Public private partnership key to innovation and sustainable growth, WTTC chief tells UNWTO
Speaking at the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Executive Council in San Sebastian, Spain, today, WTTC President & CEO Gloria Guevara indicated her support for new UNWTO Secretary General, Zurab Pololikashvili and highlighted the importance of public private partnership in the Travel & Tourism sector.
Travel & Tourism, which already accounts for 10.4% of GDP and 313 million jobs around the world, is set to grow significantly over the coming years. International arrivals will reach 1.8 billion by 2030 according to UNWTO forecasts and IATA estimates a near doubling of air passengers from 4 billion to 7.8 billion a year over a similar timeframe.
Ms. Guevara said, “Travel & Tourism is set to grow by 4% a year over the next ten years. It is in all our interests to maximize the opportunities of this growth. WTTC Members are clear that we should focus on three priority areas in order to achieve this. First, security and travel facilitation is fundamental – without people travelling safely and securely there is no tourism. Second, crisis preparedness and management – ensuring our destinations, companies and communities are resilient. Third, sustainable growth – planning for growth to ensure tourism benefits all, taking action on climate change, providing inclusive and sustainable jobs, and making sure we are socially responsible. Technological innovation and the digital agenda will be critical delivering a sustainable future for our sector.
I am delighted that these priorities as identified by the CEOs who make up WTTC’s membership are in alignment with those announced today by the new Secretary General of UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashvili. I am looking forward to working closely with the new Secretary General and his team over the coming years. The spirit of public private partnership is alive and well between our two organisations and together we will make sure that our sector continues to thrive, and create jobs across every country in the world.”
“I have caught sight of the Enemy and he is Us” – Pogo 1972
23rd May 2018, Mauritius
Speaking today at the International Conference on Digitalisation and Sustainable Tourism in Mauritius, Professor Geoffrey Lipman co-founder of SUNx and TraNexus blockchain solutions highlighted the fact that:
“Climate Change is the major eXistential challenge we face – if we fail to respond now, our entire planetary lifestyle will be shattered irreversibly. There are no options.
Professor Lipman described the link between the increasing volatility, scale and destructiveness of extreme weather, with the starvation, poverty, disease, migration and conflict that it causes. He said:
“Travel & Tourism, as a lead global Socio-economic Development Agent must step up to the plate with actions. As a leader, we will need to be in the forefront of change and the more so many of our core products/attributes are in the front line – transport (particularly aviation), coastal facilities, infrastructure for example will need radical transformation and support. We are not yet going far enough, fast enough and haven’t focused on the real potential impacts. Nor have we put in place mechanisms to put the sector in the mainstream. We will need to embrace the green, the blue, the circular, the sharing and the sufficiency economies. Not just study but embrace them. We will need to adapt our institutions to be more visionary, nimble and inclusive. SUNx – the Strong Universal Network – has been established to help keep our eyes on the ball and our minds on the stakes.”
He described how Technology, specifically Blockchain, will be a major factor in determining success or failure. He explained that this will be through changes to transport propulsion systems, energy efficient buildings and improved border crossings. He went on to say:
“It will help enhance security through positive identification, make bookings and fulfilment easier, faster and safer, it will revolutionise marketing and promotion through augmented reality. And it will rationalise and strengthen payment systems and investment flows.”
Speaking about the fact that small island states and poorer countries are first in the line of fire he concluded by saying:
“It is fitting that Mauritius has had the vision to focus on this at the time of its 50th Anniversary as a sovereign state. You will need to act now and act out of the box, to build on your incredible success story and help the world make it for the next 50 years. Business as usual is not enough: moderate change is not enough: only total transformation is enough.”
UNWTO’s Executive Council supports the priorities of the Secretary-General for his mandate and new management team
The city of San Sebastian, Spain hosted the 108th meeting of the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) from 23-25 May. During the meeting, Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili obtained the support of this key governing body for the priorities that will set up the work of the organization for the coming years. Likewise, the Council supported the new structure of the UNWTO, its renewed institutional image and the designated management team for the implementation of the agreed programme of work.
Under Secretary-General Pololikashvili, who took office in January 2018, UNWTO will focus on five pillars for the period 2018-2019: innovation and the digital transformation; investments and entrepreneurship; education and employment; safe, secure and seamless travel; and social, cultural and environmental sustainability.
In order to address new tourism challenges and trends and improve the business environment for the sector, the Organization will pay special attention to scaling up innovation and digitalization in the sector. This will lead to the creation of new job and business opportunities, an increase of investments in tourism, and enhanced competitiveness and sustainability for the sector.
The Secretary-General also presented the Organization’s new leadership structure, put in place to increase efficiency in achieving UNWTO’s goals of adding value to members, increasing membership and serving the tourism sector as a whole.
“This is a time of renewal for our organization. Listening closely to the opinions and needs of all our members and partners is key”, Pololikashvili stated during the opening ceremony.
The Minister of Energy, Tourism and the Digital Agenda of Spain, Álvaro Nadal, praised the renewed impetus of the UNWTO under the leadership of Zurab Pololikashvili and highlighted tourism as “one of the most relevant international sectors, not only as an economic activity, but as an extraordinary vehicle for us to understand and get to know each other, something that only tourism can achieve”.
The Minister of Tourism of Argentina and President of the Executive Council, Gustavo Santos, affirmed that “we need to position tourism politically as a fundamental activity of the economy”.
The 109th, 110th and 111th sessions of the UNWTO Executive Council will take place in Bahrain, Azerbaijan and Russia, respectively.