PR No.: PR 18044

Adding his voice to that of the host country, Mr. Pololikashvili advocated for stronger partnerships and incentives for governments, businesses and crucially tourists themselves to make a difference in climate action efforts. He also made clear that sound policies must be built upon accurate evidence, requiring the tourism sector to better measure its impact on sustainability – while acknowledging progress has been made in this regard, including UNWTO’s development of a statistical framework to measure sustainable tourism.

The remarks were made as part of a regional seminar on how tourism impacts upon sustainable development efforts in the region and globally, held as part of the meeting in the Fijian city of Nadi. The seminar featured deep dialogue on how tourism policies, partnerships and investments can tackle climate change and biodiversity loss.

This was the first Joint Commission meeting held in a Pacific island nation. The meeting and seminar highlighted the need for developing island countries to collaborate on actionable policies, with measurable results, to address climate change and biodiversity protection within the tourism sector. UNWTO also pledged to raise further awareness of climate change’s impacts and effects on tourism through capacity building and educational opportunities.

“This is the perfect place to have this conversation on climate change, as Fiji continues to lead the efforts on climate resilience and sustainability not only within the country but in the entire region. This was also demonstrated during the Global Climate Summit COP 23, when the Government of Fiji committed to the development of sustainable tourism as a tool to tackle climate change”, said Mr. Pololikashvili.

Useful links:

Programme of the 30th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the UNWTO Commission for South Asia

Photos of the event

Contacts:

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

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

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The UNWTO.TedQual Programme is pleased to announce that the following Tourism Education programmes at the National Institute of Development Administration, Thailand, have been awarded the UNWTO.TedQual Certification:

First Certification:

• Master of Arts Program Integrated Tourism Management
• Doctor in Philosophy Program in Integrated Tourism Management

List of Institutions with UNWTO.TedQual certified tourism education and training programmes available

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PR No.: PR 18040

Partnering with technology providers is among UNWTO’s main priorities. Against this backdrop, creating and sharing knowledge and policy lessons on the digital transformation was among the central aspects of this year’s edition, which included the participation of technology startups of the host country (Bangkok Food Tours, HiveSters, LocalAlike and Trawell).

The startups presented workshops to all participants focusing on the gastronomy tourism offer in Thailand, how to use technology to better reach tourists and showcasing their initiatives.

“Gastronomy is a major driver for tourists when choosing a destination, inspite of which the potential of gastronomy tourism has still to be seized as an intangible cultural heritage. Gastronomy tourism is about harnessing technology to tell a story about people and places to preserve and promote authenticity in local communities”, said UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili.

The Minister of Tourism and Sports of Thailand, Mr. Weerasak Kowsurat, underscored how “local communities can strengthen themselves and feel proud of their culture through gastronomy tourism”. Referring to the overall economic impact, he added that “agriculture and tourism are significant job creators throughout the country, and Thai cuisine helps us boost tourism expenditure”.

The UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism aims to promote innovative ideas that can help the development of gastronomy tourism worldwide. The ideas put forward during the previous editions of this forum are always founded upon sustainable development and new product development in gastronomy tourism.

On the occasion, UNWTO launched the Report on Gastronomy Tourism: The Case of Japan.

The 2019 edition of the UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism will take place in San Sebastian, Spain followed by Flandres, Belgium, in 2020.

Additional information:

Closing remarks from the UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism

4^th UNWTO World Forum on Gastronomy Tourism website

UNWTO Gastronomy Network 2016 – 2017 Action Plan

Report on Gastronomy Tourism: The Case of Japan

Photo gallery of the event

Contacts:

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

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

The UNWTO Silk Road Programme and its participating Member States were strongly represented at the International Mayors’ Forum on Tourism in Zhengzhou, China. Held from 27 to 30 May 2018, the forum attracted mayors from 95 cities across 28 countries, plus numerous official representatives from China.

On the first day during the launch of the Belt and Road Tourist City Mayors’ Summit, a part of the overall forum, Mr. Zhu Shanzhong, Executive Director of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), gave an opening speech focused on the need to create new and unified tourism products capable of transcending individual destinations. In this sense, the Maritime Silk Road, a key transnational initiative currently being developed by the Silk Road Programme, was presented as a best-practice example.

The findings of the preliminary research on “Tourism on the 21st century Maritime Silk Road: impacts and opportunities” were outlined to delegates by Mr. Robert Travers, UNWTO’s lead research expert.

More information can be found here.

The 2018 International Mayor’s Forum on Tourism (IMFT)-Zhengzhou, China-jointly held by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of People's Republic of China and the People’s Government of Henan Province in collaboration with World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), will be held in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, from 27 to 30 May, 2018.

Under the theme of “City Tourism Innovation in an Era of Sharing Economy”, IMFT 2018 will bring together knowledge and experience from mayors of worldwide tourism cities, as well as experts of international organizations, through a variety of activities, including “Belt and Road” Tourism Cities Summit, Symposium, International Tourism Cities Exhibition & Show, to explore what role tourism can play significantly in pushing sustainable urban development.

Contact Details:

Liason Office of Forum Organizing Committee:

Ms. Lettice Wu

Email:mayorforum@163.com