The Nation Newspaper

Tag: UNWTO

  • UNWTO in Africa holds next week

    The United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) 20th session starts from today and will last till next week Saturday at Victoria Falls. It will be co-hosted by Zimbabwe and Zambia.

    Zimbabwe and Zambia are co-hosts of the session which runs from August 24 to 29 in Victoria Falls and Livingstone respectively.

    The co-hosts are taking over from Republic of Korea which held fort from 2011.

    The co-presidency runs up to 2015 General Assembly to be hosted by either Cambodia or Colombia.

    An advanced secretariat from the UNWTO arrived on Monday and a trilateral meeting would be held today to fine-tune the programme.

    “We are on track, so far so good,” Mzembi said.

    The 20th session of the UNWTO would be paperless in line with the United Nations system’s environmental protection policy.

    The 20th session is also an elective General Assembly as it has to confirm the candidature of secretary general Taleb Rifai.

    Rifai was nominated for another term by the UNWTO’s executive council’s 95th session in Belgrade, Serbia in May.

    It is understood that African countries will support Rifai’s confirmation by virtue of having brought the General Assembly back to Africa. This is the second time that Africa has hosted the meeting, which is equated to the tourism World Cup. Senegal hosted the 17th session of the UNWTO in 2007.

    Zimbabwe is also vying for the chairmanship of the Regional Commission for Africa (CAF).

    By last month, Zimbabwe was the only country that had submitted its candidature for the chairmanship of CAF. The push for the post is designed to influence and lobby for the country’s vision in continental and international bodies.

    South Africa has over the years been aggressive in lobbying for the deployment of its citizens in continental bodies and the UN family.

    At least 65 country delegations have made bookings and registration in Victoria Falls for the UNWTO meeting

  • UNWTO highlights cultural routes’ value

    The sixth UNWTO International Meeting on Silk Road Tourism highlighted the increasing interest in developing cultural routes associated with the Silk Road and succeeded to raise the profile of tourism along this emblematic route.

    The event was jointly organized by UNWTO, the China National Tourism Administration (CNTA) and the People’s Government of Gansu Province (1-3 August 2013, Dunhuang, China).

    Topics discussed ranged from heritage management, investment, travel facilitation and product development with aims to establish the Silk Road as one of the world´s most outstanding travel routes.

    As the largest Silk Road event to ever take place in China, the meeting marked the opening of the 3rd Dunhuang Silk Road International Tourism Festival which showcased cultural festivals and events. The province of Gansu, in China´s northwest region, has prioritized tourism as a key pillar for economic growth. For centuries, the province was the vital corridor between China and Central Asia and comprised about 1,600 kilometres of the Silk Road.

    UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, acknowledged the strength and commitment of the People’s Government of Gansu Province for hosting the meeting in the wake of the 6.6 magnitude earthquake that hit Dingxi in Gansu´s southeast region ten days before.

    “In welcoming the international tourism community to Dunhuang at such a difficult time, Gansu has impressed the delegates not only with its outstanding tourism offer, but with its courage and dedication to supporting the sector,” he said.

    The meeting showcased China´s diverse range of Silk Road destinations while highlighting the growing importance of the Chinese outbound market, expected to reach 93 million by the end of 2013. Tourism is playing an increasing role in China´s ongoing economic development, with double-digit growth of domestic tourism and the China Tourism Law set to be enacted on October 1.

  • ICAO, UNWTO to co-operate on aviation

    The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and UNWTO have signed a special joint statement on aviation and tourism, acknowledging the intention of the two UN agencies to begin cooperating more closely on issues of common priority.

    The statement was signed by ICAO Secretary General, Raymond Benjamin, and UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, on the occasion of the official opening of the ICAO Sixth Worldwide Air Transport Conference (ATConf/6).

    Visa facilitation, taxation, the modernization of aviation regulations and the development of convergent rules for traveller and enterprise protection were stressed in the statement as key areas for improved collaboration.

    “Separate sectorial policies on air transport and tourism result in a fundamental, and too often even conflicting disconnect which constitutes a severe constraint on the development of travel and tourism.

    “The signing of this statement, therefore, represents a defining moment – one which can set air transport and tourism on a common path on matters of shared concern with considerable mutual benefit,”Mr Rifai said.

    More than one billion tourists crossed international borders during 2012, over half of who travelled by air to their destinations. The total number of international tourists, which includes both business and leisure travellers, is expected to reach 1.8 billion by 2030.

    “Based on ICAO’s latest forecasts, aircraft departures are forecast to grow from 30 million to 60 million by 2030,” noted ICAO’s Benjamin.

    “These figures support the UNWTO’s tourism projections and highlight how important it is that our organizations continue to address air transport system capacity and related challenges today, in order to maximize the economic development aspects of air transport and tourism tomorrow,”Benjamin said.

    Additional areas outlined for future cooperation by ICAO and the UNWTO included air passenger flow management at airports, air capacity for least developed countries and the continued reduction of environmental impacts resulting from international air travel and tourism. Due consideration will be maintained on the importance of air transport to tourism development in long-haul destinations and landlocked or island states.

    Benjamin and Rifai concluded their ceremony by jointly highlighting the considerable contributions of aviation and tourism to raise employment, fuel economic growth and social development.

    Together, their organizations will now be focusing on addressing existing obstacles to aviation and tourism growth as to ensure both sectors continue to contribute in a sustainable manner to global prosperity.