PR No.: PR 16108

Rifai met the EU Commissioners for Education, Culture, Youth and Sports, Tibor Navracsics; for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Karmenu Vella; and for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica. Issues such as the links between culture and tourism, the EU Blue Growth Agenda, namely in the areas of oceans and biodiversity, the 2017 International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development and the Sustainable Tourism Goals (SDGs) were in the agenda.

During the visit, Rifai also met the Deputy-Prime Minister of Belgium, Kris Peeters, and, Ben Weyts the Flemish Minister of Mobility and Public Works, the Vlaamse Rand, Tourism and Animal Welfare. Under the auspices of Minister Weyts, UNWTO signed an agreement with the Flanders Department of Foreign Affairs to jointly develop a set of guidelines for tourism on war-related historical sites. 

UNWTO welcomes EU-China Year of Tourism

Rifai has also welcomed the EU-China Year of Tourism during his recent participation at the 1st anniversary of the Europe China OBOR Culture & Tourism Development Committee of the Europe-China One Belt One Road initiative.

The event held in Brussels, Belgium, stressed the relevance of tourism and culture in strengthening the links between the European Union and China.

“The Committee works to ensure that the tourism sector within the European Union responds with a unified voice to the immense potential of the Chinese tourism market and the One Belt One Road initiative, one of the largest ever investment plans. The support of UNWTO to the Committee and to the EU-China Year of Tourism in 2018 is of critical value” said István Ujhelyi, President of the Committee.

On the occasion of his visit to Brussels, Rifai also signed an agreement with the Network of European Regions for Competitive and Sustainable Tourism (NECsTouR) to work on several issues including the promotion of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017.

“Bearing in mind UNWTO and NECSTouR common priorities and considering the fruitful cooperation between our organizations, including NECSTouR intention to join UNWTO as an Affiliate Member, this agreement is a natural step. We trust it will generate many valuable opportunities” said the President of NECSTouR, Octavi Bono.

Contacts:

UNWTO Media Officer Rut Gomez Sobrino

Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60 / rgomez@unwto.org

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218 / comm@UNWTO.org

PR No.: PR 16107

One of the goals of the meeting was to advance crisis communications coordination and preparedness for all destinations. The meeting discussed crises of different types, ranking from natural disasters to political instability and health-related pandemics.

Attended by representatives from 13 countries, the session addressed how crises have a transversal impact, and how the perception and image of destinations are affected by them. Issues of strategic crisis communications, media relations and the use of big data were in focus.

"No nation on Earth is free from suffering a crisis and we should assume that crisis management has a highly relevant communications angle that can help diminishing the impact as well as to fasten the recovery process. Having a quick, transparent and credible support when the crisis occurs is part of that process," said UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai during his intervention.

"It is only by planning ahead, building relationships with media and learning how to properly communicate that destinations can be prepared to respond effectively to crisis situations and safeguard travel. It is true that there are challenges, and the tourism community has to work together to tackle them", said Eduardo Santander, CEO of the European Travel Commission.

UNWTO initiatives in the field of Crisis Communications, such as the Executive Training on this theme and the Toolbox on Crisis Communications, were presented during the session.

Contacts:

UNWTO Media Officer Rut Gomez Sobrino

Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60 / rgomez@unwto.org

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218 / comm@UNWTO.org

PR No.: PR16105

"On the behalf of the entire international tourism community, UNWTO conveys its heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims and expresses its full solidarity with the people and the Government of Turkey” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.

“This tragic event reminds us once more that we are facing a global threat that requires a firm and coordinated response by all governments and the international community. Turkey is a leading tourism destination and we are confident it will continue to be so” he added.

Contacts:

UNWTO Media Officer Rut Gomez Sobrino
Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60 / rgomez@unwto.org

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218 / comm@UNWTO.org

PR No.: PR16102

Rifai was a special guest at the 120^th Plenary Session of the Committee of the Regions of the European Union, where he addressed its 350 members on the occasion of the debate and adoption of the opinion on ‘Tourism as a driving force for regional cooperation across the EU’. Meeting the rapporteur of the opinion, Hans-Peter Wagner, Mayor of Breitenwang (Austria), Rifai stressed the relevance of tourism at regional level in terms of socio-economic and cultural development, and the need to enhance regional cooperation.

“European cities, regions and municipalities are key pillars to foster sustainable and competitive tourism. This is the moment to lay the foundations for a new paradigm for the tourism sector; to embrace a sustainable, inclusive and responsible tourism sector that makes clear business sense, drives local development and builds a sense of common future in Europe,” said Rifai in his intervention.

As part of his visit, the Secretary-General met a number of Members of the European Parliament. The bilateral discussions focused on how to further strengthen the ongoing cooperation between the two entities in light of the forthcoming International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development in 2017 and European Year of Cultural Heritage in 2018.

In a meeting between Rifai and Claudia Tapardel, Co-Chair of the Intergroup on European Tourism Development, it was agreed that two major UNWTO/European Parliament events will be held in 2017, one of which in Romania on the digitalisation of the tourism sector and seasonality.

“This will be an ideal opportunity to discuss the concrete challenges of Romanian tourism, starting with the economic impact of seasonality and ending with professional training of employees in the field,” said Tapardel.

“Romania has been advancing strongly in tourism development and I would encourage the incoming government to consider the creation of a dedicated tourism ministry to make the best use of Romania’s opportunities in the sector. Romania would greatly benefit from a coordinated and centralized approach to tourism that further stresses the links between the sector and SMEs,” Rifai added.

The European Capital of Tourism as a catalyst to promote tourism

The UNWTO Secretary-General also praised the ‘European Capital of Tourism’ initiative led by Istvan Ujhelyi, Vice-Chair of the Committee on Transport and Tourism and responsible for the Tourism Task Force Group of the European Parliament.

“UNWTO is very happy to support such an innovative initiative as it can help promote the richness of the tourism offer of European regions and cities while increasing citizens' pride in sharing local tourism-related values,” said Rifai in a debate conducted with stakeholders of the European Tourism Manifesto and private sector representatives.

UNWTO Secretary-General also met Committee member Claudia Monteiro de Aguilar, who expressed her appreciation for the continuous support of UNWTO to the tourism sector in Portugal.

Contacts:

UNWTO Media Officer Rut Gomez Sobrino

Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60 / rgomez@unwto.org

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218 / comm@UNWTO.org

PR No.: PR 16096

In 2015, almost 1.2 billion international tourists travelled the world and UNWTO forecasts continued growth in the years to come. UNWTO estimates that cultural tourism accounts for around 40% of all international tourist arrivals as per the report ‘Tourism and Culture Synergies’.

The conference will address how world civilizations can be brought back to life through the collaboration with creative industries – such as architecture, design, arts, technology and science – while contributing to sustainable tourism development.

A high‑level debate moderated by CNN’s Max Foster will gather 20 ministers of tourism from around the world to discuss how effective partnership models can be developed to contribute to safeguarding and promoting world civilizations, while creating socio-economic benefits for local communities.

In 2015, Bulgaria received 7 million international tourists generating US$ 3.1 billion in exports. It is expected that this year the country, whose population is around 7 million, will welcome more than 8 million international tourists – up from 6 million in 2010. These results reflect the commitment of Bulgaria to tourism development, including the creation in 2014 and for the first time of a dedicated Ministry of Tourism.

Additional information:

Webpage of the Event

Programme of the event

Contacts:

UNWTO Senior Media Officer: Rut Gómez

Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60 / rgomez@UNWTO.org

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218 / comm@UNWTO.org

PR No.: PR 16090

One of the major travel motivations is to visit religious sites, essential elements of humankind history and culture. As religious tourism increases every year, UNWTO promotes its strong potential as well as its capacity to build understanding among different faiths and cultures.

“We suffer from deficits of different kind, being the lack of tolerance and understanding, a major one. Religious tourism is one of the driving forces to bring people from varied backgrounds together under a common cause: the admiration and protection of heritage of tangible and intangible nature,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, at the inauguration of the event.

The issues of heritage conservation were a major topic of discussion, particularly in those cases where congestion constitutes a key challenge.

The Conference underlined the contribution of religious tourism to economic prosperity and the role of religious tourism as an added value to the offer of cities, villages and regions. In this respect, the event focused on developing methodologies to assess the social and economic impact of religious heritage tourism and strategies to develop these sites as authentic travel destinations. 

Other topics discussed included marketing strategies to improve access to information related to religious heritage tourism, the role of religious communities to promote religious heritage, the importance of investing in new technologies and capacity building and the role of historic commemorations in promoting religious tourism.

Additional information:

Website of the Conference

Programme of the event

Photos of the Event

Contacts:

UNWTO Media Officer Rut Gomez Sobrino

Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60 / rgomez@unwto.org

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218 / comm@UNWTO.org

EBRD Communications Adviser Nibal Zgheib

Tel: (+44) 207 338 7753 ZgheibN@ebrd.com

PR No.: PR16080

“Sustainable tourism development requires adequate measurement and evidence-based decision-making. We are very pleased to welcome the Croatian Sustainable Tourism Observatory to the UNWTO INSTO Network. We trust it can make a key contribution to support the vision set by Croatia for the future of its tourism sector; a sector that contributes to the three pillars of sustainability: economic, social and environmental” said UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai.

“Through its membership in INSTO, Croatia is also sharing the global strategic commitment to act responsibly and with care towards the space we live in,” mentioned the Minister of Tourism of Croatia, Gari Cappelli.

Croatia’s commitment to sustainability has been emphasized in its Tourism Development Strategy 2020. The initiative aims at fostering innovation in the framework of sustainable tourism. The efforts of the country in that regard have been recognized by the European Commission through the ETIS Award to the City of Mali Lošinj. The breadth and depth of insights gathered on sustainable tourism practices on the island have been particularly praised in that recognition.

Additional information:

About the UNWTO Network of Observatories

About the joint ETIS and Accessible Tourism Awards

Contacts:

UNWTO Media Officer Rut Gomez Sobrino
Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60 / rgomez@unwto.org

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218 / comm@UNWTO.org