By Dean M. Bernardo, eTN Manila.

Manila, the Philippines (21 June 2017) – UNWTO – Six heads of statistic agencies of six nations agreed to take part in crafting a global standardized form of metrics in determining and assessing data on tourism.

In the afternoon session of day one of the 6th United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) International Conference on Tourism Statistics held at Manila, the heads of statistics agencies for Oman, Kenya, Belarus, South Africa, Indonesia and Fiji affirmed the need for a framework on measuring performance in tourism.

UNWTO Regional Director for the Asia-Pacific region Xu Jing said the data generated from the statistics of every country’s tourism sector will help contribute in “capacity building.”

Xu cited the growth of the so-called Inter-Regional Tourism or IRT that has helped propel the economies of several nations dependent on tourism.

He also cited the example of countries in Southeast Asia and the Far East who have sustained their tourism economies from visitors in neighboring countries. Initial data showed that almost 40% of the growth in these countries are attributed to tourists from neighboring countries.

The three-day conference is part of a series of a year long activity by the UNWTO for 2017 as part of the “International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.”

By Dean M. Bernardo, eTN Manila.

Manila, the Philippines (21 June 2017) – UNWTO – Marcio Favilla, the Executive Director for Operational Programmes and Institutional Relations of the United Nations World Tourism Organization praised and thanked the Philippine government for hosting the three-day “International Conference on Tourism Statistics for Sustainable Development.”

During a press conference at the Marriot Hotel in Pasay City, Mr. Favilla highlighted the beauty and potentials of the Philippines, an example of a prime destination for travellers.
He added that the conference, where nearly sixty delegate countries – tourism and statistics ministers all over the world was sending a “political message” to everyone of their support for the Philippines.

The country is currently facing an armed siege in its southern island of Mindanao from a group claiming allegiance to the extremist group Da’esh or ‘Islamic State of Iraq and Syria’ or ISIS. The group continues to sow terror in the City of Marawi, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of soldiers, civilians and extremists.
UNWTO Regional Director for the Asia-Pacific region Xu Jing added that holding the conference in the Philippines is a demonstration of support to the country and for other nations facing similar conflicts.

Favilla added that nations facing domestic troubles should not be isolated. He called these actions as a “double whammy” – where countries are hurt by domestic problems and hurt again by travel advisories against visiting the troubled country.

By Dean M. Bernardo, eTN Manila.

Manila, the Philippines (21 June 2017) – UNWTO – Two days prior to the formal holding of the on-going United Nations World Tourism Organization’s (UNWTO) “International Conference on Tourism Statistics for Sustainable Development,” countries with technical know-how on tourism data generation where in Manila for “capacity building.”

UNWTO statistician John Kesster said the group with delegates from Southeast Asia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Belarus and Turkey discussed the “economic impact of tourism that’s compatible with the national system of accounts, to enable governments to measure tourism like any economic indicator.”

Kesster said delegates from different countries shared heir experiences including travel practitioners who shared their own experience. He adds that there were a number of varying types of tables on tourism that needs to be standardized, in a meaningful way.

He also stated that “developing standards for tourism is continuously evolving.” The group aims to develop a framework for very simple standards of measurements, and in time “improve and elaborate.”

He cited the ever changing activities in tourism as reasons for evolving metrics such as; effects of ride hailing phone apps like Uber in the metrics.

Kestter said, “We’ve never had that kind of activity ten years ago but now, we need to consider including that in assessing tourism activities as well.”

He also said “the challenge for statisticians nowadays is trying to keep up with the ever-changing innovations, try to create credible figures as possible.”

By Dean M. Bernardo, eTN Manila.

Manila – The 6th United Nations World Tourism International Conference on Tourism Statistics opened Wednesday morning in the Philippine capital with thousands of delegates from around the world in attendance.

The three-day conference aims to determine and achieve a global approach in fulfilling the “Sustainable Development Goals” of all member countries.

Philippine Tourism Minister Wanda T. Tulfo led the welcoming of delegates at the opening ceremonies at the Newport Performing Arts Theater.

UNTWO Secretary General Taleb Rifal opened the conference and highlighted the recent rise of violence in different parts of the world and the risk it brings to the public and its effect on tourism.

Rifal praised the Philippines for its resiliency and its continuing efforts in bringing forward sustainable development in its tourism sector. Rifal added that the Philippines is a beautiful country with beautiful people with a smile, generous to give.

Rifal said in his speech that the violence should stop and adds, “There should be no hate. How can one hate someone who shared is home, his food to anyone visiting.”

Meanwhile, Paul Leholla of the UN Statistical Commission raised the importance of statistics in making public the truth in the era of fake news. He said that measuring tourism performance will bring better planning, better services in communities.

Philippine Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III also assured delegates that the Philippines continue to be a safe country despite the recent declaration of Martial Law in the southern island of Mindanao.

The Philippine is still fighting an insurgency led by militants who sieged the Islamic city of Marawi on May 23rd, attempting to establish a caliphate loyal to Islamic State of Iraq & Syria.

Pimentel stressed that the Duterte administration allows nearly US$23 Billion for the Philippine tourism industry under the “Build, Build, Build” program in the last 5 years of the current government.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) expresses its firm resentment over the recently-announced decision by the United States Administration to restore travel restrictions with Cuba.

“This represents a step backwards and a strong attack on the freedom of travel,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai.

“This decision will have limited impact on Cuba’s tourism development, yet it will substantially affect the US economy and American jobs. Many US companies have started to invest in and do business with Cuba in view of the immense potential of Cuban tourism, which other countries will surely continue to benefit from,“ he added.

Tourism is one of the key economic sectors in Cuba, supporting many livelihoods and drawing significant interest from foreign investors, which will surely continue being the case.

In 2016 Cuba received over 4 million international visitors, a growth of over 1 million in only five years.

UNWTO and WTTC Tourism leaders are in the process of leaving for Manila, Philippines.

Sustainable tourism is increasingly relevant in national agendas for its role in fostering economic growth, social inclusiveness and the protection of cultural and natural assets. This is now also recognized at the highest international level with the UN General Assembly having adopted several resolutions acknowledging the role of tourism in sustainable development, including the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

All this calls for evidence to support policy and track progress. Therefore, a statistical framework is being developed—one that integrates the various dimensions of sustainable tourism (economic, environmental and social) and across relevant spatial levels (global, national and subnational). 

The Manila Conference will be a landmark opportunity to discuss methodological advances, explore emerging issues and learn from pioneering country experiences in this area of measurement. UNWTO recognizes that, apart from being a technical exercise, the development and implementation of a statistical framework for sustainable tourism is very much a strategic endeavour that will require stakeholder engagement, inter-institutional coordination and political leadership. 

In the context of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017,  the Conference will gather Ministers, Statistical Chiefs, Policy experts and statisticians dedicated to sustainable development, environment and tourism.

Official website of this conference, where online registration and updated information are available, is at www.mstconference.org   

Philippine-based reporter Dean Bernardo will cover the event for eTN and WorldTourismWire, and is available to conduct interviews and listen to your feedback.

BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (12 June, 2017) – As part of an on-going partnership with the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) and its Hospitality Assured (HA) certification programme, the European Union under its Competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (COSME) programme last month hosted an HA Business Advisor Training Workshop at the Curaçao Chamber of Commerce in Punda, Williemstaad, Curaçao. Participants came from the Curaçao Tourist Board, the Curacao Innovation & Technology Institute; and Creating Milestones, a management solutions company.

The main objectives of the workshop were:

• To provide participants with an overview of the HA standards and processes and awareness of the Business Excellence framework;
• To enable participants to manage and advise on the HA processes for client organisations which will enable these organisations to progress on their journey to excellence and to obtain HA certification;
• To provide participants with a knowledge and understanding of the evidence requirements of Hospitality Assured; and
• To provide participants with an opportunity to develop gender sensitive advisory approaches through the employment of case studies and role-play.

CTO began its journey with HA in 2007, seeking to strengthen the business performance and overall competitiveness of tourism enterprises in the Caribbean. CTO is in the process of building a network of advisors and assessors in member countries which are already involved in the HA programme – including Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago, St. Kitts & Nevis, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines — and is also seeking to extend the scheme to countries which have not yet started to roll out the programme but have indicated an interest in doing so this year. These include Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Curaçao, Guyana, Montserrat, Saint Lucia and The Turks & Caicos Islands.

The HA programme endeavours to promote a culture of quality, service excellence and continuous improvement, through the use of a business improvement tool and framework that is internationally recognized, as a means to support customer service delivery in tourism enterprises.

The first task of the HA Programme for Curaçao was to train Business Advisors and to equip them with the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to work effectively with organisations and lead them through the detailed HA self-assessment process towards certification.

A series of introductory presentations delivered by the facilitators, Norma Shorey-Bryan and Sharon Banfield-Bovell, provided participants with a background to the HA programme, perspectives on the issues and challenges faced in the tourism sector in the Caribbean, and detailed information on what was required on the HA Journey to Excellence. Focus was also placed on helping participants to understand issues related to gender and gender sensitive advisory approaches in dealing with the HA clients. These discussions on gender came to the forefront in the case studies discussions and role plays that were part of the learning and feedback sessions.

The interactive approach used throughout the workshop was designed to encourage participants to share their experiences, perspectives and concerns, and to learn from each other. Presentations stimulated lively group discussions, which helped participants consider how to apply the concepts taught when working with client organisations in Curaçao. The workshop sessions included: presentations on fundamental topics like What is Excellence, Vision & Values, Business Planning Processes and Sharing Good Practices; introduction to each of the nine steps of the HA Model; role plays on case studies mirroring the operations in various types of tourism businesses; and other learning exercises linked to each of the nine steps.

By the end of the workshop, the participants had gained a deeper understanding of the structure of the HA framework and were aware of the key themes of Hospitality Assured. The detailed knowledge and understanding will be further taken in as they apply the model to real life situations as they work with small, medium and large sized businesses in Curaçao’s tourism and hospitality sector.

About Hospitality Assured

Hospitality Assured is an internationally recognized certification, owned by the Institute of Hospitality in the U.K., managed and operated by the Hospitality Limited U.K. trading as Hospitality Assured and licensed by the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) for use in the Caribbean as “The Standard for Service and Business Excellence in Caribbean Tourism.”

About the Caribbean Tourism Organization
The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), with headquarters in Barbados and offices in New York and London, is the Caribbean’s tourism development agency comprising membership of the region’s finest countries and territories including Dutch, English, French and Spanish, as well as a myriad of private sector allied members. The CTO’s vision is to position the Caribbean as the most desirable, year round, warm weather destination, and its purpose is Leading Sustainable Tourism – One Sea, One Voice, One Caribbean.

Among the benefits to its members the organization provides specialized support and technical assistance in sustainable tourism development, marketing, communications, advocacy, human resource development, event planning & execution and research & information technology.

In addition the CTO, in partnership with the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association, jointly and equally owns the Caribbean Tourism Development Company, a marketing and business development entity dedicated to promoting the Caribbean brand worldwide.

Over 30 countries and Affiliate Members of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) gathered last week in Chisinau, the capital city of the Republic of Moldova, for the 61st Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for Europe. Participants discussed the priority areas for the Organization as well as strategies to position the tourism sector as a key driver of sustainable development in Europe (6 June 2017).

The meeting dedicated special attention to the need to continue enhancing UNWTO’s work on the promotion of safe, secure and seamless travel. UNWTO has recently launched a High Level Tourism and Security Task Force to advance this issue. The Member States expressed their condemnation of the recent terrorist attacks in Europe, and a minute of silence was held in memory of the victims.

An authentic and unexplored gem in European tourism, whose wines are appreciated and renowned worldwide, the Republic of Moldova has demonstrated a strong commitment with sustainable tourism. “The Republic of Moldova is still an emerging tourist destination, but has all the potential to become a must-see destination; the demonstrated commitment to sustainable development of tourism will ensure that the country reaps all the rewards that tourism has to offer.” said UNWTO Secretary General, Taleb Rifai.

UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai met the Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova, Pavel Filip, to discuss the role of tourism in the socio-economic development of the country. The meeting underlined the importance that Moldova is giving to the tourism sector in the country’s economy.

“We are convinced that tourism is a key tool for Moldova to achieve sustainable growth and job creation, and indeed to help us achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This meeting will undoubtedly help us to support our tourism sector in achieving its potential” said Stanislav Rusu, Director General of the Tourism Agency of the Republic of Moldova.

UNWTO’s Commission Meeting also reviewed the work of the Organization’s technical committees on Competitiveness, Sustainability and Statistics and Tourism Satellite Account (TSA), and the activities of Member States to celebrate the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017. Further items on the agenda included the transformation of the UNWTO Global Code of Ethics into an international convention, the creation of national committees on tourism ethics and the priorities of UNWTO’s Programme of Work for 2018-2019.

The Meeting was completed with an Official Event of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017 showcasing initiatives developed in Italy and France – Ecobnb (http://ecobnb.com) and Betterfly Tourism (http://www.betterfly-tourism.com) and a tree planting ceremony with the presence of UNWTO Secretary-General, the Director General of the Tourism Agency of the Republic of Moldova, the Head of the EU Delegation to Moldova, Pirkka Tapiola, and the diplomatic community of Moldova.

Hungary was nominated to host the official celebrations of World Tourism Day 2018 and the Member States welcomed the Czech Republic’s candidacy to hold the 2019 UNWTO Regional Commission meeting. Both decisions will be taken to the UNWTO General Assembly and the Regional Commission for Europe, respectively, in September in Chengdu, China.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has appointed the Prime Minister of Samoa, Hon. Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, as Special Ambassador of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism 2017. The ceremony took place in New York on 7 June on the side-lines of the UN Ocean Conference, where among other activities the Prime Minister addressed participants on the value of tourism to sustainably advance the blue economy.

“The designation of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development was due to the recognition by the United Nations of the potential of the tourism sector to contribute to the fight against poverty, to help curb climate change, promote gender equality and foster mutual understanding and peace amongst diverse cultures” said the Prime Minister.

“Tourism is a sector that is vital to the livelihoods of our people and touches all the three dimensions of sustainable development, the social, economic and environmental aspects. As a people-to-people activity, it has helped and continues to contribute to the revitalization of our culture, customs and traditional crafts, and plays a pivotal role in the preservation of our cultural heritage and is a force that promotes peace and understanding” he added.
“The International Year is a unique opportunity to promote common action and enhance the power of tourism to build a better world. We thank Samoa for leading the initiative for the adoption of the UN resolution declaring the International Year and for its sustained, exemplary contribution in promoting the value of our sector towards the achievement of the 2030 Development Agenda, particularly for the Small Islands Developing States (SIDS)” said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.

The Special Ambassadors of the Year are leaders and prominent personalities committed to promote the role and contribution of tourism in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the 2030 Agenda.
While tourism is included in three of the SDGs – SDG 8: ‘Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all’; SDG 12: ‘Sustainable Consumption and Production’ and SDG 14: ‘Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development’, it can advance all 17 SDGs.

The Ocean Conference was an opportunity to highlight how tourism can effectively contribute to Goal 14. UNWTO joined the World Bank and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA) to discuss and launch the report ‘The Potential of the Blue Economy: Increasing Long-term Benefits of the Sustainable Use of Marine Resources for Small Island Developing States and Coastal Least Developed Countries’.

UNWTO was also co-organizing a Side Event on the “European Union tourism committed to Blue Growth” on the 8 June with DG MARE and NECstour. Coastal and Maritime Tourism is one of the key sectors of the European Union Blue Growth Strategy with a high potential for sustainable jobs and growth. Tourism employs over 3.2 million people and generates a total of 183 billion Euros in gross value added, representing over one third of the maritime economy. The universal dimension of the SDGs provides the EU regions with the opportunity to show leadership and share best practices to extend and scale up their Blue Growth strategy in other parts of the world, and in particular through their island territories in SIDS regions.