PR No.: 16041

Premier Li Keqiang emphasized tourism’s capacity to stimulate economic growth, create jobs and foster inclusive development. “As we look for new drivers of growth, tourism has a very important role to play not only for its direct impact but also for the value it adds to other sectors,” he said. During the occasion, China announced the launch of an international tourism cooperation plan.

Addressing the conference the President of Mozambique, Filipe Jacinto Nyussi, emphasized that inclusion through tourism requires investment in education and capacity building.

The links between development and peace were stressed by UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, who said: “There can be no development without peace and no peace without development”.

In a message delivered to the conference by the UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Mr Wu Hongbo, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said: “When tourism is well-managed, it has tremendous capacity to create decent jobs, provide opportunities for inclusion and education, and contribute to preserving cultural heritage and the environment.”

The conference included three main panel sessions dedicated to the contribution of tourism to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), to poverty alleviation and to peace.

During the summit session, moderated by CNN’s Richard Quest, participants called for an integrated approach to tourism development that can contribute effectively to the SDGs. Issues discussed included effective resource management, the role of the private sector and the need for the SDGs to be understood by all - citizens, policy makers, and the business community.  

Participants in the session on tourism and poverty underlined that there is a lack of understanding and research on the impact of the sector on poverty levels. They called for better monitoring, measuring and communication through both solid indicators and people-centered stories.

The third session of the conference, dedicated to tourism and peace, stressed how people-to-people diplomacy is inherent to tourism while calling for investment in education and youth to build more stable societies.

The full list of speakers included: the Vice-Presidents of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mauritius and Vanuatu, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Wu Hongbo, representing the UN Secretary-General, ministers and high-level tourism officials from Argentina, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Germany, Georgia, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Lithuania, Malta, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, UK, USA, Vanuatu and Zimbabwe, and SDG Advocate Ambassador Dho Young-Shim, as well as representatives of the World Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JAICA), the World Tourism Cities Federation, the Petra National Trust Fund, the Beijing Municipality, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Guizhou Province.

Additional information:

- Programme of the Conference

- UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Message

- Speech by UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai

- Address by Premier Li Keqiang

- Address by Vice-Premier Wang Yang

- Beijing Declaration 

- Resource section

- Pictures of the Conference

 

Contacts:

UNWTO Media Officer Rut Gomez Sobrino
Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60 

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218 

PR No.: 16040

The conference is expected to bring together 1.000 public and private representatives from over 100 countries to discuss tourism’s role in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a particular focus on tourism’s capacity to fight poverty and build peaceful societies.

“Tourism’s capacity to contribute to more sustainable societies is reflected in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with the inclusion of tourism in three of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals - Goal 8 on economic growth and jobs; Goal 12 on sustainable production and consumption, and Goal 14 on marine conservation. Yet, tourism’s cross-cutting nature and multiplier effect on many other sectors positions it perfectly to advance all 17 Goals. This conference will be fundamental in engaging tourism leaders from around the world in this universal agenda,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai.

“This conference is also a great example of our cooperation with the Government of the People’s Republic of China and reflects China’s commitment to make tourism a driver of inclusive development,” he added.   

The summit session, moderated by CNN’s Richard Quest, will discuss on how countries can align their tourism development with the SDGs, how the private sector can fully adopt the Goals and what national measures are critical to deliver on the Goals.

The Conference includes two other sessions: one on the role of tourism in poverty alleviation and the development agenda, and the second on tourism and peace.

Speakers include the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs, Wu Hongbo, representing UN Secretary-General, as well as Ministers and high-level tourism officials from Argentina, Bahrain, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Czech Republic, Ethiopia, Germany, Georgia, Indonesia, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Lithuania, Malta, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, UK, USA, Vanuatu and Zimbabwe.

Tourism representatives will be joined by Ambassador Dho Young-Shim, Member of the UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocacy Group, representatives of the World Bank, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JAICA), the World Tourism Cities Federation, the Petra National Trust Fund, the Beijing Municipality, the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guizhou and Yunnan Provinces.

Representing the private sector will be Shun-Tak Holdings, Kuoni Group, tuniu.com, the Beijing Tourism Group, the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), the Japan Association of Travel Agents, The Travel Corporation, the China National Travel Service (HK) Group Corporation and Ctrip.com. 

Additional information: 

- Programme of the Conference

- Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals

- Tourism and Peace 

- Tourism and Poverty Alleviation

Contacts:

UNWTO Media Officer Rut Gomez Sobrino
Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60 

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218 

PR No.: PR16034

On the occasion, a total of 29 countries signed the text of the Agreement that establishes the Organization. More countries are expected to join the sign-up before the beginning of the formal ratification and acceptance process.

The new International Organization results from the transformation of the UNWTO STEP Foundation into an international organization. The Foundation, based in the capital of the Republic of Korea, was launched in 2002 as a UNWTO initiative to harness the power of tourism to promote development and fight poverty, with a special focus on people living on less than a dollar a day. Hundreds of tourism professionals and government officials in developing countries benefitted from the work of the Foundation in the last decade. At its 20th session in 2013, the UNWTO General Assembly approved the transformation of the Foundation into an independent international organization to be headquartered in Korea.

The success of the ST-EP initiative was possible with the support of its partners including, among others, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, the Flemish Government as well as Macau SAR. The Government of the Republic of Korea in particular has provided its full political and financial support enabling the Foundation to implement some 115 projects in more than 40 countries.

Meeting with the Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yun Byung-se, Mr. Rifai thanked the government of the Republic of Korea for its leading role in the work of ST-EP initiative. "Culture and tourism are an important part of Korea's foreign policy" and the government will continue to support tourism initiatives both at home and abroad”, said Mr. Yun.

“Since its launch in 2002, the ST-EP Initiative has grown from strength to strength, bringing new opportunities to many around the world and contributing significantly to poverty reduction and sustainable development. Thanks to the generous support from all our partners, namely the Government of the Republic of Korea, we were able to build up a portfolio of 115 ST-EP projects around the world, benefiting more than 40 countries” said UNWTO Secretary General during the ceremony.

In his remarks, Mr. Kim Jongdeok, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, pointed out the importance of the ST-EP Organization in contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “Moving forward, the Republic of Korea will continue to support the International ST-EP Organization in achieving its full potential, and I humbly request our fellow countries gathered here to join us in the years to come” he said.

Under the direction of Ambassador Dho Young-shim, Chairperson of the Foundation, the new International ST-EP Organization will continue to address the challenges of poverty reduction through tourism.

On the occasion of his visit to the Republic of Korea, Mr Rifai also visited Andong, at the invitation of the Governor of the Gyeongsangbukdo Province, Kim Kwan-yong. The Province will host the 2016 Silk Road International Culture and Tourism Forum in November 2016 in the city of Gyeongju, strengthening its collaboration with UNWTO on culture and its linkages with tourism.

During his visit, Mr Rifai opened the UNWTO Asia-Pacific Executive Training Programme on Tourism Policy and Strategy (29 March to 1 April) held in Seoul. The Programme, supported by the Government of the Republic of Korea, celebrated 10th anniversary. This year’s edition, dedicated to human capital development, was attended by representatives of 21 UNWTO Member States from the region.

Useful links:

http://step.unwto.org/

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.: 16025

Group discussions, case studies and a series of lectures integrated the 4-day training programme aimed at building skills for public sector executives in tourism policy. The 52 participants coming from 21 different countries in Asia and the Pacific also had the opportunity to share their experiences and best practices in fields such as tourism strategic planning and implementation.  

The topic for this year programme, ‘Human Capital Development in Tourism’, responds to the growing need of destinations in Asia and in the Pacific to enhance the quality of services, develop and retain human resources and improve the skills of tourism professionals as the sector gains increased relevance in the region.

“UNWTO has a strong commitment to talent development and capacity building. This training programme is probably one of the best examples of the efforts of the Organization in this field”, said UNWTO Secretary General, Taleb Rifai, opening the event.

“This is also a perfect example of how countries such as the Republic of Korea can contribute to tourism development. We are very thankful to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism for the longstanding support provided to this programme. We have run this programme for a decade now, and the support that the Republic of Korea has given us has contributed greatly to its success, making a real difference to the many countries from around the world that throughout this decade have joined the programme” he added.

 Useful links:

Website of the 10^th UNWTO Executive Training Programme on Tourism Policy and Strategy

 

Contacts:

UNWTO Media Officer Rut Gomez Sobrino
Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60 

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

Tel: (+34) 91 567 8100 / Fax: +34 91 567 8218 

UNWTO International Conference on Heritage Tourism:

How Do We Foster, Present and Preserve World Treasures?

Nara, Japan

February 24-26, 2016

 

From February 24-26, the UNWTO International Conference on Heritage Tourism was co-organized by the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) with support from the Nara Prefectural Government and focused on the question: How Do We Foster, Present and Preserve World Treasures? The conference took place in Nara, Japan home to the Monuments of Ancient Nara, inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998.

There were 185 participants in attendance from the public and private sectors, international organizations, non-profits, and academic institutions representing 36 countries from around the world. Speakers and participants shared their experiences in developing and promoting heritage tourism and the challenges they’ve encountered to maintain sustainable levels of visitation.

Ms. Yuri Furusawa, Vice Commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency opened the conference by speaking of Japan’s commitment to become “a tourism oriented country” and the importance of the election of Japan to the Executive Council of UNWTO. Mr. Hae-Guk Hwang Regional Deputy Director for Asia and the Pacific at UNWTO highlighted Japan’s impressive achievement to have a 45% growth for inbound tourism with an extraordinary 55% increase in earnings through November 2015. He also emphasized UNWTO’s commitment to further study the integration of tourism and culture with the establishment of the Tourism and Culture office UNWTO Headquarters in Madrid, Spain.  Mr. Turuo Namikoshi, Vice Governor of Nara Prefecture, officially welcomed welcomed all of the participants to Nara Prefecture and emphasized the rich heritage found throughout the prefecture. The conference consisted of three sessions: 1) Compatibility of Preservation and Utilization 2) Refinement of Tourism Resources 3) Sustainable Utilization.

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Full Report is able to be downloaded here