US President Obama condemned the terror attack in Orlando and invited the nation to come together, so did leaders in the United States including governors, mayors, LGBT community leaders, spiritual leaders, including Islamic clerics. Except the Republican party presidential nominee Donald Trump used this incident as an attack on President Obama and demanded his resignation.

International heads of states are slow in acknowledging the terror attack.

The murders at the gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida also was a clear attack on the global travel and tourism industry, but with a twist. This time it hit a minority – the Lesbian, Gay, Transgender and Bisexuals, known as LGBT.

LGBT represents approximately 10 percent of all global travelers. Considering a billion people travel (UNWTO) LGBT would represent about 100 million people. LGBT travelers usually spend more money on vacation, often travel in low season, but they represent a minority in the eyes of many destinations not ready to welcome them yet with open arms.

After eTN published the original version of this article saying: “Usually leaders representing our global tourism organizations like the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) are very quick issuing press releases condemning terror attacks. Not this time.”

UNWTO did now issue a statement strongly condemning the Florida attack. The statement said: UNWTO expresses its heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of the victims, to the American people and the LGBT community worldwide in this difficult moment. The UN Secretary General went on to say and related his full solidarity with the people and the Government of United States of America.” A full solidarity with the LGBT Travel and Tourism community and industry was not yet mentioned, but even the mentioning of LGBT community was an important  step by UNWTO.

PATA, SKAL,The Caribbean Tourism Organization, Vanilla Island Organization, RETOSA, or the South Pacific Tourism Organizaton had not yet responded to the attack. No word from IATA, CLIA, ICAO, ACI, the World Economic Forum, just to name some more.

WTTC as the self announced leader of the private global travel industry still has no official position on LGBT tourism. The United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has no official stand as well.

Both organization had invested in studies, but when it comes giving LGBT a voice at their summits and conferences, they usually don’t like to touch this “minority”. It’s different with women in travel, both organizations are outspoken and include intense discussions at their events about the role of women in tourism.

Wouldn’t it be time for global travel and tourism industry leaders and the associations they represent to take a stand not only against terror, but a stand for LGBT tourism?
Perhaps one has to follow what money is funding UNWTO and WTTC:

According to gay publication ManAboutWorld and a study supported by Marriott Hotels, the top 5 most dangerous destinations for LGBT travelers are:

-Singapore — Up to two years in jail
-United Arab Emirates — Various punishments, possibly a death sentence.
-Nigeria — Death penalty for men
-Iran — Death penalty
-Saudi Arabia — Banishment, whipping, and death by public stoning

Hopefully this article will trigger an avalanche of statements by our leaders to stand by the LGBT Travel and Tourism Industry and against terror. UNWTO made a soft approach today, what is commendable.

On April 1, Zimbabwe announced that it was nominating Tourism Minister Eng Dr Walter Mzembi ( WM) for the seat of the United Nations World Tourism Organization Secretary-General. Minister Mzembi has hit the campaign trail for the global position and tells The Herald Political Editor Tichaona Zindoga (TZ) that if he lands the post, which he says is possible, it will be Zimbabwe’s highest diplomatic coup coming against a backdrop of negativity and sanctions against the country stemming from certain powerful pockets in the world. These are the perspectives they shared yesterday:

TZ: You are eyeing the post of SG of the UNWTO which falls vacant next year and have the support of Zimbabwe and Sadc. What does this position mean for the country?

WM: I have mentioned before that if we succeed, it will be Zimbabwe’s highest and most prestigious diplomatic deployment. In the decade leading to 2009, Zimbabwe suffered some diplomatic setbacks after Article 96 of the ACP-EU Cotonou Partnership Agreement was invoked, resulting in what we ordinarily refer to as sanctions, which were exacerbated by another complementary regime of sanctions in the form of ZIDERA from the USA.

A re-engagement drive by the then inclusive Government in the five years leading to 2013 did not quite succeed in shedding off the perceived “bad boy” image so viciously and deceptively orchestrated by global mainstream media, resulting in the decimation of our brand equity and its competitiveness.

Notwithstanding, the revocation of Article 96 in November 2014 and the seeming new found international goodwill for the country, its own re-engagement with multilateral institutions, the journey to full engagement is not yet complete and competing for this post is our own sectoral contribution to that effort, which will see Zimbabwe claiming its pride of place in the international family of countries.

TZ: You have the backing of SADC, but there are some hostile forces out there. We recall some countries did not want Zimbabwe to host the 2013, 20th Session of the UNWTO General Assembly. How are you going to go past that hurdle, and just what do you have to offer to the whole world if you take the helm in light of global issues of this day?

WM: “The Nazareth factor ! ”, notwithstanding, we still hosted arguably “the most successful General Assembly in the history of General Assemblies” according to the UNWTO Secretary-General Dr Taleb Rifai, however this factor still continues to haunt us as we begin the exploratory phase of our campaign for the Secretary-General post and is the often repeated line that I have to respond to: “Can anything good come out of Zimbabwe?”

In John 1:46, when Phillip had to answer a similar question from Nathanael, his brief answer was “come and see”. The world came and saw Zimbabwe in August 2013, the New York Times in its February 2015 “52 Global must Visit Report” ranked Zimbabwe number 14, with the addendum “once avoided now a must see”. This is the brand that is deploying me to compete, and Southern African Development Community (SADC) has endorsed my candidacy.

Africa, which has tested my leadership through my chairmanship of the UNWTO Regional Commission for Africa (CAF) from 2013 to 2015, and unanimously renewing my mandate for another two-year term to 2017, may not have difficulties in endorsing my candidature.

Given the adversities that are confronting global tourism today and I list here a few: tourism and security, climate change, biodiversity terrorism, high taxation, standardisation, child sexual abuse, pandemics, and political conditions, there is no better candidate given our history that I have alluded to already, who could demonstrate how to turn adversity into an opportunity to the extent that I have done to Zimbabwe tourism, now setting the agenda in global tourism with a resume of tourism positions and accolades too numerous to mention since 2009. There is not a single country in the world without historical baggage, and that cannot be used against candidates. A quick analysis of current UN and international systems deployments will confirm that the majority of them are not from the world’s “perfect” countries. There are no saint countries.

TZ: Out of interest, our readers would like to know who else are your potential contenders?

WM: My country nominated me after clearance with the President and subsequently by Sadc.

To be a candidate you need country nomination and I am not aware of any nominated candidates at this stage. What I am aware of are peer expressions of interests and we live to see the day when they will transform into country nominations, and that day may not be too far off, as the formal process of accepting candidatures will commence at the next 104th Executive Council meeting. Let me conclude by saying if I was responding to a routine job vacancy I would confidently say I am most qualified on my own merit however this is an elective position with geopolitical considerations, therefore endorsements are key.

I must hasten to say, this is not a competition for a job but a deployment and the endorsements that I am seeking speaks to answering geopolitical aspirations, Africa in the first instance and what global tourism we want to see going forward.

However, akin to all electoral competitions, whatever candidature emerges, should consider Zimbabwe, Sadc and hopefully Africa’s candidate a serious proposition.

TZ: You have been travelling around lately, what is the vibe coming from your various meetings?

WM: There is a very positive acceptance of my statecraft and bureaucratic competence for this post. Remember this is an elective international civil servant position, which requires competent skills.

I have been around long enough to know where to take the organisation in fulfilling members’ aspirations and expectations.

The pedigree of my candidature goes beyond just advocacy, marketing and promotion of global tourism to international deal broking and statesmanship, which are the hallmarks needed to confront contemporary challenges I referred to already.

TZ: We are already into the second half of 2016. What do you need to do in the remaining period to ensure that the road is clear?

WM: Sell the vision. I draw inspiration from the Christian Bible’s Habakkuk 2:2 “Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run, that readeth it”.

TZ: Let’s come back home. How is the tourism industry faring?

WM: Tourism has a projected sectoral growth of 4,1 percent ahead of mining, manufacturing and agriculture and has been performing steadily on a growth trajectory since 2009 and contributing an average of 10 percent to GDP.

It could do much more on the back of enabling policies and I cite here urgent ones that need redress, the behaviour of currencies, intelligent taxation, destination accessibility and connectivity, a friendly visa regime, increased tourism asset base and a better packaging of brand Zimbabwe.

TZ: In other countries tourism is a huge and potentially an economic lifeline, can the same be said of Zimbabwe?

WM: We are no exception, however, when you situate our, and Africa’s performance within the context of global tourism, you begin to see how my minutely we are doing. Global tourism is generating $1,5 trillion, contributes 6 percent in exports, employ 288 million from 1,2 billion arrivals.

Africa’s cross cutting market share is a mere 3-5 percent, and in fact, our continent according to the latest global tourism barometer, is the only region that registered decline in arrivals performance at minus 3 percent.

Zimbabwe has a decimalised share of global performance, no different from any other African country except South Africa. It is this unequal growth and performance that is partly motivating me and has been understood by Sadc that it is an anomaly that we must correct.

TZ: What is the situation elsewhere?

WM: Europe has been leading, claiming almost 60 percent market share. However, there are threats to this performance arising from terrorism, which has marked tourism as a soft target, creating unprecedented insecurity in the mind of the traveller, going forward this is a challenge that demands a global response as none of us are safe from this scourge and attack on civilisation.

I have my thoughts on it, which include complementing hard power with soft power and harnessing the power of ICT to create safe, seamless and secure travel.

Migration, seemingly an undesirable buy-product of instability, is another phenomenon which is threatening what until now was a legacy example of openness in the Schengen. This world benchmark could very easily fold and re-create barriers to seamless travel if the current temporary panic goes unchecked. The future of the Euro needs close monitoring as it has a bearing on the tourism performance of the region.

South Asia and the Pacific is the growth pole not just for itself but an emerging source market for the world. The world should start planning for 600 million outbound travellers from China by year 2020.

The region has its insecurities similar to the Americas, and these include natural disasters and climate change, and in the definition of tourism and security as this debate continues, it has to capture them for mitigation and adaptation.

The Middle East, traditionally as an oil economy, is confounding its watchers as tourism surpasses the significance of oil, which hitherto has largely anchored livelihoods. Serious diversification is taking place although the gains are sometimes slowed down by insecurities.

The above notwithstanding, we have welcomed the designation of 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development and combined with the SDGs particularly those akin to tourism, Goals 8, 12 and 14, the future for global tourism looks very bright.

The 28th United Nations World Tourism Organization joint Commission of South Asia and the Pacific in Nara, Japan concluded.

The minister of tourism from Zimbabwe Hon. Walter Mzembi told eTurboNews about his input. Minister Mzembi is also running to be voted in as the new UNWTO Secretary General at the upcoming 2017 election in China.

He stated: “Made an Africa Look East, Look Everywhere presentation, it was well received.

I Made a case for ZIMBABWE and the role of tourism in the Visit-Trade- Invest value chain , and how the East can leverage on its none historical baggage status to exploit win win partnerships with Africa,

It was already exemplified by FOCAC, Korea Africa Forum, TICAD, Indo Africa Forum, Thailand Africa Forum.

I urged more forums to mitigate African fragmentation born out of Colonialism.

I advocated for tailored funding for Tourism Development, as in the numerous instances it is not prioritized.

Tourism and SECURITY remains a key challenge, but I emphasized the broadening of insecurity to include natural disasters, health, food , which are akin to Africa.

I closed my presentation with an expose on AU Agenda 2063 and its attendant opportunities, that the Africa we want , going forward will bring to the fore many deals.

When the minister was asked by Zimbabwean Tinashe H Kanda why he would travel to Japan for a regional Asia/ Pacific regional conference he had this to respond:

I got an answer for Tinashe H Kanda, in response to a good question, why I travel ?

Zimbabwe is Chairperson for the UNWTO Commission for Africa. There are five others, that include the Americas, Europe, Middle East, South Asia and the Pacific. Regional Commissions convene one statutory meeting a year, to which Chairpersons are invited to chairs their own and attend the other five, in order to improve horizontal communication and enhance the nexus between source markets and destinations. Apart from this it is an opportunity for the country to do its sales pitch to a collective of countries, least cost under one roof usually a minimum of 30, apart from affiliates and associates. We do not have the budget as Zimbabwe to road shows to source markets to secure the business, so we have been creative in identifying events where countries gather in multiples, and all we ever do apart from headline interventions is to market and promote Zimbabwe, which is my brief as the Country’ s Chief Public Relations Officer.

The modus operandi has not changed, all Ministers past , and my successors will inevitably follow the same. The only difference is I amplify my work through communication tools like FB, Twitter, Instagram, etc and this is as it should be. Now an effective promotion of the country starts first with the Messenger, and he has to be appropriately branded, have the passion and must basically be an open cheque book ! I do so much with very little, probably the least in the world, and my colleagues will attest to this: What I am armed with as I discharge my mandate, in the first instance is passion( I love what I do) , and secondly creativity. These two combined with Team Tourism support, has given me unparalleled craft competence, and lots of experience which the world is now wanting to convert for its own use, hence international elective processes I am currently participating in.

I have the financial turnover performance at home to attest to the above, and by Minister of Finance’s own admission several times in the last three years, it is Tourism which is paying the bills, with a projected leading sectoral growth of 4.1% in 2015/6 ahead of Mining, Agriculture and Manufacturing…all this with the least fiscal support , check the Blue Book, I am right at the bottom. I have not complained which is now Zimbabwe’s epidemic disease numero uno, I have understood my role and obligations, summarized in turning adversity into opportunity. Adversity yes, a product of your collective loud mouths as Zimbabweans, many of you desecrating your Country Brand daily, a very toxic internal and international discourse which I must explain at every instance and still lure the world, and tourists.I am often asked the proverbial John 1:46 question ” Nazareth, Can anything good come out Nazareth?”, the answer by Phillip to Nathan was an invitation “Come and See”…

August 2013, I invited the world to ZIMBABWE, 20 th Session UNWTO General Assembly, to ” Come and See”, the rest is history…
Finally, the answer to ZIMBABWE’s woes, today and in the future is gonna be hard work, productivity…and I take comfort in the Lord Jesus himself, when confronted in a similar manner as you have done, he had this to say in defence: “Up to this day my Father is still at work, and so am I”

Nothing amazing about flying , ndidzo tsoka dzebasa rangu, hotels and being in other countries, ndiko kubasa kwangu..
Hatimire, kugona basa lyricist

NEW YORK, 27 May 2016 / PRN Africa / — Some 31 natural and cultural World Heritage sites in 29 countries across the world are becoming increasingly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, a new report released by the United Nations has found.

The World Heritage and Tourism in a Changing Climate report documents climate impacts including increasing temperatures, melting glaciers, rising seas, intensifying weather events, worsening droughts and longer wildfire seasons, at iconic tourism sites such as Venice, Stonehenge and the Galapagos Islands.

It also covers other World Heritage sites such as South Africa’s Cape Floral Kingdom; the port city of Cartagena, Colombia; and Shiretoko National Park in Japan, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a press release.

“World governments, the private sector and tourists all need to coordinate their efforts to reduce carbon emissions and to protect the world’s most treasured cultural and natural resources from the impact of tourism activities,” said Elisa Tonda, head of UNEP’s Responsible Industry and Value Chains Unit.

“Policies to decouple tourism from natural resource impacts, carbon emissions and environmental harm will engage a responsible private sector and promote change in tourists’ behaviour to realize the sectors’ potential in some of the world’s most visited places,” she added.

In addition to UNEP, the report was prepared by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS).

Because World Heritage sites must have ‘Outstanding Universal Value,’ the report recommends that the World Heritage Committee consider the risk of prospective sites becoming degraded by climate change before they add them to the list.

In particular, the report highlights the urgent need to identify the World Heritage sites that are most vulnerable to climate change, and to implement policies and provide resources to increase resilience at those sites.

In addition, the report urges increased global efforts to meet the Paris Agreementclimate change pledges in order to preserve World Heritage sites for future generations.

“Globally, we need to better understand, monitor and address climate change threats to World Heritage sites,” said Mechtild Rössler, Director of UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre. “As the report’s findings underscore, achieving the Paris Agreement’s goal of limiting global temperature rise to a level well below 2 degrees Celsius is vitally important to protecting our World Heritage for current and future generations.”

The report also recommends engaging the tourism sector in efforts to manage and protect vulnerable sites in the face of climate change, and to educate visitors about climate threats.

“Climate change is affecting World Heritage sites across the globe,” said Adam Markham, lead author of the report and Deputy Director of the Climate and Energy Program at UCS.

“Some Easter Island statues are at risk of being lost to the sea because of coastal erosion. Many of the world’s most important coral reefs, including in the islands of New Caledonia in the western Pacific, have suffered unprecedented coral bleaching linked to climate change this year. Climate change could eventually even cause some World Heritage sites to lose their status,” he added.

The report includes a complete list of World Heritage sites that are at risk.

SOURCE UN News Centre

Zimbabwe’s tourism is now leading in sectoral growth with 11 percent contribution to Gross Domestic Product, displaying remarkable recovery, says Dr Mzembi, the Minister of Tourism and Hospitality Industry and Hospitality Industry of Zimbabwe, and Southern African Development Community endorsed candidate for the position of UNWTO Secretary General that falls vacant in 2017.

Minister Mzembi said the tourism industry was expected to play a major role in Zimbabwe’s economy, with a vision to have a $5 billion tourism boom from five million arrivals, contributing 15 percent to GDP by 2020.

“So, tourism has been the most significant rapprochement and re-engagement tool for the Republic of Zimbabwe and it is now an acknowledged unifying force and a tool for public diplomacy and the economy has largely been stabilised by its receipts income, securing peace in the process,” he said.

“Anything in a Government that is economically significant is enabled, facilitated and protected. We advanced tourism in Zimbabwe to a point where it is now a recognised economic pillar amongst three other pillars that include agriculture, mining and manufacturing,” said Minister Mzembi.

“In fact, it is cross-subsidising the Zimbabwean economy and GDP contribution now stands at 11 percent. We were able to advance to that point of recognition and it means that the whole Government works for the sector’s advancement. It starts with the security sector guaranteeing peace because peace is a critical success factor,” he said.

Minister Mzembi said Zimbabwe’s major product was peace as “it does not matter how attractive a destination is, if it is situated in a conflict situation it doesn’t sell. Tourism cannot sell conflict.”

He said the re-engagement and rapprochement carried out by the Government had resulted in the growth of the tourism sector. “Going forward, it (tourism sector) is paying the bills for Government functions. Meanwhile, the world has significantly softened its stance towards Zimbabwe, with European Union sanctions partially lifted and there is intense business reconnaissance missions into Zimbabwe and China would attest to this,” said Dr Mzembi.

“When State diplomacy fails, even without guns being fired at times, it can invent conditions equivalent to those of a war zone. We must never allow a situation where after traditional diplomacy fails, it precipitates war before we invoke the inherent diplomatic characteristics of tourism,” he said.

“When people arrive in destinations, they are agents of goodwill. Usually they bring an olive branch, so today’s 1,2 billion world arrivals can easily be turned into peace ambassadors of this world. The expenditure that they generate in destinations creates tourism economies which today stands at $1,4 trillion.”

Minister Mzembi chronicled how after the formation of the Government of National Unity in 2009, he was tasked with reaching out to the country’s traditional tourist source markets which had issued travel advisories against Zimbabwe.

The culmination of the efforts was the regularization of the country’s membership to world tourism bodies, with the ultimate being the country’s joint hosting by Zimbabwe and Zambia, the 20th Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations World Tourism Organization in Victoria Falls in 2013. The versatile Minister, Dr Wlater Mzembi was at the forefront of organizing one of the most successful General Assembly that was confirmed by Dr Taleb Rifai, the current Secretary General of UNWTO.

In the same vein, Dr Mzembi has demonstrated clear leadership of the tourism sector not only in his country, but globally, and he has shown that he has the gravitas to provide leadership of the tourism sector effectively. He is in the race for the UNWTO Secretary General position that falls vacant in 2017, and he has pronounced himself and answered to the cal by several countries for him to lead the tourism body. He has declared his candidature, with support also coming from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and soon the African Union is likely to endorse him at the forthcoming African Union (AU) Heads of States and Government Summit  to be held in July 2016 in Kigali, Rwanda  as the AU candidate for the position. A cursory look at his maneuvering appears clearly that he is the most preferred candidate, a man that the world can trust, a man that the international tourism community can support to lead the UNWTO to drive a global agenda and consolidate on the legendary legacy to be left by Dr Taleb Rifai on one of the most dynamic and fast growing economic sectors in the world.

It’s official. The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) released a statement on where it stands on global LGBT tourism –  sort of.

WTTC CEO David Scowsill recently was a speaker at the IGLTA annual summit in Cape Town, but many participants were disappointed.

The audience was waiting to hear about how WTTC and the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) can help to stop open discrimination and fear from its members of the LGBT community to participate and enjoy global travel and tourism activities. Unfortunately, this was not addressed by Mr. Scowsill.

Of course it’s important for the leader of a private global travel and tourism organization to either say we support LGBT tourism or we don’t. As WTTC told eTurboNews in a statement today, “The World Travel & Tourism Council was founded by leading private companies in the sector to raise awareness of the enormous economic and social benefits that travel and tourism brings to the entire world community.”

WTTC’s statement continued: “For the positive effects of these benefits to be felt, it is important that people are able to travel wherever and whenever they wish. The LGBT leisure travel market is significant and growing. Destinations which have actively promoted to and welcomed this segment, are reaping the rewards economically, socially, and culturally.”

Again, WTTC is short in saying we support LGBT tourism. The statement dances around the issue and observes that those that do support it, may prosper economically.

So where does WTTC stand on this issue? Is this going to remain a non-issue at upcoming WTTC summits and discussions?

It’s obviously very different when it comes to a stand on empowering women. This subject was a top item on the agenda at WTTC summits and events, but LGBT and equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender travelers has so far never been seriously discussed.

The same is true for UNWTO. eTN will continue to push for both organizations to make a clear stand one way or the other. Many UNWTO member countries and many WTTC companies based in certain member countries where homosexual activities are crimes may be the cause for WTTC’s hesitation to take this important stand. One has to follow where the money comes from to maintain the two organizations.

It could very well be the reason WTTC and UNWTO are forced to maintain a “neutral” stand, but can neutrality justify allowing the criminalization of LGBT travelers and open discrimination? How can the travel and tourism industry take the WTTC and UNWTO leadership serious, if 10 percent of the world’s travelers are being overlooked?

Minister Alain St.Ange of the Seychelles is heading to the U.S. island of Guam for the 2016 PATA Annual Summit. This follows an official invitation letter to the Seychelles Minister by Mario Hardy, the Chief Executive Officer of PATA for Minister St.Ange to be the keynote speaker at the PATA annual summit in Guam May 18-21 that will will be held at the Dusit Thani Guam Resort.

The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) is a not-for profit association that is internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region. The Association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research and innovative events to its member organisations, comprising 97 government, state and city tourism bodies, 27 international airlines, airports and cruise lines, 63 educational institutions, and hundreds of travel industry companies in Asia Pacific and beyond. Thousands of travel professionals belong to the 43 local PATA chapters worldwide. The Association also has official offices or representation in Beijing, Sydney and London.

“This was a golden opportunity to increase the visibility of Seychelles in Asia and one we could not miss. Air Seychelles has started direct non-stop flights to Beijing in China and as a country we have been actively working to claim our fair share of tourists from Asia as a whole. With Sharanjit Leyl, the BBC World News Presenter moderating the Guam Summit we are sure that Seychelles was be able to once again be seen, be noticed and also get the needed visibility it continues to need to remain relevant in the world of tourism” said Minister Alain St.Ange as he was preparing to head to Guam.

On this Guam Meeting the PATA CEO Mario Hardy said, “Preliminary figures from PATA indicate that 38 destinations in the Asia Pacific region welcomed 537.8 million international visitor arrivals in 2015 and that number is expected to reach more than 650 million by 2020. While this growth is surely impressive, it becomes imperative that both the public and private sector work together to ensure sustainable and responsible growth of the travel and tourism industry. The UNWTO/PATA Ministerial Debate is the perfect platform for bringing together both parties to work towards these goals.”

And on his part the UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai said, “Islands are home to some of the richest marine and land biodiversity on earth. Because of this, they are also a top destination for millions of tourists each year. The special geographical situation of islands makes them unique, but at the same time this poses a number of challenges for them including sustainability, climate change, air connectivity and positioning islands as top choice destinations in the minds of tourists. This Ministerial Debate will serve as an important preparatory exercise for the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, 2017 adopted by the United Nations General Assembly”.

“This is the first time PATA and the United Nations World Tourism Organization are coming together to host this historic meeting in the Pacific. The discussion of important issues, such as global warming and sustainable tourism, are very relevant to the region as well as the global tourism industry,” said GVB Executive Director Nathan Denight. “Guam has been a regional hub in the Pacific for hundreds of years, and in this modern age, we are America in Asia and the perfect destination for high level meetings. We look forward to welcoming all the delegates and guest speakers to our island paradise.”

PATA and the UNWTO are especially honoured to have Marshallese poet, writer, artist and journalist Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner officially open the debate. Her poetry focuses on raising awareness on issues and threats faced by the people of the Marshall Islands. She has performed at the opening ceremony of the UN Climate Summit 2014 in New York and the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP 21) in Paris.

Apart from Honourable Minister Alain St.Ange, Minister of Tourism and Culture, Seychelles other confirmed speakers include Andrew Dixon, Owner, Nikoi and Cempedak Islands; Derek Toh, Founder & CEO, WOBB;Gerald Lawless, Head of Tourism and Hospitality, Dubai Holding; Jon Nathan Denight, General Manager, Guam Visitors Bureau; Mark Schwab, CEO, Star Alliance; Morris Sim, Co-Founder & CEO, Circos Brand Karma; and Zoltan Somogyi, Executive Director for Programme and Coordination at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).