In nature, nothing exists alone is the message for Earth Day 2019. Announcing the public launch of its “SDG17 Partners Program” on Earth Day 2019, Professor Geoffrey Lipman co-founder SUN^x, calls and president of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) asks the Travel & Tourism sector to join its “Plan For Our Kids” and take the “Climate Sanity” Pledge.

Professor Lipman, former Executive Director at IATA, President of WTTC and Assistant Secretary-General UNWTO, said:

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“I’m confident that Travel & Tourism will play a leadership role in the global shift to a New Climate Economy: we just need a pathway for change and that lies in our faith in the next generation”

SUN^x a legacy for Planetary Champion Maurice Strong has created a “Plan For Our Kids”, aiming to recruit 100,000 STRONG Climate Champions to advance its vision of a no Carbon 2050 sector totally compliant with the evolving goals of the Paris Accords.

He added “During the past year we have seen a welcome intensification of the pressures for a new commitment to Climate Sanity, which stops discussing whether climate change is existential and just gets on with solutions. That’s the common message from Greta Thunberg’s Friday’s for Futures and AOC’s Green New Deal: it’s the message from Earth Scientists and Nobel Economists: it’s the plea from Sir David Attenborough.

”Lipman concluded “SDG 17 Partners will share our long-term vision on the fact that Climate Change is eXistential and that we have to act NOW, as if this Earth Day is the first day of the rest of our lives. We all have different starting positions, based on our separate realities: but we have a shared goal of meeting the Paris Agenda and together taking a “No Carbon 2050 moonshot”. We can deliver Climate Friendly Travel ~ measured plans: green growth: 2050 no carbon proof “

Juergen Steinmetz president of the eTN Corporation said “We are proud to become a SUN^x SDG 17 Partner and provide preferential support for this great cause. As long as I have known Geoffrey Lipman, he has been drumming home the message that Climate Change is eXistential and that if we don’t fix it now, it will fix us. We are in, and will use all our links, like ICTP and the African Tourism Board to support Climate Friendly Travel. going forward”.

For more on SUN^x and its SDG 17 Partnership Program please contact: go to www.thesunprogram.com

What is Earth Day?

The first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, activated 20 million Americans from all walks of life and is widely credited with launching the modern environmental movement. The passage of the landmark Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act and many other groundbreaking environmental laws soon followed. Twenty years later, Earth Day went global, mobilizing 200 million people in more than 190 countries and lifting environmental issues onto the world stage.

On April 22, 1970, millions of people took to the streets to protest the negative impacts of 150 years of industrial development.

In the U.S. and around the world, smog was becoming deadly and evidence was growing that pollution led to developmental delays in children. Biodiversity was in decline as a result of the heavy use of pesticides and other pollutants.

The global ecological awareness was growing, and the US Congress and President Nixon responded quickly. In July of the same year, they created the Environmental Protection Agency, and robust environmental laws such as the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act, among many.

One billion people

Earth Day is now a global event each year, and more than 1 billion people in 192 countries now take part in what is the largest civic-focused day of action in the world.

It is a day of political action and civic participation. People march, sign petitions, meet with their elected officials, plant trees, clean up their towns and roads. Corporations and governments use it to make pledges and announce sustainability measures. Faith leaders, including Pope Francis, connect Earth Day with protecting God’s greatest creations, humans, biodiversity and the planet that we all live on.

Earth Day Network, the organization that leads Earth Day worldwide, has chosen as the theme for 2018 to End Plastic Pollution, including creating support for a global effort to eliminate primarily single-use plastics along with global regulation for the disposal of plastics.  EDN is educating millions of people about the health and other risks associated with the use and disposal of plastics, including pollution of our oceans, water, and wildlife, and about the growing body of evidence that plastic waste is creating serious global problems.

From poisoning and injuring marine life to the ubiquitous presence of plastics in our food to disrupting human hormones and causing major life-threatening diseases and early puberty, the exponential growth of plastics is threatening our planet’s survival.

The World Travel and Tourism Council just finished their annual summit 2019 in the Spanish City of Seville last Friday.

A record number of delegates listened to presentations from fellow top leaders of the largest industry in the world. All of this was streamed live to the world. However, the conversation everyone had waited for with former US President Barak Obama was excluded. Perhaps the $4,000.00 price tag for non-members required the organizer to shield the former popular American president from public listeners.

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eTN reached out to about 100 of the CEO’s, delegates and ministers that attended the 2-day event last week and everyone said the networking opportunities at WTTC summits was the real value for them to attend such a high profile event. See and to be seen is the true perk here. Top travel- industry people meet with other top CEO’s in the hallways and coffee shops or hotel suites. Some delegates only attended the opening ceremony and the Obama session but were roaming to shake hands with business partners, ministers and even heads of state.

Big business is done this way. It starts often with an exchange of ideas and can trickle down to billion-dollar transactions.

A WTTC summit is also the place a CEO can have a cup of coffee with a fellow CEO from a competing company.

Former Seychelles Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine of Seychelles Alain St. Ange, who now leads his own consulting company, met with Kenya Tourism Minister Najib Balala consolidating the working cooperation between the two tourism personalities.St.Ange and Balala have been friends for a number of years and both men are seen as continent leaders in the field of tourism.  Alain told eTN about his exchange with the First Lady of Kenya who delivered her speech at the WTTC summit.St.Ange said:  “Minister Najib Balala of Kenya and me are expected to meet again in Nairobi shortly to discuss tourism and the development of tourism in Africa.”

This is a typical opportunity only such Summit offers.

WTTC is a different type of event. Changemakers meet behind the facade of top-notch presentations.  Attending is a priceless opportunity.

However, reporting about the Seville summit was expensive for publications having to invest their own money to send a journalist and therefore had minimum results when it comes to instant and detailed news coverage. eTN sent freelance writer Elisabeth Lange from Munich and commissioned her for one day.

Strangely there was no hosting support for journalists by the organizer according to PR consultant David Tarsh.

Hosting the WTTC Summit is expensive and seems to have a short life span as well unless the host destination is also willing to spend marketing Dollars to reach out to media and get the desired attention of the world.

This did not happen in Seville.  Many requests from eTurboNews for example to include a series of interviews and destination coverage was never responded to by Seville Tourism Officials.  Seville as a destination could have easily shined with global visibility.

eTurboNews is a proud media partner with WTTC.
www.wttc.org

The African Tourism Board Launch at the World Travel Market in Cape Town on April 11 will be the place Brussels based Professor Geoffrey Lipman will reveal his Climate Friendly Travel initiative.

Professor Geoffrey Lipman was the first president of the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) from 1989 to 1999. WTTC revealed earlier this month that African Tourism is booming. It is important for Professor Lipman to launch his new global initiative in Africa.

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A soft launch of his new initiative will be explained at the upcoming WTTC’s Summit in Seville, Spain next week.

Lipman shared the logo to promote his new program today with eTurboNews

Lipman explained the logo will pick up the Greta Thunberg message for the Travel & Tourism sector. Lipman added the logo will be the symbol of Climate Friendly Travel measured to manage: Green to Grow: 2050 Proof to Innovate.

It shows the late Maurice Strong, the father of sustainable development and the inspiration for his plan to put 100,000 STRONG Climate Champions across all UN States by 2030, to help in the essential transformation to the New Climate Economy.

Professor Lipman noted the symbol for SDG 17 “Partnerships for Change”, saying that the only future is a shared one, with the public sector, private sector and civil society joining the existential war on climate change together. This will go country by country: community by community.

Lipman also revealed that SUNx will be unveiling an icon project at the African Tourism Board launch on April 11, that will help to support a global scale climate resilience initiative, that links rainforest preservation, biodiversity conservation and sme entrepreneurship, with the latent potential of African Travel & Tourism.

More information on the African Tourism Board and the launch event on April 11 can be seen at www.africantourismboard.com 

Ethiopian Airlines, has been chosen as the Official Carrier for the 2019 World Press Freedom Day Global Conference to be held in Addis Ababa from May 1-3, 2019.

This conference is not without controversy, however.  According to Journalists without Border, terrorism charges have been systematically used against journalists ever since the 2009 terrorism law took effect. The charges carry long jail sentences and allow the authorities to hold journalists without trial for extended periods. There has been no significant improvement since the purges that led to the closure of six newspapers in 2014 and drove around 30 journalists into exile. On the contrary, another six-month state of emergency was proclaimed in February 2018, which the government could again use to arrest critical journalists and ban the public from watching or listening to certain broadcast media. The Internet and social networks are often disconnected while physical and verbal threats, arbitrary trials, and convictions are all used to silence the media.eTN Chatroom: Discuss with readers from around the world:

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The conference is jointly organized by UNESCO, the African Union and the Government of Ethiopia under the theme ‘Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation’.

UNESCO Spokesperson Roni Amerlan said: ” The offer by countries to host World Press Freedom Day marks their recognition of the value of the right to press freedom and freedom of expression.

We have often held World Press Freedom Day celebrations in countries in transition and we do not think that we should restrict our support for the recognition of press freedom and their participation in this awareness-raising event to countries which rank at the top of NGOs’ rankings.

Every year, 3 May is a date which celebrates the fundamental principles of press freedom, to evaluate press freedom around the world, to defend the media from attacks on their independence and to pay tribute to journalists who have lost their lives in the exercise of their profession. World Press Freedom Day was proclaimed by the UN General Assembly in 1993 following a Recommendation adopted at the twenty-sixth session of UNESCO’s General Conference in 1991. This in turn was a response to a call by African journalists who in 1991 produced the landmark Windhoek Declaration(link is external) on media pluralism and independence.

At the core of UNESCO’s mandate is freedom of the press and freedom of expression. UNESCO believes that these freedoms allow for mutual understanding to build a sustainable peace.

It serves as an occasion to inform citizens of violations of press freedom – a reminder that in dozens of countries around the world, publications are censored, fined, suspended and closed down, while journalists, editors and publishers are harassed, attacked, detained and even murdered.

It is a date to encourage and develop initiatives in favour of press freedom, and to assess the state of press freedom worldwide.

3 May acts as a reminder to governments of the need to respect their commitment to press freedom and is also a day of reflection among media professionals about issues of press freedom and professional ethics. Just as importantly, World Press Freedom Day is a day of support for media which are targets for the restraint, or abolition, of press freedom. It is also a day of remembrance for those journalists who lost their lives in the pursuit of a story.

The 26th celebration of World Press Freedom Day is jointly organized by UNESCO, the African Union Commission and the Government of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. The main event will take place in Addis Ababa, on 1 – 3 May at the African Union Headquarters. This year’s theme“Media for Democracy: Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation”  discusses current challenges faced by media in elections, along with the media’s potential in supporting peace and reconciliation processes.

World Press Freedom Day will also be celebrated worldwide. Events will be organized in several countries to raise awareness about the importance of press freedom and journalists’  safety. More information of events will be available in the Events Map soon.

As the United Nations agency with a specific mandate to promote “the free flow of ideas by word and image”, UNESCO works to foster a free, independent and pluralistic media and the safety of journalists.

As the official carrier, Ethiopian will provide air transport service to the 1000-1500 participants who will be coming to Addis Ababa from around the globe.

Group CEO of Ethiopian Airlines, Mr. Tewolde GebreMariam, remarked, “We are honored to have been chosen to serve as the official carrier for this year’s World Press Freedom Day Global Conference. We are all the more delighted to be part of this noble cause which seeks to advance press freedom around the world.

Global, regional and national media stakeholders, high-level government officials, and journalists from across the globe will take part in the conference which will be held at the African Union Commission headquarters.

Brunei is becoming a deadly place to visit starting April 3, specially if you are member of the LGBT Community.

Next week the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) will have their annual summit in Seville, Spain. Tourism leaders from around the globe will meet and listen to keynote speaker U.S. President Obama. Will President Obama, UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili, or WTTC CEO Gloria Guevara say something on what is developing in Brunei?

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No country in the world so far issued travel warnings against Brunei. U.S. authorities have a level 2 travel advisories against Germany or the Bahamas but find travel for Americans perfectly safe when a new law threatens citizens and visitors, including children to be subject to death by stoning for same-sex sexual acts and amputation for robbery. Such a law will come into effect in Brunei Darussalam on April 3.

Brunei is a tiny nation on the island of Borneo, in 2 distinct sections surrounded by Malaysia and the South China Sea. It’s known for its beaches and biodiverse rainforest, much of it protected within reserves. The capital, Bandar Seri Begawan, is home to the opulent Jame’Asr Hassanil Bolkiah mosque and its 29 golden domes. The capital’s massive Istana Nurul Iman palace is the residence of Brunei’s ruling sultan

“Pending provisions in Brunei’s Penal Code would allow stoning and amputation as punishments – including for children, to name only their most heinous aspects,” said Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Brunei Researcher at Amnesty International.

“Brunei must immediately halt its plans to implement these vicious punishments and revise its Penal Code in compliance with its human rights obligations. The international community must urgently condemn Brunei’s move to put these cruel penalties into practice.”

These punishments are provided for in newly-implemented sections of the Brunei Darussalam Syariah Penal Code that are due to come into force on 3 April 2019, according to a discreet notice on the Attorney General’s website.

“To legalize such cruel and inhuman penalties is appalling of itself. Some of the potential ‘offences’ should not even be deemed crimes at all, including consensual sex between adults of the same gender,” said Rachel Chhoa-Howard. “These abusive provisions received widespread condemnation when plans were first discussed five years ago.”

Amnesty expressed grave concerns over the Penal Code when the code’s first phase was implemented in April 2014.

“Brunei’s Penal Code is a deeply flawed piece of legislation containing a range of provisions that violate human rights,” said Rachel Chhoa-Howard. “As well as imposing cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments, it blatantly restricts the rights to freedom of expression, religion, and belief, and codifies discrimination against women and girls.”

Stoning and a hunt to kill members of the LGBT community is not an isolated problem in Brunei alone. Brunei is joining countries like Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia or Tanzania.

Background

Brunei Darussalam has signed but not yet ratified the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and has rejected all recommendations to this effect in its human rights review at the UN in 2014.

Under international human rights law, corporal punishment in all its forms, such as stoning, amputation or whipping, constitutes torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment, which is prohibited in all circumstances.

Acts of torture and other ill-treatment are absolutely proscribed in the main international human rights instruments, most of which Brunei has not signed or ratified. In addition, this prohibition is also recognized as a peremptory rule of customary international law, meaning that every state is bound by it even if they are not a party to a relevant human rights treaty. All acts of torture constitute crimes under international law.

While Brunei retains the death penalty in law, it is abolitionist in practice. One new death sentence was imposed in 2017, for a drug-related offense.

Just a few years ago the Sultan of Brunei told UNWTO Secretary-General and WTTC CEO: “We will do our best to support tourism. Tourism is of strategic importance for Brunei and based on two principal resources: the country’s pristine rainforest in the heart of Borneo, and its spiritual and cultural heritage. Environmental protection and conservation must, therefore, lie at the heart of any tourism development, the Sultan had stressed.

The Kingdom of Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland joined the African Tourism Board as its latest member.

The Honorable Minister of Minister of Tourism and Environmental Affairs Moses Vilakati will be attending and speaking at the official launch for the African Tourism Board at the World Travel Market Africa in Cape Town, South Africa on April 11.

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Linda L. Nxumalo, the Chief Executive Officer of the Eswatini Tourism Authority will be attending.

As one of the few remaining monarchies in Africa, culture, and heritage are deeply ingrained in all aspects of Swazi life, ensuring an unforgettable experience for all who visit.

As well as the rich culture, the overwhelming friendliness of the people makes all visitors feel truly welcome and very safe.

Add to that a stunning landscape of mountains and valleys, forests and plains; plus wildlife reserves across the country that are home to The Big Five, and visitors have all that’s best about Africa in one small but perfectly formed and welcoming country.

Eswatini is Africa in a nutshell. It may be a cliché but there is no better way to describe Eswatini (Swaziland). This tiny nation – one of Africa’s last monarchies – packs in an extraordinary variety of riches. Nature lovers can track down rhinos in the wild lowveld or seek out rare birds in the rugged highveld. Historians can visit the world’s oldest known mine or follow the colonial trail of the early settlers. And culture vultures can thrill to the Umhlanga and other festivals, as Eswatini celebrates its ancient traditions in spectacular style. Activities ranging from horse riding and river rafting to golf and thermal spas offer excitement and relaxation in equal measure. What’s more, Eswatini is friendly, safe and so compact that nowhere is more than two hours’ easy drive from the capital. So what are you waiting for? Africa’s most perfectly formed nation offers you a warm Swazi welcome.
 

Eswatini, previously known as Swaziland, has 4 administrative regions but for the purposes of tourism is more conveniently divided into 5 regions, each one offering a varied and different set of attractions and experiences. Taking the points of the compass for their titles, each of these tourism regions can also be characterised by the attractions & experiences found within – be that amazing scenery, rich cultural experiences or thrilling wildlife encounters. Whilst a focus on one particular region will allow a visitor to witness its individual character, the joy of Eswatini is that its compact size allows the regions to be ‘mixed & matched’ in any single visit, even in a single day!

There is no great secret to a great Eswatini itinerary – to experience the remarkable variety of the country, visit as many of the regions as possible (at least 3)! But with no individual attraction more than 2 hours away from any other, it’s very easy to visit them all in any order and create a tailor-made trip to your own personal requirements without encountering any long journeys.

Central Eswatini: Cultural Heartland

Although the smallest of the tourism regions, Central Eswatini is where the country’s capital city, the second largest city, tourism hub and main industrial area are found. The two cities, Mbabane and Manzini, lie just 25 miles (40km) apart and between them is Ezulwini Valley that has become Eswatini’s tourism hub, and the traditional Royal heartland of Lobamba that’s also home to the Parliament. With the country’s most easily accessible wildlife sanctuary at Mlilwane and Mantenga Nature Reserve with its beautiful waterfall and cultural village thrown in for good measure, this is a region of great richness and a huge choice of attractions for any visitor. It’s central positioning also allows easy access to all of the other regions.

North West Eswatini: Highland Adventures

Eswatini’s North West region lies primarily in the highveld and is a stirring landscape of airy, panoramic uplands. The muscular hills and dramatic river valleys form the eastern edge of South Africa’s Drakensberg escarpment and are crowned by the nation’s two highest peaks – Emlembe (1,862m) and Ngwenya (1,829m). An area of outstanding natural beauty, visitors have a vast choice of things to do, including exploring the nature reserves of Malolotja and Phophonyane (on foot, horseback, mountain bike or even sailing through the treetops on zip-wires!), investigating Nsangwini’s ancient rock art, experiencing Bulembu – the re-born ghost town in a glorious mountain setting and taking a boat trip on the magnificent Maguga Dam. The region’s attractions conveniently line up along or not far off the MR1 road, which starts just 15km west of Mbabane and extends to the South Africa border at Matsamo (30-45mins from Kruger NP). It takes only around 1 ½ hours to drive the length of the MR1.

North East Eswatini: Conservation & Community

North East Eswatini lies in the lowveld – a great expanse of flat bushveld – with then the ridge of the Lubombo mountains rising to the east to form the border with Mozambique. It’s dominated by vast sugar estates which emerged from the 1950s and whose country clubs can be enjoyed by visitors. The wild bush areas (similar to Kruger Park in South Africa) make perfect safari country and the region is home to a number of reserves (all accessed from the MR3 road) which collectively make up the Lubombo Conservancy. Hlane Royal National Park is the largest and most game-rich, with Mlawaula and Mbuluzi Nature Reserves offering easy access to beautiful, untouched wilderness areas. The mountains are wild and beautiful with remote settlements, one of which, Shewula, offers a shining example of community tourism and access to another nature reserve.

South East Eswatini: Wildlife Up Close

This region lies largely in the lowveld. It is home to Eswatini’s primary safari location, the Mkhaya Game Reserve, known around the world for its rhino experiences, which rival any in Africa. There is only scattered settlement but a number of sugar estates are irrigated from the country’s main river, the Usuthu, where white water rafting is available. Nisela, in the far south-east offers further safari experiences.

South West Eswatini: Scenic Splendour

Much of South West Eswatini lies in the highveld – magnificent scenery of rolling uplands cut by grand rivers that have created impressive valleys and gorges. Unsurprisingly, there is great hiking on offer in little-visited wilderness areas – Mahamba Gorge and the stunning Ngwempisi Wilderness. Nkonyeni Golf Estate offers a range of activities in an area of outstanding natural beauty as you enter the Grand Valley heading south from central Eswatini. It’s also a region with some interesting places of historical significance – the country’s first church (which can still be visited at Mahamba), and first ceremonial capital of Nhlangano.

Culture

Eswatini’s traditional culture fascinates visitors. The appeal is self-evident: this tiny Kingdom has managed to retain traditions that date back to pre-colonial times and that, despite all the challenges of modernity, remain fundamental to its cultural life. At its heart lies the monarchy, which binds the nation together in festivals and celebration. The kingdom is not a living museum, of course, but what you will see – the colour, costume and pageantry – is the real deal, not some contrivance for the tourist industry. And such ritual ceremonies as the Umhlanga, or Reed Dance, are among the most spectacular of their kind on the continent. Look out for the red feathers of the ligwalagwala, or purple-crested turaco, which denote the royal status of the wearer.

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Wildlife

Eswatini’s rich variety of landscapes and habitats gives it a profusion of fauna and flora, with the sheer number of species mind-boggling by most European standards. The country is not large enough to offer lots of big game experiences, but it has some 17 protected areas which are home to a very wide range of species, including the sought after ‘Big 5’. As well as being one of the best places on the continent to see rhinos (on foot as well as by 4×4 and to see both black and white rhinos), Eswatini is also the perfect place to get to grips with many smaller creatures often overlooked on safari elsewhere, and it is a bird-watcher’s paradise.

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Scenery

Eswatini is a small land with very big horizons. From the muscular uplands of the western highveld to the wild ridges of the eastern Lubombos, there is no bend in the road that does not offer another impressive vista. And with statuesque rock formations, picturesque villages and wide meandering rivers to fill the viewfinder, the photographer is spoilt for choice. The light is constantly changing, especially during the rainy season, when towering thunderheads pile up into menacing storm clouds, and then after the downpour, leave the sky a pristine blue. Any visitor to the Kingdom could do worse than simply wander the hills and valleys and enjoy the ever-changing views of beautiful scenery and genuine wilderness.

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Adventure

Eswatini is, without doubt, a Southern Africa adventure hot spot! Its varying landscapes provide the perfect opportunity for an impressively wide choice of activities. White-water rafting in the morning and a tree-top Canopy Tour in the afternoon – perhaps even with an evening game drive! Abseiling, rafting, caving, climbing, and even quad biking are all things on offer in this fast-paced adrenaline fuelled country.

There are a number of well-established tour and activity operators in Eswatini who can help you organize your adventures.

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Events

Eswatini’s traditional culture finds its most spectacular expression in a number of ritual ceremonies through the year conducted on an impressive scale. These are living cultural events that, bar the odd pair of sunglasses and mobile phone, have hardly changed in two centuries. Not to be outdone, the current generation has created a modern new, vibrant music and arts festival that has fast established an excellent international reputation. With a series of exciting mountain bike races and other sporting and cultural events dotted through the year, the Eswatini calendar is a rich and rewarding one.

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Sports

Sports such as squash, tennis, swimming are available at hotels and lodges as well as the Country Clubs on the Sugar Estates. Royal Swazi Spa in the Ezulwini Valley and Nkonyeni to the south are home to the country’s best golf courses, both with 18 hole championship courses and scenic views for the golfer to take in as they traverse the course. Fishing is also available at a number of dams and rivers around the country, with trout, tiger fish and a number of native species to be found.

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Volunteering

There are a number of organizations working in Eswatini that offer volunteering opportunities, whether that be working with wildlife and conservation, social volunteering, or sports volunteering. There are plenty of programmes you can get involved in to leave a positive mark on Eswatini.

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More information on Eswatini Tourism can be found at  www.thekingdomofeswatini.com/

More information on African Tourism Board and its launch event can be found at www.africantourismboard.com

The U.S. State Department putting Tunisia  as a category 2 risk for U.S. citizens to travel to. This is on the same level as Germany or the Bahamas, but not as severe as a category 3 warning against Turkey. The U.S. State Department wants citizens to exercise increase caution in Tunisia due to terrorism and lists regions where one shouldn’t go.

Tourism is a major revenue source for Tunisia, and the country has been working hard to overcome a number of deadly terror attacks where tourists were the target.

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Currently the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Zurab Pololikashvili  is in Tunisia meeting with the Head of the Tunisian Government Youssef Chahed. He told UNWTO the country had made a lot of efforts have been made to improve security for both citizens and visitors through effective deployment of effective security and counter terrorism measures.

On his part, Pololikashvili commended the country for taking steps to ensure that tourism development and growth remained a priority and continues to play a pivotal role in the economy of Tunisia.

He mentioned that Tunisia was one of the first countries in the Mediterranean basin to identify the strategic value of tourism development. Tunisia, he said has been able to adapt to different challenges and also seized the opportunity of air connectivity and visa openness in recent years. UNWTO encourages Tunisia to its high visibility in the tourism sector, always against the backdrop of sustainable operations for the benefit of the local population and lasting opportunities emerging from tourism.

This, the UNWTO Boss states is particularly true for tourism as a resilient sector as Tunisia itself is experiencing: international tourist arrivals grew above 23% in 2017. Pololikashvili averred that the UNWTO is committed to supporting sustainable tourism development in Tunisia.

The UNWTO Secretary General is on a two day working visit to the country and being accompanied by Zhu Shanzhong , UNWTO’s Executive Director and Director of Africa Department Ms Elcia Grandcourt.

Tunisia is concerned about travel advisories remaining in Japan and the United States.

UNWTO has little influence on travel advisories by the countries most important to Tunisia in Tourism. The UNWTO chief met with local media in Tunisia, but an international global press support was not part of the agenda. Tunisia urgently needs global outreach and positive media support.

The Travel & Tourism economy of Rwanda grew by 13.8% last year – one of the fastest rates in the world, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) annual review of the economic impact and social importance of the sector released today.

In 2018, Travel & Tourism contributed RWF1.3 trillion (US$1.4 billion) to the country’s economy, an increase of 13.8% on 2017. This means that Travel & Tourism now accounts for 14.9% of the total Rwandan economy.

The WTTC research which compares the Travel & Tourism sector across 185 countries, shows that in 2018 the Rwandan Travel & Tourism sector:

• Outpaced the global growth rate of 3.9%, the African growth rate of 5.6% 
• Supported 410,000 jobs, or 13% of total employment
• Accounts for the equivalent of one in seven Rwandan Francs in the local economy (14.9%) 
• Is strongly weighted towards international travel: 67% of Travel & Tourism spending came from international travelers and 33% from domestic travel
• Was equally balanced between business travelers (48% of spending) and leisure travellers (52% of spending)

Commenting on the numbers, Gloria Guevara, WTTC President & CEO said: “Rwanda’s Travel & Tourism story is one of a remarkable transformation. Last year at our Global Summit in Buenos Aires, Rwanda was the recipient of our inaugural Global Leadership Award, for countries which have prioritised tourism development in a way which is sustainable, inclusive and transformative. We were honoured to give the award to Rwanda’s Prime Minister, Dr. Edouard Ngirente, who accepted on behalf of Rwanda’s President, Paul Kagame. 

“Rwanda has made an extraordinary transformation and tourism has been at the heart of that transformation. Rebuilt on a strong foundation of reconciliation, and powered by the determination to succeed, Rwanda is now a leader in education and in environmental responsibility. National parks have been created so that communities can benefit from conservation and anti-poaching initiatives have protected the country’s unique gorilla population alongside the establishment Africa’s largest protected mountain rainforest.

“Rwanda now welcomes a million tourists a year and its tourism economy is booming, as our research shows. It is an inspirational story of recovery and transformation – with tourism at its heart.”

Travel & Tourism in Africa is booming, growing 5.6% in 2018 compared to the global average of 3.9% and the broader African economy rate of 3.2%. This places Africa as the second-fastest growing tourism region behind only Asia-Pacific. 

Such growth is partly explained by North Africa’s rebound from security crises as well as the development and implementation of policies that promote travel facilitation. 

For over 25 years, the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), which represents the global private sector of Travel & Tourism, has produced the authoritative research on the economic contribution of the sector. Our research also shows that in 2018:

·         Travel & Tourism contributed $194.2 billion to the region’s economy, representing 8.5% of the continent’s GDP

·         The sector contributed 24.3 million African jobs, or 6.7% of total employment.

·         71% of tourism spending across Africa was leisure-driven and 29% business

·         Domestic spending accounted for 56% of the tourism economy versus 44% for international

·         International tourism spending comprised 9.6% of the region’s total exports, worth $58.5bn

Ethiopia stands out not only as Africa’s fastest growing travel economy but indeed the world’s, growing by 48.6% last year to be worth $7.4bn. Notably, international Travel & Tourism spending made up a massive 61.0% of exports in the country. This stunning growth can be attributed, in part, to Ethiopia’s improved connectivity as a regional transport hub and to recent visa relaxation policies.

Then, Egypt’s tourism sector has demonstrated considerable resilience, growing by 16.5% last year with international visitor spending accounting for 27.3% of exports. This follows huge safety improvements in the country and in key destinations such as Sharm El-Sheikh, helping to entice international tourists back to the northern coast. 

WTTC President & CEO Gloria Guevara commented, “In 2018, the World Travel & Tourism Council hosted its first ever Africa Leaders Forum in Stellenbosch, South Africa, recognising the increasing significance and power of this great region’s travel economy.

“We commend the tourism leaders in Africa who are helping to boost connectivity, promote travel facilitation and ensure traveller safety – all of these measures make for supreme growth; the kind of growth that we are now witnessing across the continent and that provides millions of good jobs.”  

In 2018, the Greek Travel & Tourism sector grew at a rate of 6.9% – over three and a half times the pace of its wider national economy, which grew by 2.0%.

The sector represents 20.6% of Greek GDP compared to the global average of 10.4%. This means that one in every five Euros spent in Greece last year came from the Travel & Tourism sector, worth €37.5bn (USD $44.6bn).e

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Meanwhile, one quarter of all employment in Greece is based in Travel & Tourism – equivalent to 988.6k jobs. In 2019, this figure is forecast to surpass one million for the first time since WTTC records began.

Even at the height of economic performance before the financial crisis, Greece still employed less people in Travel & Tourism than they did in 2018 (934.5k in 2006), indicating that not only has the sector economy recovered but it is now outperforming its previous peaks.

The same is true for GDP contribution, which has never before amounted to 20% of total GDP.

These figures come from the World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) annual review of the economic impact and social importance of the sector. The research, conducted for almost 30 years by WTTC, which represents the global private sector of Travel & Tourism, shows that in 2018 the Greek sector:

• Outpaced the EU’s regional Travel & Tourism growth rate of 2.4%. Both the EU and Greece’s wider economies grew at a rate of 2.0%, but the Greek travel sector leapt ahead of regional averages.

• Benefitted from €18.5bn international visitor spend, representing 27.9% of total exports.

• Two-thirds of inbound Greek travel spend came from international visitors (66%), and one-third from domestic travel (34%).

• Was driven by leisure spending, which comprised 94% of tourist spend compared to 6% for business.

WTTC President & CEO Gloria Guevara remarked, “We are hugely impressed by the Greek growth rate, and the government strategies that have spurred it on. Travel & Tourism has had a huge role to play in driving Greek economic recovery, and is a chief employer of people. Greece is an exemplary case study of how valuable an asset Travel & Tourism can be when the government prioritises the sector.”

The Minister of Tourism of the Hellenic Republic, Elena Kountoura remarked: “Our long-term tourism strategy that we implement since 2015 led to outstanding results in Greece’s tourism growth, and supported profoundly the Greek economy in the most difficult years of the crisis. We achieved our target in creating thousands of new jobs, new business activity, new sources of income, and in mobilizing new tourism investments.

With our growth plan for the next day, we intend to maintain Greece’s strong momentum in  tourism and maximize its benefits for the local communities across Greece, acknowledging tourism’s immense value as  a major driving force for employment,  economic and social prosperity.”