The fifth edition of FiturGreen, which will take place from Wednesday 22 to Friday 24 January 2014 in FITUR, will devote several key sections to technologies that enable sustainable tourism management and the financial tools available for their implementation.

FiturGreen 2014, which will take place from Wednesday 22 to Friday 24 January 2014, will highlight projects, tools and technologies that enable sustainable management throughout the tourism value chain.

During the fifth edition of FiturGreen, organized by the Instituto Tecnológico Hotelero (ITH), UNWTO and FITUR in collaboration with Grupo Habitat Futura, the results of several sustainable technology projects will be presented to the hotel sector. On Wednesday 22 January, the CIAT Group will discuss the findings of the study conducted together with ITH on efficient air conditioning using heat recovery while Bosch Buderus and Jaga España will explain the importance of efficient climate control systems that contribute to indoor air quality in hotels. Lastly, Aqualogy, Grundfos España and Italsan will present technological advances that improve the efficiency of water management in hotels and explain how they contribute to reducing the consumption of this precious resource.

With a view to facilitating the implementation of these and other technologies for tourism enterprises, on Thursday 23 January representatives of the Spanish Climate Change Office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAGRAMA), the Institute for Diversification and Saving of Energy (IDAE), Dyrecto Consultores, Banco Sabadell and Grupo Santander will hold a roundtable on plans and funding for the refurbishment of hotels.

During the afternoon of the 23rd, the second meeting of “Green Hotel & Tourism Solutions” will be held, focusing on the technical possibilities offered by the most innovative renovation and construction methods, which will convert hotel buildings—both existing and newly constructed—into more sustainable and efficient spaces.

Designing the roadmap towards sustainable tourism

Finally, on Friday 24 January, advances in sustainability and energy management tools will be presented such as “Hotel Energy Solutions” of the UNWTO, the NEZEH (Nearly Zero-Energy Hotels) project developed with the support of the Intelligent Energy Europe programme of the European Union, and the Intelitur Platform of the Spanish Council of Chambers of Commerce.

In view of the challenges posed by sustainability, a representative of Schneider Electric will present a scenario in which technology redefines the design and development of cities, and the way in which its residents, visitors and tourists interact.

With a view to tackling the real-life challenges presented by technology and tourism demand with regard to sustainability, Travelife, Instituto del Turismo Responsable (ITR), Riu Hotels & Resorts, the City of Barcelona, and IHP (International Hospitality Projects) will make recommendations aimed at designing a “roadmap” for managing sustainability in tourism, based on the guidelines advocated in major environmental certifications worldwide.

The official opening will be carried out by Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General of UNWTO, Ana Larrañaga, Managing Director of FITUR, and Juan Molas, President of the Spanish Confederation of Tourist Hotels and Accommodation (CEHAT) and of the ITH.

 

Useful links:

Official website of FiturGreen

 

Contact:

Instituto Tecnológico Hotelero

Ana María Márquez - Communication Officer

Tel. (+34) 91 417 12 46

 

World Tourism Organization

Marcelo Risi - Senior Media Officer

Tel.: (+34) 91 567 81 60

 

UNWTO Communication and Publications Programme

Tel.: (+34 91) -567-8100, Fax: +34 91-567-8218

PR No.: PR 13078

Centered around the theme, “How new media is shaping the news”, the Conference addressed, among others, the issues of tourism in today´s media coverage, the new media environment, the emergence of bloggers as influential news sources, and the transversal impact of technology on all communication formats.

Opening the Conference, UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, said “while tourism coverage by mainstream, business and news agencies is growing, there is still much room for tourism to have greater journalistic recognition. New media can bridge this gap. In today´s interconnected world, tourism communication has evolved from being an exclusive encounter to an inclusive experience.”   

“Portugal has made a strategic decision in terms of promotion strategy, and that was to give a higher priority to new media and online communication as a means to adapt to the changes occurring in the markets” said Adolfo Mesquida Nunes, Secretary of State for Tourism of Portugal.

Addressing over 200 participants from 30 countries, including private and public tourism stakeholders, media and academia, the Conference underscored the following key trends:

• News generation has evolved from a top-down “analogue” format into an “digital” interactive experience;
• With bloggers as complementary sources of information to traditional media, the challenge lies in establishing their credibility as reliable and independent sources. Credible traditional media outlets remain relevant for reliable information;
• Effective blogs connect by eliciting audience empathy; the key lies in creating different content for different aims and formats;
• Users today are double influencers: they contribute real-time information through social media and move content providers to cater the information they are demanding;
• Segmentation of contents and audiences is growing as a consequence of increasing interactive media use and must be factored in by the tourism sector in their communication and promotion outreach;
• The key to communicating tourism is in telling a story, offering  the bigger picture of the economic, social and environmental impact of tourism;
• Given that travelers promote a country through various media formats and the social network, Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) need to become content aggregators and platforms for user-generated content;
• Maximizing new media entails creating an inclusive environment for citizen journalists to disseminate tourism´s message, either by talking about a destination, a product or the socio-economic power of tourism;
• There is no way around increased audiovisual content production by private and public tourism stakeholders, acknowledging growing bandwidth and user expectations on enriched and diverse communication formats.

Organized in cooperation with Turismo de Portugal, the Conference gathered key speakers and panelists, including the Conference media partner CNN International’s anchor Nina dos Santos, Portugal’s public broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP) anchor João Adelino Faria as well as representatives from Condé Nast (USA), Apple Tree Communications (Spain), German broadcaster Deutsche Welle (Germany), Google and NH Hoteles (Spain), as well as influential social media players from Brazil, Kenya and Uruguay.

 

Useful links:

Presentations and conclusions of the 3^rd UNWTO International Conference of Tourism and the Media

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.: PR13076

UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, who witnessed the signing with the Secretary of State for Tourism of Portugal, Adolfo Mesquita Nunes, said “It is encouraging to see this firm show of support and commitment from the Portuguese tourism associations to the principles of sustainability, which are fundamental during this stage of growth of Portugal´s tourism sector.”  

“We are extremely pleased to see the commitment of the Portuguese associations to the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism particularly considering that this is a voluntary mechanism and that the initiative to pledge to these principles comes from the private sector” said Mesquita Nunes.  

The Global Code of Ethics for Tourism is UNWTO’s core policy document that serves as a blueprint for the development of sustainable tourism. Adopted in 1999 by the UNWTO General Assembly and endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2001, it is designed to guide the development of tourism in a way that maximizes the socio-economic benefits of the sector, while mitigating any negative impacts.

With this group of associations, up to date more than 200 tourism enterprises and associations spread over 29 countries across the world have pledged to promote and implement the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism.

The signatory associations include: Association “Casas Brancas”, Association of Hotel Directors of Portugal, Association of Hoteliers, Restaurants and Beverage of Algarve, Association of Manor Houses,  Estoril Coast, Sintra, Mafra and Oeiras Hoteliers Regional Association, European Blue Flag Association, National Cruise Association, National Equestrian Tourism Association, Portuguese Association of Rural Tourism, Portuguese Association of Hotels, Restaurants and Tourism, Portuguese Hotel Association, Portuguese Termal Association, Portuguese Tourism Confederation, Association Route Vincentina, Portuguese Association of Conventions, Animation and Events Enterprises, Portuguese Association of Ports and Marinas, Portuguese Association of Resorts.

 

Useful links:

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 first Euro-Asian Ski Resorts Conference, held in the City of Almaty, aimed to advance the international ski and mountain tourism markets of Europe and Asia. The Conference was jointly organized by UNWTO and the Municipality of Almaty with the support of the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies of Kazakhstan (Almaty, Kazakhstan, 8-9 October 2013).

Centered around the theme “Developing New Destinations for Snow Tourism”, the Conference gathered 200 participants from 26 countries to exchange knowledge and best practices of traditional and new ski resorts in the Euro-Asian region.

In his welcome remarks at the Conference, UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai said, “Ski sports constitute an important segment of today’s domestic and international tourism market. This creates immense opportunities to promote tourism as a means for sustainable development in mountain destinations.”

“Developing Almaty as a major tourist center is a priority of the city administration,” said the Mayor of Almaty, Akhmetzhan Yessimov, adding “Tourism is a promising sector in the country and ski tourism is becoming an important pillar in tourism development.”

Serving as a platform to explore the rise and potential of the new ski resorts in Asia and Europe, the event addressed the current challenges in creating new ski markets and examined dynamic development models and successful strategies for developing new skiing areas and resorts. The choice of the appropriate Alpine ski development model, creation of new markets and the positioning of new ski resorts in the world market were analyzed also from a private-public partnership perspective.

A follow-up Conference is planned to be held in 2015.

 

Useful links:

First Euro-Asia Ski Conference

 

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.: PR13060

Organized in conjunction with the Moscow City Government Committee on Tourism and Hotel Industry, the Summit will provide a platform for the presentation of the second phase of the UNWTO “Cities” project. How to measure the impact of tourism on cities and how to create new tourism products in urban areas are among the highlights of the event.

“City tourism has become a strategic element in urban planning and management,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai. “This second summit is a good opportunity to further our initial efforts in city tourism to enhance urban development, involving all relevant stakeholders, ranging from the private supply to the public of policy,” he added.

The event includes the presentation of a prototype developed in collaboration with the Madrid Visitors and Convention Bureau and the UNWTO Affiliate Members - Madrid Precious Time – as a first attempt to establish models revolving around specific areas which can be replicated in other destinations. One of the central elements of this approach is its public-private partnership component.

A new feature of the Summit will be a Speed Networking session aimed to encourage direct contact and further exchange among participants.

This event follows UNWTO’s collaboration with 21 cities worldwide which resulted in the publication of the Global Report on City Tourism (1st UNWTO Global Summit on City Tourism, Istanbul, Turkey, November 2012).

 

Useful links:

2^nd UNWTO Global Summit on City 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

PR No.: PR13053

The UNWTO Awards recognize and showcase innovative and sustainable tourism initiatives and influential individuals of the tourism sector.

“This is the first time ever for FITUR, a UNWTO Affiliate Member and a leading trade fair, to co-host the Awards. This agreement showcases FITUR´s support to tourism innovation and sustainability as well as its commitment to the long standing partnership with UNWTO” said UNWTO Secretary-General in signing the co-hosting agreement with Luis Eduardo Cortés, Chief Executive Officer of the Trade Fair Institution of Madrid (IFEMA), of which FITUR is a key fair. “We are particularly happy as this means the Awards Ceremony will take place in Madrid, the host city of UNWTO”, he added.

The Chief Executive Officer of IFEMA, Luis Eduardo Cortés, stressed the importance to create “spaces for collaboration in the current environment, as the one announced today, and to make an effective contribution to the new challenges facing the global tourism sector. FITUR is honoured to expand the framework of cooperation with the main reference in world tourism, sharing UNWTO’s goals which are key to the progress of the sector. Hence our commitment to leverage the Awards through this fair, which every year brings together more than 200,000 tourism professionals”.

Since its inception in 2003, UNWTO has acknowledged the contribution of eight distinguished scholars as well as more than forty institutions – public, private or NGOs – for their innovative tourism initiatives. The contribution of the awardees is in line with UNWTO´s policies, priorities and programme of work, including the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism and the principles and standards set in the United Nations´ Millennium Development Goals.

The call for nominations for the 2013 UNWTO Awards is open until 1 October 2013. The UNWTO Awards are awarded in categories for individuals and for specific tourism activities.  

Two categories of Awards for individuals:

1. The UNWTO Ulysses Prize for Excellence in  the Creation and Dissemination of Knowledge
2. The UNWTO Award for Lifetime Achievement

Four categories of Awards for specific tourism initiatives:

1. UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Public Policy and Governance
2. UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Enterprises
3. UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Non-Governmental Organizations
4. UNWTO Ulysses Award for Innovation in Research and Technology

The 2013 Awards ceremony will take place on 22 January 2014 during the Madrid International Fair FITUR, followed by the UNWTO Knowledge Network Symposium on 23 January 2013 that will highlight best theories and practices showcased by the awardees of the different categories.

 

Useful links:

Information on UNWTO Awards

FITUR

 

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