Domestic Tourism Focus as Tourism Leaders Meet in Maldives

• Asia and the Pacific
• 7 Oct 2021

The annual UNWTO Executive Training Programme returned to focus on harnessing the power of domestic tourism to drive recovery and growth in destinations across Asia and the Pacific.

Now in its 15th year, the Training Programme once again served as the leading platform for the region’s tourism leaders to network and develop strategies for guiding the sector forward. The event brought together representatives of 25 countries, with six (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Iran, Sri Lanka, Mongolia and Nepal) joining hosts the Maldives to attend the training sessions in person.

High-level political welcome

The sector needs leaders who can recognize ideas that will make a difference, who will innovate and back entrepreneurs and start-ups

The Minister of Tourism of the Maldives, Dr. Abdulla Mausoom, officially opened the Training Session, welcoming delegates taking part in person and online. Further highlighting the host country’s high-level political support for tourism, the UNWTO leadership also met with the Minister and his colleagues to learn more of plans to diversify its sector and make it more gender equal.

Dr Mausoom thanked UNWTO for the opportunity to host the training sessions, highlighting the Maldives’ commitment to growing tourism back sustainably, with a focus on promoting the islands’ rich culture, heritage and biodiversity. Opening the event, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili stressed that, as tourism restarts in many parts of the world, “the sector needs leaders who can recognize ideas that will make a difference, who will innovate and back entrepreneurs and start-ups”.

Innovation and private sector partnerships

Reflecting the restart of domestic tourism ahead of international tourism, both across Asia and the Pacific and globally, the Executive Training Programme focused on enabling destinations of all sizes to capitalize on this trend. The opening sessions focused on destination management and was led by UNWTO experts alongside key partners including Google, and featured case studies from Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, China, Indonesia, Iran, Mongolia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. This was followed by sessions focusing on the role of innovation and private sector partnerships in growing domestic tourism, with case studies presented by representatives of Bhutan, Macao, China, Maldives, Myanmar, Philippines, Samoa, India and China.  

Building on UNWTO Support for the Maldives  

Since the Maldives re-opened its borders to international tourism in July 2020, arrivals have been steadily increasing. In February 2021, UNWTO signed an agreement with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for the implementation of a project on tourism recovery for the Maldives, working closely with the government and private sector stakeholders to accelerate the safe and sustainable restart of the sector.

The 34th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the UNWTO Commission for South Asia (34th CAP-CSA) will also be hosted by the Maldives next year. It will be held within the framework of Maldives’ celebration of its Golden Jubilee to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its tourism development and its globally recognized status as a world-class tourism destination.

Related Links

• Download the news release in PDF
• UNWTO Regional Department for Asia and the Pacific
• UNWTO World Tourism Barometer, October 2021

Members Plan Coordinated Restart of Tourism Across Asia and the Pacific

• Asia and the Pacific
• 15 Sep 2021

Tourism leaders from across Asia and the Pacific have met to plan the sector’s restart and recovery even as borders remain closed throughout the region.

The 33rd Joint meeting of the World Tourism Organization’s Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and its Commission for South Asia (14 September 2021) came on the back of a challenging year for the region. The first to feel the impacts of the pandemic, the tourism sector of Asia and the Pacific has also been the hardest hit, recording a 95% fall in international arrivals in the first five months of 2021.

Coordinated restart and recovery

With the right policy measures and strong coordination, destinations can start safely welcoming back international visitors, thereby allowing tourism to deliver on its potential as a driver of recovery and inclusive growth

With UNWTO data also showing that this region continues to have the largest proportion of destinations closed to tourists, the Member States taking part in the virtual meetings focused on the coordination of policy measures and strategies to accelerate the recovery of tourism activities in the region. These include the phased lifting on travel restrictions and the introduction of travel corridors. Looking ahead, Members also agreed on the importance of upgrading the skills of the tourism labour force, as well as embracing innovation and digital transformation.

UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “The Asia and Pacific region has a proven record as a dynamic tourism destination. With the right policy measures and strong coordination, destinations can start safely welcoming back international visitors, thereby allowing tourism to deliver on its potential as a driver of recovery and inclusive growth.”

Elections for the Future

The meetings attracted  around 120 participants from 25 of UNWTO’s 29 Member States in the region under the chairmanship of Malaysia and the Maldives. Ahead of the 24th Session of the UNWTO General Assembly (30 November – 3 December 2021, Marrakesh, Morocco) the meeting concluded with elections and nominations for positions within key UNWTO bodies.

India and Iran were nominated to represent South Asia on the UNWTO Executive Council; Cambodia and Maldives were nominated to represent the region as Vice-Presidents of the 24th General Assembly, while Samoa and Bhutan will serve the members on the Credentials Committee.

Malaysia and the Maldives were nominated as Chairpersons to serve their Commissions for a second term, with Fiji and Japan appointed to play the role of Vice-Chairs for the Commission for East Asia and the Pacific, while Bangladesh and Iran will serve as Vice-Chairs for the Commission for South Asia. Finally, Maldives was nominated as the venue for the next Joint Meeting of the two Commissions (CAP and CSA) in 2022, and Indonesia was endorsed as the host of World Tourism Day 2022.

Related Links

• Download the news release in PDF
• UNWTO Regional Department for Asia and the Pacific
• 24th UNWTO General Assembly

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Tourism’s Recovery Strategies Highlighted at WTO ‘Aid for Trade’ Event

• Asia and the Pacific
• 26 Mar 2021

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) partnered with the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) to lead a conversation on what the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on global tourism means for development across the Asia-Pacific region. Held as part of the World Trade Organization’s Aid-for-Trade Stocktaking Event, the special session brought key sector representatives together to assess how the sector can be transformed to drive recovery and build sustainability.

According to the latest data from UNWTO, the pandemic led to a 73% fall globally in international tourist arrivals in 2020. The drop has been even steeper in Asia-Pacific where ADB estimates a decline of over 80% for 2020, as many Asian countries continued to impose strict travel restrictions. This sudden fall has placed the sector’s ability to drive sustainable development forward on hold.

Building Sustainability and Resilience

The special event at WTO, moderated by Anna Fink, Economist at ADB, explored how ‘aid-for-trade’ can be used to build greater sustainability and resilience in the tourism sector. Joining Matthias Helble Senior Economist at the Asian Development Bank and Zoritsa Urosevic Director of Institutional Relations and Partnerships at UNWTO were representatives from the governments of Azerbaijan and New Zealand, and Suzanne Becken, a tourism expert from Griffith University.

ADB’s Matthias Helble shared that, according to latest ADB estimates, a full recovery for the sector is only expected by 2023 at the earliest. Promotion of domestic tourism, as well as the creation of ‘travel bubbles’ that would allow travel to resume between certain destinations, were highlighted as potential strategies for driving recovery in the short-term. The introduction of vaccine passes could further accelerate recovery. However, these measures should only be temporary, and countries ultimately need to prepare for a full opening.

Short and Long-Term Support for Tourism

ADB’s Matthias Helble stressed that a prolonged pandemic puts the survival of large parts of the tourism sector at risk. To help governments finance policy measures that facilitate targeted aid to households and firms most severely affected by the pandemic, ADB launched a $20 billion support package in April 2020. By the end of 2020, ADB had committed $16.3 billion of this package in the form of grants, technical assistance, and loans to developing member governments and the private sector. At the same time, UNWTO has expanded on its support to Member States across the region, including through the launch of the UNWTO Tourism Recovery Technical Assistance Package, delivering expert support to destinations across the historic Silk Road.

For longer-term recovery, UNWTO’s Zoritsa Urosevic stressed the importance of developing a new finance architecture to to adopt and build innovative, low carbon, circular, safe, and inclusive business policies, and instruments for recovery. At the same time, both ADB and UNWTO reiterated the importance of international cooperation and the harmonization of policies, both to restart international tourism and then to monitor and guide future growth to ensure the sector delivers on its potential to drive sustainable development. 

Related links

• Download the news release in PDF
• UNWTO: COVID-19 Response
• 2020: Worst Year in Tourism History with 1 Billion Fewer International Arrivals

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