CTO helps Dominica prepare to cope with the impact of climate change
~ A two-day climate sensitisation and disaster risk management workshop was part of a series of training programmes being conducted by the organisation in that member country ~
The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), the region’s tourism development agency, has been working closely with its member country, Dominica, to be better able to plan for, withstand and recover from the negative impacts of climate change and natural disasters.
The CTO has completed a two-day climate sensitisation and disaster risk management workshop in Roseau, aimed at facilitating the sharing of knowledge and best practices on strategies related to climate mitigation and adaptation, as well as identifying sound disaster risk management approaches.
Dominica suffered a direct hit by category five Hurricane Maria last September, which wiped out 226 per cent of its gross domestic product, two years after Tropical Storm Erika passed over the island, destroying an entire village, killing 20 people and leaving behind damage to 90 per cent of the country’s GDP.
“The topics of climate change and disaster preparedness are very pertinent to us in Dominica and in the wider Caribbean. We live in a region that is prone to the effects of climate change and disasters especially hurricanes. Of course, we have first-hand knowledge and recent experience with hurricanes,” Colin Piper, the chief executive officer of Discover Dominica Authority (DDA), the island’s tourist board, said at the opening of the workshop
“Anecdotal data indicates that tourism arrivals after natural disasters reduce by up to 30 per cent for up to three years. We are in fact experiencing a reduction in promotable visitor arrivals. For some properties, their occupancy levels may be up due to aid and agency short stays, but we must address this issue which threatens our livelihood within the hospitality industry and as nation,” he added.
Thirty tourism practitioners and decision makers from the public and private sectors participated in the event, which formed part of the “Supporting a Climate Smart and Sustainable Caribbean Tourism Industry” project currently implemented by the CTO, with funding and technical assistance from the Caribbean Development Bank, through the joint Natural Disaster Risk Management (NDRM) programme for Caribbean Forum states, undertaken in conjunction with the African Caribbean and Pacific Group and the European Union.
The 26-27 July workshop, facilitated by strategic planning expert Dr. Jennifer Edwards, was the latest in a series of training programmes being conducted by the CTO for Dominica.
Earlier this month a “Delivering Quality Service” workshop was held for 55 craft and souvenir vendors, hair braiders and tourism taxi service providers to help them better appreciate the importance of their roles in visitor satisfaction; improve people relations through effective communication and understand how positive visitor interactions result in satisfied visitors.
That workshop, facilitated by the CTO’s regional human resources development consultant Sharon Banfield- Bovell, covered areas such as understanding the customer, the importance of delivering quality customer service and the ten principles of customer service, all areas which Dominica said were critical in ensuring the service providers are equipped with the necessary skill set to deliver the highest level of customer service.
In addition, 25 participants each are to be trained in the management of sites and attractions at a workshop which targets forestry park wardens and the Waitukubuli National Trail Project among others, and a management of service quality workshop for senior executives and general managers in private and public sector tourism enterprises.
The CTO’s resource mobilisation and development division offers several training and development programmes, for member countries and the tourism sector, in keeping with its mandate to assist in developing and strengthening human capital in the region’s tourism sector so as to offer high levels of professional service.
eTurboNews joined the Caribbean Tourism Organization
eTN Corporation, the owner of eTurboNews officially joined the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO) as a member this week.
The Caribbean Tourism Organization is a tourism development agency with 24 Dutch, English, Spanish, and French country members along with 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 for a holiday. Its purpose is guided by the concept of Leading Sustainable Tourism. CTO is based in Barbados with offices in New York and London.
eTN Corporation owns eTurboNews in addition to a myriad of other publications that reach out to travel professionals, consumers, and the media all over the world. In addition to eTurboNews.com, eTurboNews.eu there is etn.travel (Global Travel Industry), eturbonews.de (German language editions), forimmediaterelease.net (wire service for journalists), travelindustrydeals.com (for travel agents), meetings.travel (meetings/MICE industry), aviation.travel (aviation news), gaytourism.travel (LGBT travelers), worldtourismwire.com (news about top travel and tourism organizations, such as UNWTO, WTTC, ETOA, ICTP), travelwirenews.com (tourism news sources, mainstream readers), wines.travel (wines and food news), and hawaiinews.online (Hawaii specific).
eTN is headquartered in Hawaii, USA with offices or representations in California, Florida, New York, Texas, Australia, Czech Republic, HongKong, Jamaica, Jordan, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Peru, Poland, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Thailand, Tanzania, Uganda, UAE, Seychelles, Zimbabwe. eTurboNews Germany is located in Duesseldorf and Hamburg. In addition, eTurboNews has ambassadors in more than 100 countries.
The corporation also owns TravelMarketingNetwork, a group of specialized marketing gurus from various sectors of the travel industry. The network is a public relations consultancy geared specifically to the needs of the travel and tourism industry providing tailor-made PR solutions and advice on marketing and branding for companies engaged in travel, transport, and tourism-related businesses.
eTN is a founding member and major force behind ICTP (The International Coalition of Tourism Partners) and the newly established African Tourism Board.
eTN Publisher and President Juergen Steinmetz said: “For many years, eTN has covered breaking news about the Caribbean as well as issues relevant to the region in detail. eTN had partnered with numerous events in the Caribbean, including the UNWTO Global Conference on Jobs and Inclusive Growth in Jamaica.
“It’s time to partner with the Caribbean Tourism Organization and work with their members so they may have even better access to our extensive network, and to make a difference in the development of tourism in the Caribbean.
“We’re proud to join the best of the best representing the Caribbean Travel and Tourism industry through the Caribbean Tourism Organization.”
eTurboNews was founded in 1999 and has been a trusted resource for the global travel and tourism industry for 19 years, and the only publication in the world providing world-wide travel and tourism news by the hour, 24/7. Through its readership, partnerships, and searchability, positioning, and an extensive social media network eTurboNews combined reach includes 230,000 travel industry professionals email subscribers, 17,000 journalists, and 1.3 million average consumers.
eTurboNews has never been known for lip-service, but for fair, spicy coverage readers love to see.
eTN is different from most online media. eTN Publisher Juergen Steinmetz said: “We do not believe in free “earned media” as a method to have our hard-working editorial team provide free coverage for commercial or promotional purposes.
“In joining the Caribbean Tourism Organization we hope to establish new win/win partnerships, bring some of our events to the region, and learn more about the true issues relevant to the Caribbean, and integrate best practices into our global way of thinking. “I am looking forward to attending the upcoming SOTIC (State of the Tourism Industry Conference) in the Bahamas, September 1-5.”
Child Prostitution in Malaysia: A Haven for Human Trafficking generating Tourism Revenue
Is Child abuse through Tourism part of “Malaysia Truly Asia” ? Tourism is big business in Malaysia. Abusing children is more lucrative than exploiting adults in the travel and tourism industry. According to Child Rights International Network, Malaysia is a Haven for Child Prostitution.
Child Protection may no longer be a priority for UNWTO after Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili quietly and with not even an explanation to long-serving members canceled all meetings of the UNWTO Child Protection Committee from the minute he took over the leadership of UNWTO. Even to members of the committee, like the publisher of this wire, it’s not clear if this group still has a function.
It waits to be seen how much of a leader will PATA take at their upcoming PATA Mart in Langkawi in September? Checking the PATA Mart agenda, human trafficking of children is not yet on the agenda. Is this an uncomfortable subject to discuss? PATA had demonstrated their support for Child Protection in the past. This will hopefully happen again at the PATA Mart in Malaysia.
Coordinated with the United Nations, World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, ECPAT in Bangkok today is ringing alarm bells loud and clear. ECPAT released their ECPAT-Country-Overview-Malaysia-2018 , a devastating report about the extent of child prostitution, human trafficking and the legality of child marriage in Malaysia. Malaysia is a peaceful mostly Islamic South East Asian country, and a great destination for excellent food, nature, cities, and beaches. Malaysia is a dream travel destination.
ECPAT’s devistating report opens the dark side of Tourism to Malaysia. This dark side includes human trafficking and exploiting children through prostitution, child marriage. It’s a massive problem in Malaysia.
The report demonstrates human traffickers may be exploiting children through prostitution in Malaysia because among other reasons – it is more lucrative than exploiting adults.
ECPAT International, a global network of NGOs, has released a report detailing the scale of the sexual exploitation of children in the country which highlights this worrying trend. The document says that it can be more than twice as profitable to sexually exploit children than adults. And while reliable data on this topic is difficult to find, it is thought that at least 150 children a year are being sexually exploited in Malaysia in this manner.
“Prostitution is illegal in Malaysia, yet it remains widespread,” says Mark Kavenagh, Head of Research at ECPAT International. “Indications are that a significant number of young women and girls, from across Southeast Asia – are sexually exploited in this way in Malaysia. They are often tricked into the sex trade after having been recruited for what they thought was going to be work in restaurants, hotels and beauty salons. There are also cases of marriage being used to recruit, such as with Vietnamese women and girls who entered into brokered marriages and were later forced into sex work.”
While it is difficult to quantify the number of child victims who have been trafficked for sexual purposes, Malaysia’s relatively porous borders and location in central Southeast Asia make it a destination, transit country and source country for trafficking to serve both domestic and tourist markets.
Child marriages, which remain legal in some cases in Malaysia, also endanger children, says ECPAT. “We know that child early or forced marriage can be devastating to children, from preventing their right to education to exposing them to sexual violence,” explained Kavenagh. “Sometimes children forced into marriage are subsequently sold by family members.”
The report also warns that online child sexual exploitation is a growing concern, with Malaysia now ranked third amongst ASEAN countries in terms of possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material. The live streaming of child sexual abuse, online grooming of children for sexual purposes, and sexual extortion of children are all on the rise according to ECPAT.
However, Malaysia has made progress in tackling trafficking in recent years, and the United States government recently acknowledged Malaysia’s efforts to strengthen enforcement of the law and expand trafficking investigations and prosecutions. Malaysia also recently passed the 2016 amendment to the Child Act that established a registry of child sex offenders, and the Sexual Offenses Against Children Act 2017, which came into force this year and strengthened child protection by criminalizing a broader array of activities. However, after good progress in 2017 saw the country upgraded, Malaysia was downgraded to the “Tier 2 watch list” in the 2018 US Department of State Trafficking in Persons report.
The ECPAT report’s recommendations also call on Malaysia to increase efforts to better understand how it is impacted by child sexual exploitation, alleging that there is no apparent initiative to increase the scope of research done on the sexual exploitation of children in Malaysia.
“We know that this crime is a massive problem, but it is also clear that there are significant gaps in our understanding of the issue – both in Malaysia and the region,” says Kavenagh. “This is a crime that happens in the shadows. Criminals like shadows. ECPAT would like to invite the Malaysian government to help us address this as a matter of urgency.”
Malaysia cannot lose face in the global travel industry and should aggressively and immediately address this issue more seriously. It’s important for Malaysia as a leading holiday destination to become a leader and not a perpetrator of this issue.
Most major hotel groups are in Malaysia and operate resorts and hotels in cities. Most major airlines fly to Malaysia. What are these hotels, and what are airlines doing to prevent this crime? eTN is interested in your feedback and welcomes comments. Feel free to email us at [email protected] (also confidential) or post stories and feedback on www.buzz.travel
UNWTO launches an online Platform to Achieve SDGs through Tourism
Madrid, Spain, 23 July 2018 – Promoting a greater engagement of the tourism sector with sustainable development is the main objective of the Tourism for SDGs Platform. The online tool is designed to advance the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals through tourism, and was developed by the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) with the support of Switzerland’s State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
The 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) constitute an ambitious global agenda for people, planet, prosperity and peace through partnerships. The SDGs aim to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and solve climate change by 2030. The economic relevance of tourism, representing up to 10% of the world’s GDP and employment, makes harnessing its full potential essential for the advancement of the SDGs.
Tourism4SDGs.org is a co-creation space that allows users to access a wide range of resources, add their own initiatives, findings and projects, motivate discussion and collaboration, and share content related to tourism and sustainable development.
“Tourism plays a vital role in many, if not all, of the 17 Goals”, said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili. “Tourism has come of age as a cross-cutting economic activity with deep social ramifications, and the Tourism for SDGs Platform is providing the global tourism community with a space to co-create and engage to realize the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, he added.
“Switzerland strongly supports this platform as it will allow a focus on the three main components of sustainable tourism: its economic, environmental and social dimensions,” said Ambassador Raymund Furrer of SECO.
The platform’s three main features act as a call for action. Learn, Share and Act, the three levels of interaction at Tourism4SDGs.org, aim not only to educate but also to encourage conversation and collaboration towards a sustainable tourism sector.
The platform was launched during the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development ‘Transformation towards sustainable and resilient societies’ (New York, 9-18 July) during an event co-hosted by UNWTO and the One Planet network.
Tourism and Construction have Power to Lead Move to Sustainable Economies
Madrid, Spain, 19 July 2018 – From infrastructure and communication to food production and transport, tourism and construction play key roles in a circular economy framework that supports sustainable development. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), together with the Sustainable Buildings and Construction Programme of the One Planet Network, addressed this challenge during the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (9-18 July, New York, USA).
Tourism and construction are part of the overall economic value chain. Best practices in circular economy thinking that can help these large economic sectors shift to sustainable consumption and production (SCP) were at the centre of the event ‘Tourism & Construction: Circular Economy solutions for SDG12’, organized by UNWTO.
Advancing sustainability in the tourism sector and fulfilling its responsibility in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a task that benefits from new technological advances, continuous innovation and the strengthening of models such as the circular economy. Especially in view of SDG12 on ‘sustainable consumption and production patterns’, and considering the need to grow responsibly as a sector overall, tourism has an important role to play in the decoupling of economic development from resource use.
With its vast links to other economic activities and direct interaction between consumer and producer, tourism can – if managed well – create positive, long-lasting impacts that go well beyond the sector. Adapting circular production and consumption patterns that accelerate sustainability is therefore key to the long-term health and resilience of tourism businesses and destinations.
Against both this background and the review of SDG 12 at the High-Level Political Forum, the event ‘Tourism & Construction: Circular Economy solutions for SDG12’ underscored that embracing circularity implies robust measurement and monitoring of impacts of tourism and construction activities, including energy and water use efficiency, climate change mitigation, waste management, local sourcing, sustainable land use, biodiversity protection and decent employment, among others.
The 17 SDGs represent a common vision for prosperity, equality, justice and climate action, brought together under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Goal 12 calls for more responsible SCP patterns and practices across sectors, with the One Planet Multi-Partner Trust Fund for SDG 12, inaugurated on 17 July 2018, to support partners’ commitments to accelerating this shift. The Fund is a joint effort of the UN Environment Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization, UNWTO, UN-Habitat and the UN Office for Project Services.
‘Tourism & Construction: Circular Economy solutions for SDG12’featured panels and presentations from the governments and tourism and development administrations of Bhutan, Botswana, Finland, France, Mexico and Switzerland. The gathering also played host to the launch of UNWTO’s Tourism for SDGs Platform, an interactive online tool that aims to create collaboration, motivate discussion and foster action between the tourism sector and the world of sustainable development. The platform, developed with the support of the Swiss Secretariat for Economic Affairs, is for policy makers, companies and all tourism stakeholders to connect and jointly advance their SDG implementation strategies.
Concluding the event, the Head of Delegation for Sustainable Development from the Ministry for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition of France stressed the need to accelerate the shift towards SCP and encouraged both tourism and construction to build cross-sectorial cooperation. If properly developed and used, circular economy solutions will be instrumental to transforming the sustainability of our economic model.
About the One Planet – Sustainable Tourism Programme
The One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme is part of the ten-year framework of programmes on sustainable consumption and production, official implementation mechanism of SDG12 aiming at mainstreaming sustainability among tourists and tourism stakeholders worldwide.
Circular economy thinking can enhance this shift because it promotes changes in the consumption and production of goods and services: from buy-use-discard to buy-use-reuse or refurbish, and from traditional ideas of ownership towards sharing economies.
World Tourism Day places focus on innovation and digital transformation
MADRID, SPAIN – The importance of digital technologies in tourism, providing opportunities for innovation and preparing the sector for the future of work, is at the centre of World Tourism Day 2018, to be celebrated in Budapest, Hungary (27 September 2018).
World Tourism Day, celebrated every 27 September around the world, is a unique opportunity to raise awareness on tourism’s actual and potential contribution to sustainable development.
This year’s World Tourism Day (WTD) will help to put the opportunities provided to tourism, by technological advances including big data, artificial intelligence and digital platforms, on the map of sustainable development. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) sees digital advances and innovation as part of the solution to the challenge of marrying continued growth with a more sustainable and responsible tourism sector.
“Harnessing innovation and digital advances provides tourism with opportunities to improve inclusiveness, local community empowerment and efficient resource management, amongst other objectives within the wider sustainable development agenda”, said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.
The WTD official celebration will be held in Budapest, Hungary, a country enjoying steady growth of tourism backed by consistent policy support and a commitment to the digital future. Other celebrations will take place worldwide.
The official celebration will also see the announcement of the semi-finalists of the 1st UNWTO Tourism Startup Competition, launched by UNWTO and Globalia to give visibility to startups with innovative ideas capable of revolutionizing the way we travel and enjoy tourism.
Carol Weaving, Managing Director of Reed Exhibition: A new Board Member of the African Tourism Board
The World Travel Market is only major travel trade event under the brand of Reed Exhibition. The newly founded African Tourism Board has a new Board member. Carol Weaving, managing director of Reed Exhibition, the world’s largest and most respected exhibition company joined the African Tourism Board as a Board member.
“The African Tourism Board has been formed to grow and benefit tourism on the whole of the African continent. Knowing how important tourism is for the continent I know that together with World Travel Market Africa the Association will play a pivotal role in growing tourism in Africa. I am excited to sit on the newly formed Board”.
In November 2013 Reed Exhibitions, the world’s largest and most respected exhibition company and part of the RELX Group, signed a joint venture agreement with the Thebe Tourism Group and Carol to acquire a majority share in Thebe Exhibitions & Projects Group (TEPG). TEPG was renamed Thebe Reed Exhibitions and was owned 60% by Reed Exhibitions, 30% by Thebe Tourism Group, with Carol Weaving retaining 10% as Managing Director.
Three years later and a desire for accelerated growth Reed bought out Thebe’s shares and now Thebe Reed is Carol Weaving
Carol brings to Reed Exhibitions, a diverse working background in the business, tourism and events industry. Over 30 years, Carol’s career has expanded through many sectors within the industry, and her knowledge and expertise spans across marketing, exhibition management, events, conferences as well as venue and facility management.
After growing up in the United Kingdom and working as the Marketing Manager for a Radio Station, Carol pursued her dream of living in South Africa, and became the youngest Director (age 29) of the Automobile Association at the Kyalami Racetrack which equipped her with the skillset she would soon need to start her own company, International Exhibition Consultants. Carol later sold majority share of this company to Dutch exhibition company RAI, and then proceeded to head up RAI in South Africa.
As the South African economy grew and expanded over her time at RAI, she realised a need to team up with an empowerment partner and proceeded to facilitate a buy-out of RAI’s shares to the Thebe Tourism group in 2004, a subsidiary of South Africa’s first Black Empowerment Company, Thebe Investment Corporation.
Thanks to Carol’s continued passion, hard work, dedication and management, Reed Exhibitions is one of the largest and most successful exhibition and venue management companies in Southern Africa and is now in a position to grow its footprint across the African continent with many new ventures in the pipeline.
The group owns major exhibition titles such as Africa Travel Week – International Luxury Travel Market Africa (ILTM Africa); Incentives, Business Travel & Meetings Africa (ibtm Africa); and World Travel Market Africa (WTM Africa), Sports and Events Tourism Exchange, Africa Automation Fair, Connected Industries, #Buy a Business Expo, Decorex Joburg, Cape Town and Durban, 100% Design South Africa, Mediatech Africa, Small Business Expo, International Sourcing Fair, Value Added Agriculture West Africa, SMART Factories, FIBO Business Summit, Fire & Feast Meat Festival and Comic Con Africa. We also offer strategic venue management solutions and our contract to manage the award-winning Ticketpro Dome in Johannesburg, on behalf of its owners – the Sasol Pension Fund, stretches until 2024.
Carol is the past Chairperson of the Exhibition Association of Southern Africa (EXSA)
and current Chairperson of the Association of African Exhibition Organisers (AAXO). She also served on the International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) committee.
Juergen Steinmetz, member of the current steering committee said: “We’re very pleased to welcome Carol Weaving to our board. Carol brings a wealth of experience and recognition. We’re looking forward to working with Carol to position the African Tourism Board as an uniter in tourism.”
About the African Tourism Board
Founded in 2018, the African Tourism Board an association that is internationally acclaimed for acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from the African region.
The African Tourism Board is part of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP)
The Association provides aligned advocacy, insightful research, and innovative events to its members.
In partnership with private and public sector members, African Tourism Board (ATB) enhances the sustainable growth, value, and quality of travel and tourism to-from-and-within Africa.
The Association provides leadership and counsel on an individual and collective basis to its member organizations.
The Association is expanding on opportunities for marketing, public relations, investments, branding, promoting and establishing niche markets.
More information and to join ATB go to www.africantourismboard.com
Tourism: China will show the way on climate resilient
“The Paris clock keeps ticking and we need bold imaginative actions to respond” Professor Geoffrey Lipman said in his keynote remarks. “The China Summer Tourism Program exactly meets that need, encouraging travel to areas like Jilin, where climate extremes are less intensive and where local populations will benefit from the economic uplift. At the same time, focusing on best practice solutions to the greening of transport, hospitality and especially the visitor food chain.”
Lipman said that this kind of action is in stark contrast to the Trump Administration’s attack on the multilaterally agreed Paris framework, which he called “Declaring war on our Grandkids – which we must resist” He said that scientists suggest that on current performance, we are heading to a 3 degree increase in pre-industrial global temperatures, in contrast to the Paris base of 2 degrees.
He added that “Travel & Tourism is behind the response curve, with some subsectors, like aviation needing major shifts to bring their carbon footprint into line – we need to face up to the stark realities of Climate Change and begin adaptation now.”
On a positive note he referenced a recent Club of Rome Report “Come On”, which said that with collaboration, commitment and full use of new technology we could still meet the Paris optimism scenario.
Lipman outlined the SUNx Program – a legacy to Maurice Strong, Sustainable Development pioneer and champion of China’s leadership in this area – to place a cloud connected Climate Resilience learning and innovation Centre in every country by 2030, with 100,000 climate activists to advance innovative solutions. Travel & Tourism is a pivotal part of the human development agenda, and it is essential that we play a leadership role in the transformation to a new climate resilient economy.
Concluding, he called for a paradigm shift in tourism systems, through Impact-Travel ~ measured to manage: green to grow:2050 proof to innovate. Lipman said that “For our sector to play its full part in the transformation, we must act now. Tomorrow will be too late.”.
WTTC congratulates the EU on the adoption of the new European Travel Information and Authorisation System (ETIAS)
EU on the adoption of the new European Travel Information and Authorization System (ETIAS), a pre-authorization system which allows the EU to know who is entering the EU, from where and if they pose a risk to EU security.
When ETIAS comes into operation, all visa-exempt third-country nationals who plan to travel to the Schengen area will have to apply for pre-travel authorization. The aim of this is to ease travel to the EU and simplify border checks.
During negotiations, WTTC stressed the importance of the process to be made as easy as possible for legitimate travelers.
In addition to the ease of process, WTTC also advocated for the fees to remain at a reasonable level, one that did not discourage travelers from coming to Europe. The final fee of seven euros meets this balance.
“We see this as an important first step in the digitalization of travel. The ultimate aim will be the use of biometric technology to ensure seamless, more efficient and more secure travel. WTTC is committed to enhancing security and improving the entire passenger journey. This will essentially maximize the potential of the Travel & Tourism to create jobs and drive economic growth,’ stated Gloria Guevara, President & CEO World Travel & Tourism Council.
ETIAS will be free for under 18s and over 70s.
Applying for ETIAS aims to be quick and simple, requiring no more than a travel document, credit card and access to internet. A vast majority of applicants will receive a positive reply within minutes. If additional information, documentation or an interview would be needed, different possibilities will be offered taking into account the situation of the traveler.
WTTC welcomes the fact that the needs of the travel and tourism community were taken into account whilst ensuring enhanced EU security.
The new system was adopted today (Thursday, 5th July) at the European Parliament Plenary in Strasbourg and is expected to come into operation in 2021.
Fiona Jeffrey OBE new Chair of ATTA
Fiona Jeffery OBE has been appointed new Chair of the African Travel & Tourism Association (Atta), succeeding former chair Julian Edmunds.
Fiona has served on the Atta board for four years as Industry Relations Director, and has had a long and accomplished career in the travel and tourism industry. Responsible for World Travel Market (WTM) from 1986-2013, both as Managing Director and ultimately as Chairman, Fiona brings a wide breadth of knowledge to the role across all aspects of the industry, from government, national tourist boards and destinations to private sector and international trade bodies and organisations.
Founder of international water development charity Just a Drop, Fiona’s work has taken her to destinations across Africa undertaking projects to provide clean water and sanitation to remote communities. She also created and launched World Responsible Tourism Day, a responsible tourism drive across the industry globally, in association with the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
In 2012, Fiona was awarded an OBE by Her Majesty the Queen for services to travel and tourism, and in 2013 received the TTG Contribution to Industry Award.
Commenting on her appointment, Fiona Jeffery OBE said; “Being selected as the new chair of Atta is an unexpected honour I do not take lightly. My predecessors have all done amazing jobs, and my role is to build on their success. With new opportunities emerging all the time, Atta will seek to embrace these, putting the interests of our membership at its heart.
“My love of Africa began on honeymoon with my husband Nigel, exploring Kenya by four-wheel drive vehicle, and I am keen to tackle the issues and opportunities of the industry across the continent. These include sustainability, the dangers of overtourism, wildlife conservation and wider issues around poaching, gender equality and the opportunities of tourism to support socio-economic empowerment and development. It will be important to play our part supporting and furthering the agenda in many of these areas to ensure joined up thinking and increased impact across our industry.”