity to tourism businesses and protecting jobs, and restoring confidence in travel.

The virtual meeting was co-hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Opening the proceedings, the Minister for Tourism, His Excellency Ahmed bin Aqil Alkhateeb, said: "Saudi Arabia has been collaborating with partners across the public and private sectors both regionally and globally to accelerate the resumption of international travel. The facilitation of safe and seamless travel is the only way to restore confidence among travelers and tourism businesses, which will ultimately be the drivers of the sector’s recovery."

Harmonized protocols and building confidence

The Committee backed the proposed EU Digital Green Pass as an example of joined-up protocols for other regions to follow. Addressing the meeting, EU Vice President Margaritis Schinas said that “we can make summer 2021 the beginning of the post-pandemic era, one that is safer, more sustainable, more resilient and more prosperous”. He stressed that “the tourism sector can – and should - be at the forefront of this effort, leading the recovery of the European and the global economy”.

Mr. Schinas also outlined the work being done to raise consumer confidence in tourism, already devastated by issues surrounding cancelling and refunding travel services and noted: “UNWTO’s efforts to develop an International Code for the Protection of Tourists are most welcome”. The landmark legal code is one of several key UNWTO initiatives aimed at restoring confidence in international travel.

Also at the Committee, UNWTO and IATA (the International Air Transport Association) announced the forthcoming launch of a new Destination Tracker. This tool will be available on the websites of both organizations and provide comprehensive and up-to-date information on the restrictions and requirements of airlines and destinations, allowing tourists to make informed choices.  

Recommendations for Recovery

The Recommendations of the UNWTO Global Tourism Crisis Committee highlight the importance of basing policies on current international health and aviation regulations, including but not limited to provisions from the World Health Organization (WHO) and those the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO), most notably its ‘Take Off’ guidance and the work of its Civil Aviation Recovery Taskforce (CART). The Recommendations also call for the creation of Public Health Corridors, the implementation of digital health solutions and the development of a common “traffic-light” system as a recognizable risk management framework. In presenting the Recommendations,  the Minister of Tourism of Greece and Chair of the UNWTO Crisis Committee’s Technical Group, Harry Theoharis, said that ”this year we have more tools in our arsenal, including vaccinations, to address all concerns of travellers and people employed in the tourism sector."

Financing tourism’s survival

Through the Global Tourism Crisis Committee, UNWTO also advanced on its work addressing one of the other key challenges facing global tourism, namely the sudden halt of tourism cash flow and the need to support businesses and protect jobs. Along with ICAO and the WHO, UNWTO is one of the only UN agencies working with the OECD on its International Mobility Initiative. UNWTO is also working closely with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).  

OECD and EBRD again contributed to the latest meeting of the Crisis Committee, advancing coordinated efforts to both support tourism businesses through the current crisis and also to build future resilience and achieve greater sustainability, including through promoting green investments in the sector. Also updating the Committee were the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), with their representatives focusing in particular on the potential role of innovation, green investments in tourism and on supporting businesses, now and during the recovery phase.

Related links

• Download the news release in PDF
• UNWTO Digital Health Passes Compendium
• UNWTO Welcomes EU Support and Urges Europe to Lead the Way in Tourism’s Restart
• UNWTO: Tourism and COVID-19

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