PR No.: PR 14017

On the back of better than expected international tourism results in 2013 and the positive expectations for 2014 and beyond, “tourism has become one of the fastest growing economic sectors; a sector that drives global growth and development, creates millions of jobs, spurs exports and investment and transforms lives”, Mr. Rifai said.

But these forecasts are not to be taken for granted, Mr. Rifai said: “To ensure our sector remains competitive, we must address several challenges, which we have set as a priorities at UNWTO, committed to transform these into five major opportunities.”

On a policy level, UNWTO’s message to this year’s ITB underscores the need to improve travel facilitation, considering that about two-thirds of the world´s population to obtain a visa before departure. Air connectivity is another critical area, considering the clear linkages between aviation and tourism, and the fact that over 50% of the world’s international tourists reach their destination by air, while many countries still have disjointed policies between the two sectors. Finally, UNWTO calls for balanced taxation policies on tourism.

These policy areas require for tourism to become a national policy and not a sectoral one, Mr. Rifai said, underscoring that cross-cutting government policies and public-private partnerships are the necessary precursor to any sort of tourism development. “We have before us an opportunity to create new and innovative coalitions for tourism growth; models of cooperation that embrace the tourism public sector and private sectors, but also the civil society and other players coming from areas such as technology, arts, gastronomy or culture”, he said.

The ITB 2014 opening address of the UNWTO Secretary-General recalled that “alongside growth comes responsibility”. With the economic growth, job creation and development opportunities that tourism brings, comes the over-arching challenge of sustainability”, he concluded.

 

Useful links:

Full opening speech by UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai

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 

 

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PR No.: PR 14019

Madrid Precious Time was born back in 2012, when 22 cities came together in Istanbul to identify the challenges facing city tourism today.

The project gathers public and private sector partners from diverse areas such as technology, hospitality, arts and culture, handicrafts, retail, design and insurance, working together to create new and innovative products that would help position Madrid as a ‘Premium’ destination. This prototype aims to serve as a template for collaborative approaches to the development of new tourism products in city destinations.

“There can be no tourism development without a close relationship between public and private sector; we believe the tourism sector needs to find new approaches to public/private sector collaboration to keep pace with the changes in the market and we hope this can become a model for others to follow,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, during the launch of the project.

The Madrid Mayor, Ana Botella, stressed that “this model of public-private collaboration brings together the best of Spain’s and Madrid’s tradition, modernity and innovation.”

Representing the Spanish Government, the Secretary of State of Tourism, Isabel Borrego, underscored: “Sun and beach tourism are not everything Spain has to offer. Further developing city tourism will help to diversify our tourism offer and economy.”

Note to editors:

The UNWTO Madrid Precious Time prototype is led by the UNWTO Affiliate Members, a part of UNWTO membership that gathers companies, academia and destinations, and is thus the perfect framework to test new approaches in tourism collaboration and innovation.

This project represents a practical learning exercise and produces a model that can be replicated in other cities and continuously improved in terms of implementation and innovation; a model that creates higher added value for cities’ tourists and greater and more sustainable benefits for local communities.

 

Useful links:

Affiliate Members Programme 

Video Presentation

 

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.: PR 14014

Under the chairmanship of Pascal Lamy (former Director-General of World Trade Organization - WTO), the World Committee on Tourism Ethics met for the first time in its new constitution as appointed by the UNWTO General Assembly in August 2013.

“The World Committee on Tourism Ethics is not destined to solve major political and economic issues at the global level; it will be a useful instrument in interpreting a frontier area, which is tourism ethics, by binding people together in an operational way”, said Pascal Lamy.

“One billion tourists crossing international borders every year can mean one billion opportunities but also one billion catastrophes; it is up to us to decide. Governments, companies and tourists themselves need to ensure tourism works as a force of good and I am convinced that the new Committee on Tourism Ethics will assist greatly in this endeavor”, said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.

The Action Plan of the Committee for the coming four years will focus on:

• the exploitation of children in all its forms;
• trafficking;
• poaching and the illegal trading of wildlife;
• accessible tourism for all;
•  promotion of fair models of all inclusive holidays; and
• unfounded ratings on travel portals which may impact the reputation of companies  and destinations

The World Committee on Tourism Ethics is an impartial body responsible for interpreting, applying and evaluating the provisions of the the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism.

Note to editors:

The UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism (GCET) is a set of principles designed to guide the development of tourism in a way that maximizes the socio-economic benefits of the sector, while minimizing any negative impacts. It was adopted in 1999 by the UNWTO General Assembly and endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly in 2001.

The World Committee on Tourism Ethics, a subsidiary organ of the UNWTO General Assembly, reports directly to the Assembly. Members are elected in their personal capacities and not as officials of governments or representatives of their countries.

Members: Mr. I Gede Ardika (Former Minister of Tourism of Indonesia), Mr. Yoshiaki Hompo (Former Commissioner of Japan Tourism Agency), Ms. Fiona Jeffery (Former Chair of the World Travel Market), Mr. Khelil Lajmi (Former Minister of Tourism of Tunisia), Mr. Jean Marc Mignon (President, International Organisation for Social Tourism), Ms. Tanja Mihalic (Head of Institute of Tourism, University of Ljubljana), Mr. Ron Oswald (General Secretary, International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers´ Association), Mr. Eugenio Yunis (Executive Vice President, Federation of Tourism Enterprises of Chile); alternate members: Mr. Hiran Cooray (Chairman, Jetwing), Ms. Suzy Hatough (Director of Dar Al-Diafa for Tourism Human Resources Development Consultancy) and Ms. Gunnur Ozalp (Secretary-General, Association of Turkish Travel Agents).

Useful links:

UNWTO Global Code of Ethics for Tourism

World Committee on Tourism Ethics

UNWTO Private Sector Commitment to the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism

Pascal Lamy to chair the World Committee on Tourism Ethics

 

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.: PR 14012

4^th Silk Road Ministers’ Meeting on Visa Facilitation (5 March, 11.00 – 13.00, Hall 7.3, Berlin Room)

The 4^th UNWTO Silk Road Ministers’ Meeting will bring together Ministers of Tourism and high officials to discuss how Silk Road countries can advance visa facilitation in 2014-2015 and beyond. On the occasion, UNWTO will release a new visa facilitation report on the Silk Road countries.

For more information, please click here or contact silkroad@unwto.org (by invitation only)

Launch of the UNWTO/UNODC/UNESCO Anti-trafficking Campaign: Your actions count – help fight trafficking! (5 March, 14.00 – 15.00, Hall 7.1, Auditorium New York 1)

UNWTO, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have joined forces to engage tourists in the global fight against the illicit trafficking. UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, UNODC Executive Director, Yury Fedotov, and UNESCO Director-General, Irina Bokova will co-chair the event.

For more information, please contact comm@unwto.org

Presentation of the UNWTO prototype Madrid Precious Time (5 March, 16.45-17.30)

The UNWTO prototype Madrid Precious Time is a pioneer project developed by the UNWTO Affiliate Members to promote innovative strategies of product development in cities. The project aims to create new and more specialized products with high added value, addressing niche markets and upgrading the quality of the visitor experience.

For more information, please contact am@unwto.og

3^rd Tour Operators’ Forum on the Silk Road (6 March, 11.00-13.00, Palais West)

This year’s Tour Operators Forum will be dedicated to the flourishing Asian section of the Silk Road. Aimed at operators active throughout the historic routes, the Forum will assess the performance and profile of some of the destinations driving the region’s growth, and provide a business platform for tourism stakeholders to network and build partnerships.

For more information and to register, please click here or contact silkroad@unwto.org

UNWTO Press Conference (6 March, 11.00-12.00, ICC, Hall 4/5)

UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, will present the latest figures on international tourism and outline the Organization’s priorities for the year.

For more information and registration, please contact comm@unwto.org

UNWTO African Tourism Ministers Meeting on Anti-Poaching (6 March, 15.00-16.30, ICC, Hall 4/5)

The growing threat posed by poaching on wildlife and the tourism sector in Africa and how to jointly address this issue from the tourism sector side are the focus of the UNWTO African Tourism Ministers Meeting.

For more information, please contact rdaf@unwto.org  (by invitation only)

29^th Meeting of The World Tourism Network on Child Protection (7 March, 10.30-13.00, ICC, Hall 7)

Join UNWTO, governments, the tourism industry, international organizations, NGOs and media associations, in the meeting of the World Tourism Network on Child Protection to curb the exploitation of children in the tourism sector. This year’s Special Session will focus on media partnerships, while the reporting session will be an open platform for exchanging good practices in the protection of children and youth in tourism. 

For more information, please contact ecsr@unwto.org
 

For the complete list of UNWTO activities at ITB 2014 please click here.
 

Visit the UNWTO stand at ITB: 20/127

Useful links:

ITB Berlin 
 

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 

 

Category tags

PR No.: 14008

The Handbook offers a comprehensive collection of perspectives on tourism and peace from leading international specialists with topics ranging from sustainable development and conflict resolution to eco-tourism and heritage preservation and includes several case studies.

On the occasion of the launch, UNWTO Secretary Taleb Rifai stated that “the fundamental experience of tourism – visiting a new place and meeting its people and culture - is a transformative aspect that defines tourism’s role as an agent of peace. In this age of travel, I trust that this Handbook will help enhance our understanding of the subject and open up further possibilities to foster tourism as a valuable instrument for peace.”

Ms. Elisabeth Udolf-Strobl, Director General of the Austrian Ministry of Economy, which supported the project from the beginning, said: "I am very pleased that an Austrian University is carrying out this project in cooperation with the World Tourism Organization. This proves the internationally recognized competence of Austria in tourism and in the field of peace research."

Ambassador Eichtinger from the Austrian Ministry of European and International Affairs praised tourism for its role in intercultural dialogue and exchanges. Quoting the author Mark Twain, he said: “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness….”

The editors of the book, Cordula Wohlmuther and Werner Wintersteiner argue that there are different approaches to the complex topic of “tourism and peace” and that the handbook provides a good overview on this .Based on this diversity they conclude that aspects of “peace sensitive” tourism can be carved out and used by various tourism stakeholders and tourists, as well as international and development organizations.

The number of experts contributing both case studies and theoretical approaches makes the Handbook a unique and powerful contribution to the overall discussion about new pathways to peace. Published by the Centre for Peace Research and Peace Education of the Klagenfurt University (Austria), in cooperation with UNWTO, within the framework of their joint ‘Tourism and Peace’ project, this publication aims to make a substantial academic contribution, while providing also relevant insights for the broader public in presenting tourism as a powerful tool within the international peace building agenda.
 

Note to editors:

In order to better understand and promote the use of tourism as an instrument for peace, UNWTO launched the project ‘Tourism and Peace’ in collaboration with the Austrian Government and the University of Klagenfurt, in 2012. The project aims to build a better knowledge on tourism’s contribution to peace and elaborate recommendations to maximize the use of tourism in peace building, particularly in conflict prevention and reconciliation efforts.

Tourism as a force for peace is reflected in the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics, a set of guidelines for the development of sustainable and responsible tourism, approved by the UNWTO General Assembly in 1999 and endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 2001.

Useful links:

The International Handbook on Tourism and Peace  can be ordered at: www.drava.at or/and by contacting office@drava.at

Tourism and Peace Project

UNWTO Global Code of Ethics
 

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 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