President Maurico Macri of Argentina was today recognised by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) as its first World Leader for Travel & Tourism. The recognition was announced at the opening ceremony of the 2018 WTTC Global Summit which is taking place on 18 and 19 April in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The WTTC World Leaders for Travel & Tourism initiative recognises serving Heads of State or Government who have shown exceptional support for the sector during their term of office, both within their own country and at the global level.

Since taking office in 2015, President Macri has championed the Travel & Tourism industry by transforming aviation, investing in infrastructure, and putting in place fiscal policies which support business growth and stability. In his speech to the World Economic Forum in January 2018, President Macri highlighted the economic potential for tourism in Argentina, particularly in the north of the country and where significant investment is planned.

In 2017 in Argentina there were a million more air passengers than in 2016, and hotel occupancies the highest ever. According to WTTC data, last year contribution from the Travel & Tourism sector to Argentina’s GDP grew one and a half times faster than the wider economy, showing how the focus on Travel & Tourism is bringing economic benefits and jobs across Argentina.

Gloria Guevara Manzo, President and CEO of WTTC, commented: “President Macri has demonstrated great commitment to the Travel & Tourism sector and we are proud to recognise the President as our first WTTC world Leader for Travel & Tourism. His clear message of Argentina being ‘open for business’ has benefited tourism enormously. President Macri has set the standard for best practice in global leadership within the Travel & Tourism industry as his policies have facilitated continuous growth and economic development within Argentina. Moreover, his leadership extends to the Presidency of the G20 and we thank him for his support for our sector in that forum. On behalf of WTTC and our members, thank you and congratulations.”

The Minister of Tourism for Jamaica, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, CD, MP, is attending the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) Global Summit 2018 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, which is set to begin tomorrow on April 18. Preceding the opening, he attended a T20 “Meeting of Tourism Ministers” at which he submitted a policy brief on Global mainstreaming of small and medium-sized tourism enterprises. The support received was overwhelming. Here eTurboNews shares the brief in full:

Background

This paper seeks to bring attention to an often under-discussed element of our tourism product- the importance of micro, small and medium-sized tourism enterprises (SMTEs) to the sustenance and vitality of the sector. The time has come for us to seriously revisit our strategies for supporting the expansion and improvement of this critical sector of the tourism market. We are well aware that one of the recurrent concerns among many Jamaicans is that the tourism sector does not sufficiently support sustainable development and that there is negligible reinvestment of tourism profits into the domestic economy.

While the benefits and positive contributions of the tourism sector are well-documented and self-evident, there is an emerging global view in many parts of the world that the tourism sector has not maximized its potential to fully contribute to sustainable development. This is due to heavy reliance on foreign imports within the sector, high rates of leakage, insufficient linkages with other segments of the economy and the belief that tourism revenues remain heavily concentrated within the country’s major hotels, especially through the expansion of the all-inclusive concept. I accept the general implications of these views and, through this paper, I am committed to changing this perception by placing greater emphasis on the role of small and medium-sized tourism enterprises (SMTEs) in promoting our tourism growth agenda.

For the purpose of this paper SMTEs can be defined as a collection of services and goods providers supporting the country’s tourism sector. A micro enterprise is defined as an enterprise having an annual turnover of less than US$100,000 with 1-3 employees. A small enterprise, on the other hand, is defined as an enterprise with an annual turnover between US$100,000 and US$500,000 with 4-10 employees while a medium-sized enterprise is an enterprise with an annual turnover between US$500,000 and US$2,000,000 with 11- 50 employees.

Contribution

SMTEs contribute invaluably to tourism development in Jamaica. Jamaica’s tourism sector is dominated by a vast network of small and medium-sized tourism enterprises (SMTEs) including: artisans and craft vendors, attractions and tours, transportation, beauty shops and textiles, duty-free stores, restaurants and eateries, bed and breakfasts, guest houses, farmers and distributors of hotel supplies. The vast network of SMTEs constitute the backbone of the sector, contributing significantly to the authenticity and quality of the tourism experience, enhancing destination competitiveness and contributing to enhanced brand image, the forging of positive local networks and increased productivity.

These enterprises are recognized as important drivers of economic growth and development in Jamaica by creating employment, facilitating wealth creation and forming the backbone for private sector growth and expansion. The activities of SMTEs also create a value chain within the communities and environs of their operations.

Community-based tourism enterprises (CBTEs), for example, pursue sustainable tourism and return economic, cultural, social and environment benefits to the communities in which they operate, either in whole or through joint ventures. They promote the local tourism value chain through linkages, where appropriate, to agriculture, arts and crafts, food service and related small businesses in the communities. Many are also involved in various forms of community outreach.

Many small enterprises in the accommodation sector are already involved in arrangements in which local farmers and community providers supply inputs for food and beverage, entertainment, furnishings and general hotel operations.

Globally, SMTEs account for most of the indirect jobs created through tourism-related activities. They generate employment, income opportunities and wealth by providing a wide array of oftentimes unique and authentic goods, services and experiences for visitors and by supplying many categories of good and services to hotels, especially during peak seasons, such as fruits and vegetables, meat and poultry, handicrafts, chemicals, other hotel supplies.

Cultural and heritage tourism

SMTEs are also the main drivers of cultural/heritage tourism. International tourism trends are pointing to a shift from the traditional ‘sun, sea and sand’ phenomenon towards interactive experiential tourism, one of tourism’s fastest growing sub-sectors, appealing to markets interested in gastronomy, nature, heritage and cultural experiences in the destinations they choose. SMTEs promote cultural/heritage tourism by assuring visitors of an authentic experience. They facilitate the consumption of indigenous cultures through the promotion of a wide range of activities such

as botanical gardens, marine and safari tours, adventure tours, waterfalls, caves, indigenous sites/villages, museums and galleries, archaeological sites, cabins and huts, local restaurants and live music experiences.

SMTEs facilitate unique gastronomic experiences and indulgence in authentic and vibrant folk forms, art and craft and musical heritage. They also stage appealing community festivals and events that showcase local cuisine and agriculture and the heritage of diverse ethnic, social and religious groups.

SMTEs and tourism growth agenda

As we move to fulfill our mandate to reposition tourism as the catalyst of job creation and inclusive growth for all, we believe that there is significant scope for the expansion of the SMTE sector which will allow for more average citizens to capitalize on the vast opportunities for supplying inputs to tourism entities catering to the visitor experience in areas such as accommodations, restaurants, cultural and creative enterprises, entertainment, attractions and tours, agriculture, manufacturing, foreign exchange trading, duty-free shopping and other services.

The involvement of small and medium-sized tourism enterprises (SMTEs) and community-based tourism enterprises (CBTEs) should be encouraged as much as possible. They should be encouraged to take advantage of the competitive strengths of small enterprises e.g. in meeting niche markets and specialized goods and services as exists in food and beverage and creative industries.

In many countries, the long-term structural issues of productive capacity and competitiveness of domestic industries require strategies to improve competitiveness such as identifying suitable niche markets, technology adaptation and innovations, compliance with international standards, reduction and control of production costs and improving marketing information and distribution networks (e.g. through inter-industry consultations, buyer-seller meetings, trade promotion events and expos).

A closer look at our strategic vision for the growth of the tourism sector over the next five years will reveal that the growth of SMTEs will support several of our key objectives such as: strengthening linkages with other sectors of the economy, particularly the agricultural and

manufacturing sectors; strengthening the benefits derived from the industry by local residents and communities; promoting broader participation by all Jamaicans; and ensuring the safety, security and sustainability of the natural and built environments.

Indeed our reinvigorated support for SMTEs is aligned with our broader thrust of strengthening current tourism linkages and identifying new areas of potential linkages with a view to maximizing the potential of the tourism sector for generating sustainable economic livelihoods for a larger number of locals, particularly those residing in communities in and around resort areas. In order for SMTEs to maximize their full potential, we recognize that they will need our help to build their capacities to meet the demands.

Strategies and initiatives

We have already identified the main challenges facing SMTEs such as: high level of informality, lack of commercial orientation, lack of market information and market access, insufficient access to capital for upgrading, limited customer training and low ICT diffusion. In Jamaica, the work of some of our agencies, particularly the Tourism Linkages Network has been helping SMTEs to overcome some of these challenges.

The Tourism Linkages Network for example continues to strengthen and encourage vibrant linkages through a number of initiatives focusing primarily on human capacity-building, assisting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises with their development, greater integration of local products and services into the tourism product and expanding the country’s potential to tap into new segments of the tourism market. This is evident in the establishment of five networks (Gastronomy, Sports & Entertainment, Health & Wellness, Knowledge and Shopping) to diversify the tourism product; to stimulate increased consumption of local goods; to stimulate entrepreneurship and employment; and to generate and retain more of the country’s tourism earnings. We have sought to improve the domestic credit environment for SMTEs through our 1 Billion JMD revolving loan scheme for tourism enterprises.

In 2016, we also initiated the National Community Tourism Portal. This portal has become an excellent marketing tool designed to help local community-based tourism enterprises (CBTEs) keep pace with the competition by: building awareness of community tourism in Jamaica;

providing comprehensive and engaging information on Jamaica’s community tourism product; providing an easy means for making community tourism bookings; and providing CBTEs with affordable and cost effective e-marketing services. The Tourism Product Development Company (TPDCo) also conducts tourism awareness activities and provides technical assistance on ecotourism, Bed & Breakfast (B&B), agro-tourism, cultural heritage tourism, and arts and crafts development projects.

The potential of the craft industry as a driver for growth in the earnings from tourism has long been acknowledged, in spite of its largely informal structure and other challenges to structured development. Five artisan villages are slated to be built across the island. They will be one-stop-shop facilities where visitors can see the creation and merchandising of craft items, while enjoying authentic Jamaican entertainment and leisure activities. It will also provide an avenue for Jamaican artists and craftsmen to expose and express their creativity by producing unique indigenous items, thus, limiting the volume of imported craft items that are being sold in the industry.

Conclusion

In closing, Jamaica’s experience demonstrates not only the importance of the SMTEs but also what mechanisms can be used to allow this sector to reach their full potential. Through this paper, we call for a more substantive focus on this sector as a means of achieving the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We call for dialogue and a deeper engagement among stakeholders to develop strategies and policies to expand and possibly mainstream SMTEs. Through this forum, we call for a conversation between and among stakeholders to conceptualize, strategize and, to develop a blueprint that will provide guidance to SMTEs globally. Jamaica is in the process of organizing a summit on SMTEs and the SDGs. We will provide you with some more details on this event in the coming weeks.

The Honorable Mamahele Radebe, former Minister of Tourism for Lesotho, passed away on Saturday, March 31, 2018, after a long illness.

Thato Mohasoa, who served as Principal Secretary for the Ministry of Tourism Environment and Culture, under the Honorable Minister Mamahele Radebe wrote this tribute in his personal capacity.

We lost Honorable Mamahele Radebe on Saturday, 31st March 2018, after some long illness. We already miss her kind presence and reassuring voice, and if we were to choose, she would still be with us, in good health, here on mother earth.

In her life, this great granddaughter of Chief Lethole of the Makhoakoa (as she affectionately referred to herself), she would see her share of hardship, struggle, uncertainty, lack of offspring of her own, and a loss of a husband to a tragic death. Yet out of those circumstances came a steady, calm and cheerful confidence that life would bring good things. This was the backdrop from which she led her life of principle, compassion, pragmatism, and enormous professional success.

As soon as she retired from an illustrious civil service career, as head of Lesotho’s postal services, she took an active part in Lesotho’s politics, heading north to her home constituency of Hololo, to stand in the elections as a candidate for the All Basotho Convention (ABC). Her moment as Minister of Tourism Environment and Culture arrived in 2012, following the formation of Lesotho’s first Coalition Government. It is in this capacity that both of us came to work together and forged a strong lifetime bond.

As she showed what a minister should be, she also showed us what a human being should be. She carried herself with a decency, attention to small kindnesses, and insatiable humor that also defined a good life. A relationship between a Minister and a Principal Secretary is not easy to manage. These are two people, each endowed with a heavy dose of power. A minister has responsibility to exercise general direction and control over the ministry, while the Principal Secretary is exclusively empowered to provide control and direction over all resources – human and capital. It can, has been, and continues to date, to be a source of deep strive between these two centers of power. It is not a place for blind power mongers. It is a relationship that calls for mutual respect, mutual trust, cooperation, and civility. Our minister had all these qualities. She referred to all of us in the ministry, from myself as her chief advisor, and to all staff, as her colleagues, and treated us as such. But she was much more than that; she was a leader, a counsellor, a mother, and a friend. I learned a lot more from her on the mechanics of the civil service, and on public policy, including on how to navigate the throttling government bureaucracy to get work done, than from anyone I have worked with.

The first Coalition Government established the “Job Summit,” a platform through which government would catalyze job creation and investment promotion. The tourism sector was identified as one of the key pillars of this policy ambition, and we were directed to actualize it. In response, the minister hit the ground running by championing a number of initiatives, which were geared towards repositioning this sector. In the end, among other things, a number of government-owned facilities, which had, hitherto, been rendered as white elephants, were divested to the private sector, through the development of rapid public-private partnership transactions, resulting in increased capital investment, increased employment of Basotho, as well as an upsurge in the number of tourists coming into Lesotho.

Our minister represented our country with dignity on the world stage, and forged meaningful and mutually-beneficial relations on its behalf. Some of us cannot forget her charm that led to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Our Ministry and South-Africa’s Provinces of Kwazulu-Natal and Free-State, on Joint Cooperation on the Cableway Project, on the north-east of the country, along the Drakensberg. In our meeting with the South-African tourism officials, she argued that the coming to life of the project, while it would promote tourism and strengthen trade between the two countries, it would also, in her words, “continue to accessorize our relationship,” citing the successful inscription of the Sehlaba-Thebe National Park, as a world heritage site – a commendable work heavily supported by South-Africa -, as a case in point for continued collaboration.

She fought hard to ensure that Lesotho’s voice was always heard in international platforms. The unfortunate truth about international relations is that it is always biased towards the bigger states. Our minister would not just stand by and accept this as a norm. She was a lead voice for the restructuring of the Regional Tourism Organization of Southern-Africa (RETOSA), and successfully fought against what was manifesting as an oligarchy in charting the region’s tourism agenda. She also strongly advocated for the establishment of an office within the SADC Secretariat which would be dedicated to the Arts and Craft sector, arguing that this sector, as part of the global creative economy, has seen consistent growth and shown capacity to forge even stronger links with the tourism sector in the region.

She fretted over a lack of proper and coordinated management of the environment in Lesotho and longed for the day this matter could be urgently attended to, as a collective government priority. In line with this vision, she made it her mission to personally submit Lesotho’s request before the Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), to help set up an Environmental Management Agency, a body to be tasked with responsibility for ensuring sustainable management of natural resources, protection of the environment, and for promulgating sound policies and practices.

She was an imperfect politician, for while politics can be divisive and partisan, she made it her habit to reach out to opponents, as and when it was necessary to do so. She would find it effortless to befriend Keketso Rants’o, then of the Lesotho Congress for Democracy (LCD); to request LCD colleague to stand in for her as Minister of Tourism while she was off duty, or for that matter to sit down with her successor, a member of the Democratic Congress (DC) and decently provide guidance, as part of hand over. This is a person who would not shy to complain during Parliament’s recess that she missed watching “Qoo’s antics” in parliament. She was in short, not mean-spirited.

Our minister was benevolent and altruistic. I cannot recall the number of members of her family and of community that she was taking care of; it would be a sick relative, needy members of the community looking for clothing, food or shelter, a member of the party, a rural school, or a church in need. She always found a way around intervening for them. When a staff member was bereaved, she would be the first one to arrive at the home to offer condolences, or if she is far away, she would not hesitate to commiserate by phone, while apologizing for not being there in person. When our National Library team informed her of a plan to donate a “mobile home” to the Maseru Central Prison, for use as classrooms by inmates, she got excited and instructed, “Give them books and stationery as well.”

Our boss had a great sense of humor and possessed ability to laugh out loud into the horizon. When I arrived to help her settle her overrun hotel bill in Vienna, Austria, she joked that I nearly found her already washing dishes in the hotel kitchen, as settlement, quipping, “Here they make you pay even for a sachet of sugar.” For many times she recounted how unfairly she was removed from the Board of the Post Bank, after discovering that she had joined the opposition ABC. The story centers around this particular Board Meeting in which she forgot to put her phone on silence. During the proceedings, her phone rang, and unfortunately for her, in the house full of LCD supporters, her ring tone was an ABC praise-song, which belted out, urging Thabane to take over Mosisili’s government! The house went silent while she frantically reached out to silence the goddam phone. The following day she received a letter of dismissal from the Board. Her typical reaction; she took the letter, looked at it, laughed at it all the way to Hololo where she was going to register to stand as ABC candidate in a by-election in that constituency. The rest, as they say, is history.

We have been missing her for a while now due to ill health, and now death, but her magical effect on the lives of the many of us shall remain for eternity. While we are saddened by her passing on, we draw strength from the Holy Bible (Revelations 21:4) that, “… God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.” We take these words to be true and are comforted that she is out of pain and home safe now with her husband, in heaven.

Vinicius Lummertz has become the new Minister of Tourism in Brazil.

Previously President of the Brazilian Tourism Board’s – EMBRATUR, Mr. Lummertz takes the position today, April 10, following on from Mr. Marx Beltrão.

Vinicius Lummertz holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the American University of Paris, a postgraduate degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School, in the IMD of Lausanne, Switzerland, and an Executive MBA from Amana Key in São Paulo.

Lummertz takes on the responsibility of continuing the process of modernizing the sector, reducing bureaucracy and boosting tourism as a strategic activity for the country’s economic growth.

The new chairman of Embratur will be announced in the next days.