PR No.: 15089

Over twenty countries were represented at the 4^th UNWTO International Conference ‘Tourism and the Media’ that took place in Tunis under the patronage of the Ministry of Tourism and Handicrafts of Tunisia.

«The creation of new partnerships between tourism and media is an excellent opportunity for dialogue. Tourism, as does the media, has the noble mission of making people travel around the world, bringing cultures closer together and promoting the values of tolerance and solidarity ” said the Minister of Tourism and Handicrafts of Tunisia, Salma Elloumi Rekik.

“Media constitute major stakeholders for the tourism sector, not only in terms of disseminating information, but also with regard to connecting with the public to promote a better understanding of the sector and the principles of sustainable tourism development.” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, opening the Conference.

Talking about Tunisia he added “Tunisia is an example to the world in the way it is consolidating its democracy, as recognized by the recent award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the National Dialogue Quartet. Tunisia is also a destination of excellence and a long-term leader in the region and the world. We at UNWTO are fully confident in the ability of Tunisia’s tourism sector to overcome the current challenges and regain momentum”.

“Accuracy, responsibility and transparency are the framework in which we, the journalists, should operate,” said Jim Bittermann, CNN anchor and key note speaker at the Conference.

Bridging the gap

Sanam Shantyaei, from France 24, emphasized that “journalists need to be approached by those working in the tourism sector in an appropriate manner and with adequate resources as media constitutes the main channel to the general public.”

In that sense, the impact of media was underlined by most of the speakers, like Taieb Zahar, Director of the Tunisian magazine ‘Réalités’ who stated that “the work of journalists currently has a great impact in the image and positioning of countries.”       

Communicating in times of crisis was also addressed during the Conference with participants stressing the need for professional coverage but also access to information and facilitation of resources from tourism authorities in a timely manner.

In that regard, Mr Richard Barnes, Editor-in-Chief at Cleverdis gave some recommendations to parties involved in the tourism sector.  “Tourism authorities should look to the different channels to reach media, not only through press releases, for instance. If they communicate with the tourism agencies, they will reach also the general public and this will be a great plus for the country,” he said.        

As the Conference aimed at fostering a new framework of interaction with the media, a number of recommendations were emphasized through the different debates and exchanges. Among those, “be credible, close, on target, available, transparent, realistic, a facilitator, useful to and respectful of the media angle” were underlined.

“Media is the best partner that you can have, so do not be afraid of the media as journalists are the best catalyzer of your work”, concluded Mr Taleb Rifai, UNWTO Secretary General closing the event.

Useful links:

4th UNWTO International Conference on Tourism and the Media - Building new partnerships

UNWTO Regional Programme for Africa

Watch the conference on Youtube

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.: 15086

The seventh edition of INVESTOUR will be held on 21 January 2016 in Madrid during the 36th edition of the Spanish tourism fair, FITUR.  Since its launch in 2010, the Forum has been an opportunity to boost the investment and business opportunities in the tourism sector in Africa among Spanish and Portuguese companies.

The event includes two sessions: one composed of a round table discussion on tourism and investment in Africa and a second one with business-to-business (B2B) meetings between African tourism project leaders and potential international partners.

The 2015 edition of INVESTOUR broke records with a total of 306 participants from 42 countries, 17 Ministers of Tourism of Africa and the Middle East, 50 companies and almost 150 African projects presented at the Forum.

This agreement constitutes a step forward in the commitment of INVESTOUR organizers to strengthen its role as strategic platform for the promotion of tourism in Africa in the Spanish market.

The agreement was signed by Carlos Vogeler, Director, Executive Secretary of Members Relations of UNWTO, Luis Eduardo Cortés, Vice President of the IFEMA Executive Committee, Luis Padrón, Director General of Casa África and Rafael Gallego CEO of CEAV.

Registration

Useful links:

VII Tourism Investment and Business Forum for Africa (INVESTOUR)

UNWTO Regional Programme for Africa

Contacts:

UNWTO Senior Media Officer: Rut Gómez Sobrino

Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60 

UNWTO Communications & Publications Programme

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

PR No.: 1500x

African Tourism Ministers, led by the UNWTO CAF Chairperson and Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry of Zimbabwe, H.E. Dr. Eng. Walter Mzembi, together with the Executive Director for Technical Cooperation and Services of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Zhu Shanzhong, met the Chairperson of the African Union (AU), Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, to discuss the role of tourism in the AU’s 2063 Agenda on 19 October 2015 at the organization’s Headquarters, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. 

During the meeting Ministers reinforced the importance of placing the tourism sector higher in the Agenda of the AU. Dr. Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma commended UNWTO and the CAF Chairman for this important initiative and recognized that due to the socio-economic importance and the transversal nature of tourism there was indeed a great need to ensure that the sector is mainstreamed in the AU agenda 2063. UNWTO Executive Director for Technical Coorperation and Services, Zhu Shanzhong also used the opportunity to assure the AU Chairperson, of UNWTO‘s commitment to work with and in support of African Tourism Ministers to bring the tourism sector to the fore in the discussions with the AU.

The meeting follows up the MOU signed between UNWTO and the AU in July 2014. In this context, Dr. Elham Ibrahim, African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, has since participated at several UNWTO activities strengthening the relationship between UNWTO and the AU and providing an opportunity to discuss the need of mainstreaming tourism in the AU agenda 2063. 

In conclusion, the AU Chairperson suggested the inclusion of tourism on the agenda of the upcoming meeting of the AU African Finance Ministers to be held in March 2016 and invited African Tourism Ministers to participate. The meeting was also attended by the Minister of Culture and Tourism of Ethiopia, Aisha Mohammed Mussa, delegates from Cameroon, Ghana and Zimbabwe. The outcome of the meeting was subsequently shared with the AU Permanent Representatives' Committee for  information. 

In order to be able to meet the needs of as many Member States as possible, the UNWTO has developed a capacity building programme on tourism statistics. Tourism statistics are necessary for designing marketing strategies, strengthening inter-institutional relations, evaluating the efficiency and effectiveness of management decisions and measuring tourism throughout the national economy.

This program will span over a period of three years (2016-2018) and will include a series of capacity building workshops for officials from National Tourism Administrations (NTA), National Statistical Offices (NSO), Central Banks (CB), and Migration Authorities (MA).  The program is being jointly organized by UNWTO and the Ministry of National Planning, Tourism and Handicrafts, Government of the Republic of Algeria.. (read more)

The first capacity building workshop will take place in the beautiful city of Oran, Algeria, 24-26 October 2016, in Le Méridien Oran Hotel & Convention Centre. UNWTO will also conduct the workshops with the close collaboration of The Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), as partner for the event.