PR No.: PR13063
A new report by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) shows that visa facilitation could create up to 2.6 million new jobs in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) economies by 2016. The report was presented on the occasion of the APEC High Level Policy Dialogue (Bali, Indonesia, 1 October 2013).
The report The Impact of Visa Facilitation in APEC Economies indicates that although there has been successful collaboration and advances across the APEC region to facilitate visas, including progressive approaches to implement new visa policies, 21% of expected international tourists arriving into APEC over the period 2014-2016 would still be required to obtain a traditional visa prior to travel under current visa policies.
Facilitating visas for these tourists could create as much as 2.6 million additional jobs in the APEC economies by 2016 and an additional US$ 89 billion in international tourism receipts generated by 57 million more tourists visiting APEC destinations.
Hosting the meeting, the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia, Mari Elka Pangestu, highlighted that the importance of tourism as a vehicle of job creation, economic growth and development in Asia Pacific has been acknowledged by APEC leaders through the launch, in 2011, of the APEC Travel Facilitation Initiative.
“The challenge now is to establish cooperation between officials working in tourism, finance, customs, immigration, security, transportation and airport authorities which are in different working groups. In 2013, through this High Level Policy Dialogue on Travel Facilitation held in Bali, for the fist time, there is an attempt of coordination across fora and we hope to end up with some action plans on visa and travel facilitation,” explained Minister Pangestu
Addressing the APEC High Level Policy Dialogue, UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, called on APEC leaders to look at the opportunities arising from visa facilitation. “This report clearly shows that placing visa facilitation as a national priority can translate into significant socio-economic benefits in terms of income and jobs generated by the growth of tourism demand. APEC has been a leading organization in terms of regional integration and we believe that visa facilitation can contribute significantly to advance APEC’s objectives and the balanced growth of its economies”.
David Scowsill, President & CEO, WTTC, said: “Encouraging freedom to travel is a key strategic priority for WTTC. It is a simple step for Governments which creates jobs, economic growth and incalculable social benefits. This report lays bare for the first time the precise opportunity in APEC economies and demands to be taken seriously by the region’s Governments.”
In spite of the great strides made in recent decades to facilitate tourist travel all over the world, there are still important areas of opportunity, namely considering the possibilities to maximize the use of information and communication technologies in improving visa procedures. Further opportunities include improving the delivery of information, facilitating current processes to obtain visas, differentiated treatment to facilitate tourist travel, instituting eVisa programmes and establishing regional agreements for visa facilitation. UNWTO and WTTC have been working closely together in recent years to promote the value of visa facilitation as a means to stimulate economic growth and development, namely through joint regional studies and cooperation with the T20, the World Economic Forum (WEF), APEC and the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
Useful links:
Facilitation of Tourist Travel
Report: The Impact of Visa Facilitation in APEC Economies
Contacts:
UNWTO
Principal Media Officer: Marcelo Risi
Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60
WTTC
Communications Director: Toby Nicol
Tel: (+44 ) 20 7481 6483
PR No.: PR13029
UNWTO, the Government of Morocco and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) signed an agreement to support the Ministry of Tourism of Morocco in the implementation of a new classification system for tourism accommodation establishments. Strengthening the quality of accommodation across all establishments is central to consolidate the competitiveness of Morocco as a tourism destination.
The project will build capacity within the Ministry of Tourism to set up a new classification system for the accommodation establishments, a central part of Morocco’s tourism strategy «Vision 2020». The new system should elevate the competitiveness of the hotel industry in Morocco according to international standards while creating a true culture of quality among the accommodation industry.
The agreement contemplates furthermore actions to raise awareness among tourism accommodation establishments and relevant stakeholders of the need for a new classification system, in order to ensure its sustainable implementation.
«This initiative will contribute to the economic and social development of Morocco as it creates opportunities to advance the quality of its tourism sector», said UNWTO Executive Director for Programme and Coordination, Fréderic Pierret, in signing the agreement on behalf of UNWTO.
The project, financed by the Government of Morocco, will be implemented by UNWTO who will provide technical assistance to the Ministry of Tourism between 2013 and 2018.
Morocco is the leading tourism destination in North Africa, with almost 10 million international tourist arrivals in 2012 and US$ 6.7 bn in revenues 2012. A UNWTO member since 1975, Morocco has shown a remarkable tourism growth, with international tourist arrivals more than doubling over the last decade. Much of this expansion was supported by its open skies policy and the diversification of its tourism product.
Contacts:
Principal Media Officer: Marcelo Risi
Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60
UNWTO Communications Programme
Tel: +34 91-567-8100
Fax: +34 91-567-8218
PR No.: PR12061
Tourism is one of the most effective ways to preserve Africa’s national parks and protected areas while creating jobs and income for local communities. This was one of the main conclusions of the First Pan-African Conference on Sustainable Tourism in African National Parks, organized by UNWTO and the Government of Tanzania (Arusha, Tanzania, 15-18 October 2012).
“Nature is one of Africa’s greatest assets,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, opening the Conference. “Many of the 50 million international tourists visiting Africa each year are driven by the continent’s unparalleled wildlife and natural scenery. These tourists spend in the local economy, sustain jobs and provide an incentive for conservation, making tourism a powerful engine for sustainable development.”
The importance of sustainable tourism development for national parks and the people living in and around them was echoed in the Arusha Declaration on Sustainable Tourism in African National Parks, adopted by attending tourism ministers, tourism private sector representatives and conservation officials.
Signatories to the Declaration underlined the importance of good governance in managing park tourism, calling for collaborative action among the relevant stakeholders, particularly between public authorities and the private sector. The Declaration further stressed “the need to directly involve local communities in the management of parks and protected areas to ensure they gain concrete benefits in terms of employment and income generation”.
Knowledge exchange between African countries should be prioritized, agreed signatories, given the potential for countries with more limited experience in park tourism to benefit from best practices elsewhere in Africa.
Relevant links:
First Pan-African Conference on Sustainable Tourism in African National Parks
The Arusha Declaration on Sustainable Tourism in African National Parks
Contacts:
UNWTO Principal Media Officer: Marcelo Risi
Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60
UNWTO Communications Programme
Tel: +34 91-567-8100
Fax: +34 91-567-8218
PR No.: PR12056
UNWTO has partnered with Casa Africa, a Spanish Government institution mandated to foster stronger ties between Spain and Africa, to promote the development of sustainable tourism across the African continent.
“This agreement will allow UNWTO and Casa Africa to reinforce Africa’s capacity to employ tourism as an effective instrument of socio-economic development and poverty reduction,” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, signing the agreement alongside Casa Africa Director-General, Santiago Martínez-Caro.
“Activities will be undertaken to support better tourism policies in Africa, as well as to create employment opportunities through increased investment in, and marketing of, African destinations,” he added.
The agreement formalizes the already on-going collaboration between UNWTO and Casa Africa, which stretches back to 2010 with the creation of The Tourism Investment and Business Forum for Africa (INVESTOUR). Held annually at the international Spanish tourism trade fair FITUR, in the capital Madrid, INVESTOUR aims to increase the visibility of Africa as a tourism destination and mobilize investment for sustainable tourism projects in the region.
“There are huge business opportunities in the Africa tourism sector,” said Mr. Martínez-Caro. “This initiative allows Spanish businesses to sit down with their African counterparts and invest in viable tourism projects in Africa.”
To date, over 40 African countries have participated at INVESTOUR, opening up their destinations to the Spanish outbound and investment market. The 4th edition of INVESTOUR will take place on 31 January 2013.
International tourism in Africa has almost doubled since 2000, growing from 26 million international tourist arrivals to 50 million in 2011. International tourism receipts, a vital source of foreign exchange in the region, tripled in just one decade (from US$ 10 billion in 2000 to US$ 33 billion in 2010).
Useful links:
UNWTO Regional Programme for Africa
Contacts:
Principal Media Officer: Marcelo Risi
Tel: (+34) 91 567 81 60
UNWTO Communications Programme
Tel: +34 91-567-8100
Fax: +34 91-567-8218
