asiapacific.unwto.org/sites/all/files/pdf/16th.pdf · subsidies for the tourism industry, including...

15

3811

30

1313

29

26 27

Stout University, Kyung Hee Universityand UNWTO

‘Tourism Textbook Donation’Project

CONTENTSUNWTO World Tourism Barometer

3rd UNWTO Asia-Pacific Executive Training Program on Tourism Policy and Strategy

The Second International Symposium on Tourism and the Economy

Seoul Tourism Forum 2009: A Unique Brand Image of Seoul isthe Key to a Global Tourism City

Stout University, Kyung Hee University and UNWTO‘Tourism Textbook Donation’Project

Influenza A (H1N1) Pandemic Outbreaks and its Affects on Tourism in Asia and the Pacific

Special Report on UNWTO Special Session: Civilization and World Tourism

Destination Report: Clark & Subic Bay, the Pilippines

Tourism and Community Development: Nepal

Success Stories of Sustainable Tourism Development: Shi Qiao, China

Conferences and Meetings

UNWTO in Asia

News Brief

Publishers

Taleb Rifai, Ph.D | Secretary-General a.i. of the UNWTOInwon Choue, Ph.D | President of Kyung Hee Univ. Republic of Korea

Chief Editor

Chulwon Kim, Ph.D

Editorial BoardWilliam Cannon Hunter, Ph.DDaekwan Kim, Ph.DBongseok Kim, Ph.DHeyryon Lee, Ph.D

Editorial AssistantsHyeri HanJiweon KimJungho SuhJooyoung Park

Designing/Printing Co.www.blue-max.comCover Design:Seonghee Kang

10

29

24

39

4

8

11

13

15

16

20

24

28

30

32

35

37

Sep.

Testing Times for International Tourisms expected, the international tourism’s negative trend

that emerged during the second half of 2008

intensified in 2009. International tourist arrivals have suffered

an 8% drop during the period of January to April this year.

Moreover, this decline is expected to have continued through

to the end of June, due to the sector’s strong first half-year

performance in 2008.

In absolute terms, the number of international tourist

arrivals is estimated to have reached 247 million between

January and April, down from 269 million in 2008 and close

to the 254 million arrivals of 2007. So far the number of

international tourist arrivals is 22 million short of last year’s

volume. The first four months generally account for some

28% of the total annual number.

UNWTO Panel of Tourism Experts Reflecting the dramatic fall in both consumer and business

confidence since the middle of 2008 - and the resultingnegative trend in international tourism performance (almost

all over the world so far in 2009) - the more than 300specialists from over 100 countries and territories whoconstitute UNWTO’s Panel of Tourism Experts gave a ratingof only 57 to their evaluation of world tourism during thefirst four months of this year.

Quick Overview of Key Trends● International tourist arrivals reached 922 million in 2008,

up 1.9% on 2007 (updated);

4

UNWTO World Tourism Barometer

5UNWTO Asia Pacific Newsletter Vol.16

● International tourism receipts grew to US$ 944 billion

(642 billion euros) in 2008, corresponding to an increase in

real terms of 1.8% on 2007, surprisingly close to the

growth in arrivals;

● Receipts from international passenger transport are

estimated at US$ 165 billion, bringing the total of

international tourism receipts including international

passenger transport (i.e. visitor exports) to US$ 1.1 trillion,

or over US$ 3 billion a day;

● In 2008, there were only slight changes in the ranking of

top tourism destinations by both international arrivals and

international tourism receipts. France continues to lead the

ranking for arrivals, but ranks third in receipts. The United

States ranks first in receipts, regaining second in arrivals

worldwide from Spain (lost after September 11, 2001).

Spain now ranks third in arrivals but has firmly maintained

its position as the second biggest earner worldwide and the

first in Europe. China, fourth in arrivals, is fifth in terms of

receipts, while the reverse is true for Italy, and;

● The top 10 ranking by international tourism spenders

showed no major changes in 2008 apart from the fact that

the Netherlands overtook the Republic of Korea, and now

ranks 10th.

Asia and the PacificExperts in Asia and the Results were among the most

negative in terms of their evaluation of tourism performance

in the first four months of 2009. But, while their rating of

prospects for the next four-month period remains modest (at

a score of 76), some now seem to believe that recovery is in

sight - if not yet just around the corner.

The region suffered a 6% decline in arrivals from January

to April and the industry generally expects the decline to

continue through the first half of 2009, at least. Oceania has

[Fig5] World : Inbound Tourism

International Tourism Receipts, 2008 (US$ Billion)

[Fig4] International Tourist Arrivals and Receipts

(local currencies, constant prices)

(% change 2008/2007)

Source: World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)ⓒ


* On a scale of 0 to 200, on which 100 implies ‘equal’or ‘no change’Source: World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)ⓒ

[Fig6] UNWTO Panel of Tourism Experts Asia and the Pacific

Sep.

6

turned in the best performance of all sub regions in Asia and

the Pacific this year so far, recording a drop in arrivals of 4%

through April. This compares with estimated declines of 6%

for North-East and South-East Asia and 12% for South Asia.

The first part of the year has been significantly affected by

the economic conditions as growth slowed considerably in

Asia and consumer and business confidence started to stall. In

the short term, much will also depend on developments with

regard to the influenza A (H1N1) virus. While the media in

Asia have been relatively quiet on the subject, even after

WHO raised its alert level to phase 6, or pandemic status, the

effects of SARS in 2003 is still vivid in both consumers’and


the industry’s memories. But any impact will only show up in

arrivals for the months of May and June.

Since most countries in North-East Asia achieved double-

digit growth in the first few months of 2008, the declines

seen for the January through April period this year seem even

more dramatic. Nevertheless, two destinations - the Republic

of Korea and Taiwan (Republic of China) - bucked the trend

with increases in arrivals of 19% and 14%, respectively. In

both cases, this was due to strong demand from China,

although the Republic of Korea also benefited from increases

in other markets, notably Japan and South-East Asia, because

of the weak Korean won. Taiwan has seen numbers from

mainland China soar since the market was officially opened

up in July 2008.

ProspectsUncertainty reigns in tourism forecasts. This is clear from

the wide range of comments - many conflicting - regarding

Asia and the Pacific’s tourism prospects over the next four

months. The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), a reliable

sounding board, believes that the current four-month period

will be “worse than it was last year [when arrivals showed a

very modest increase], but better (perhaps) than from January

through April 2009”. But this is a marginal call, according to

PATA statements, as the signs of some easing in the rate of

decline in visitor numbers are very patchy and numbers could

still plummet again. This next period also has to factor in the

lingering impacts of the influenza A (H1N1) outbreaks.

Among the positive developments reported by experts in

the region, several stimulus measures aimed at increasing

demand have been implemented, and a lot of additional

financial resources have been pumped into the marketplace,

and this period might see some of those actually pay off. The

lifting of restrictions on foreign ownership of travel agencies

and tour operators in China should also result in more

competitive package tour rates in the future, boosting

demand. Hong Kong (China) has lifted visa restrictions for

Russian visitors in an effort to stimulate arrivals from that

market and the Macao Government, as part of its overall

economic stimulus package, is allocating US$ 12.5 million in

subsidies for the tourism industry, including airlines, over a

six-month period. Cambodia’s Ministry of Tourism has

embarked on a major new promotional strategy, involving

cross-border cooperation with its neighbors and improved

airlines access.

Singapore is counting on its usually successful annual event,

the Great Singapore Sale in June, to stimulate demand in

neighboring markets, and aggressive marketing by the

government of the Republic of Korea, together with a weak

won, is expected to continue generating increased arrivals.

At the same time, eight Asian visitor bureaus have united

to boost the continent’s market share in the growing global

business events industry by re-launching the Asian

Association of Convention and Visitor Bureaus (AACVB). A

new agenda is being implemented and will be driven by the

eight CVBs from China, Hong Kong (China), the Republic of

Korea, Macao (China), Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and

Thailand.

Source: UNWTO Tourism Barometer Volume 7, No.2 June,

2009

20

18

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

0

[Fig7] International Tourist Arrivals, Asia and the Pacific

(Million)


8

he Third UNWTO Asia-Pacific Executive Training

Program on Tourism Policy and Strategy was

organised by United Nations World Tourism Organisation

(UNWTO) in collaboration with the Republic of Korea as

the main sponsor and Malaysia as the host. 24 participants

from 17 member states attended the program on 15-20 June,

at Andaman Hotel in Langkawi, Malaysia.

In the opening remarks, Mr. Geoffrey Lipman, Assistant

Secretary General of UNWTO, expressed his impression on

Langkawi and its preservation, conservation, and

sustainability. In the welcoming speech, Datuk Seri Dr. Ng

Yen Yen, Malaysia’s Minister of Tourism, spoke about the

focus on ecotourism, for the importance of responsibility to

the world and for the protection of Mother Nature.

“Opportunity Management under theCurrent Economic Turmoil”

Mr. Geoffrey Lipman emphasized the green economy and

ecotourism during his speech. He mentioned tourism

responsibility for only 5% of green house gas emission and it

contributes 5-10% to the economy with 100-200 million

jobs. G20 countries are focusing on the green economy, via

the Earth Lung project which Langkawi and Bali have joined

recently, along with Sri Lanka and Egypt.

Sep.

3rd UNWTO Asia-Pacific Executive Training Program on Tourism Policy and Strategy15-20 June 2009, Langkawi, Malaysia

T

Mr. Geoffrey Lipman Assistant Secretary General of UNWTO addresses an opening remark

Three case studies about tourism policies were presented by

Mr. Michael Jianshe Wang, Deputy Director of Asia, Oceania

& Africa Division of CNTA in China, Mr. Yazeed Mohamed,

Deputy Director General of Ministry of Tourism, Arts and

Culture in Maldives, and Mr. Mohd Halimi Ibrahim, Director

of Policy, Planning & International affairs Division of Ministry

of Tourism in Malaysia.

Group discussion followed, focusing on effects of the

economic crisis on tourism industry in light of certain Asia-

Pacific countries’policies. It was found that the economic

crises had various effects on the region, differing by country.

Laos and Cambodia experienced slight decrease in tourist

arrivals, Malaysia a slight increase of 2.2%, while the arrivals

in Indonesia, Brunei and the Philippines were apparently not

affected. Tourism in the Philippines

grew at a rapid growth of 30%

despite the recession in its key

European markets. While Korea’s

outbound market declined 55% in

2008, its inbound market rose

10% by boosted package travel

among Japanese tourists.

Most countries intensified promo

-tional and marketing activities,

focusing particularly on source

markets that were not badly

affected by the crisis. Vietnam and

Laos reduced the price of package

tours and bid for big events. Cam-

bodia adopted a new tagline, “King

-dom of Wonder,”and focused on

ecotourism and culture, while enhancing its infrastructure.

Malaysia undertook a tactical campaign exploring niche

products such as ecotourism, education tourism, home-stay

and shopping.

Asian countries adopted various liberalization and

facilitation programs to encourage travel and investment. The

Philippines passed a Bill to encourage investments in tourism,

Indonesia simplified the registration of tourism businesses,

and Laos waived visa requirements for friendly countries.

Both Brunei and Cambodia made progress in the

establishment of their tourism promotion boards.

“Strategies for Successful DestinationMarketing: the Case of Malaysia”

Datuk Dr. Victor Wee, Chairman of the Tourism Board in

Malaysia, talked about strategies for successful destination

marketing of Malaysia. National campaigns were very

successful that tourist arrivals rose about four times higher

and tourism revenue rose about six times higher during last

ten years.

The Ministry of Tourism, Malaysia worked with other

government ministries and agencies to facilitate the growth of

the tourism industry, to develop policies, to remove

impediments to growth of the industry and to undertake

joint promotional programs.

During discussion, delegates spoke mainly on the key

processes and strategic measures involved in preparing a

successful Visit Year campaign. China does not have a long-

term campaign at the national level but enjoys very active

involvement at the provincial and local government level in

promoting their tourist attractions and destinations in the

domestic and international markets.


Datuk Dr. Victor Wee Chairman of theTourism Board in Malaysia presents Malaysia's marketing strategies

The group that helped to formulate Visit Sri Lanka 2012

went through the methodology of establishing the objectives,

targets, branding strategies, identification of target markets

and tourism products, as well as proposed some activities and

the required budget for the successful implementation of the

campaign.

The group suggested that the tag line, “Vietnam-the

Hidden Charm”should be retained for Visit Vietnam Year.

The campaign will organise events highlighting the hidden

charms of Vietnam. The key success factors are the

identification of the most suitable products, markets and

marketing tools.

“Biodiversity and Participatory TourismDevelopment”

Mr. Jurgen Nauber of UNWTO Bonn Office and Mr. Ary

Suhandi, INDECON of Indonesia offered presentations

related to “Biodiversity and Participatory Tourism

Development”and The UNWTO Consulting Unit on

Biodiversity and Tourism for Tsunami Affected Countries,

(established in 2006, and undertook two pilot projects in

Pangandaran, Indonesia and Phang Nga Province, Thailand),

respectively.

The UNWTO pilot project in Pangandaran illustrated how

biodiversity can provide the motivation for tourists to visit a

region. It supplied environmental services and sought to

minimize the risks of flooding and the adverse impacts of the

tsunami in mangrove areas. The program adopted UNEP

recommendations for executing environmental programs in

terms of ‘the eight steps towards a tourism management

plan’. It was able to recruit community involvement in

establishing the vision, goals, and work plan for participatory

tourism development as well as project implementation in

this tsunami affected area.

Mr. Jose Filipe Dias Quintas, Director of Tourism National

Directorate of Ministry of Tourism, Commerce and Industry

in Timor Leste, spoke on the case of Atauro Island in Timor

Leste. He emphasized the respect for local culture, the use of

local resources and the involvement of local communities.

Participants saw the need to maintain biodiversity for the

sustainable use of resources and simultaneous use of

biodiversity as a tourist attraction. The participants agreed on

developing rural economy through community-based

programs and balancing tourism development in respect of

green growth.

They put forward some recommendations for bio-diversity

oriented participatory tourism. These recommendations

include the need for careful planning with emphasis on

biodiversity, constant monitoring and enforcement by

government and the private sector, increased awareness

through education and campaigns focused on stakeholders.

Also, it was agreed that the stakeholder inclusive approach

should be adopted in tourism consultation and development.

Finally, resolutions related to the implementation of the

action plan, it was determined that NTOs should incorporate

BOPT in their National Tourism Policy, and set milestones

and targets to implement BOPT in tourism areas. NTOs

should meet on a regular basis to discuss their progress and

challenges in the implementation of BOPT.

Source: UNWTO

10

Sep.

Mr. Jo Tuamoto received a certificate of participating the 3rd UNWTO Asia/Pacific Executive Training Program

apan has numerous initiatives in place to make tourism

one of its major industries for the 21st century. And

full-scale adoption and implementation of the Tourism

Satellite Account (TSA) by 2010 is one of those key

initiatives. The TSA is the international standard for tourism

statistics recommended by the World Tourism Organization

(UNWTO). Applying TSA to tourism policy and strategy is

expected to help boost Japan’s tourism industry. It was a key

point of discussion in the recent Symposium.

This year’s Second International Symposium on Tourism

and the Economy, held in Osaka Prefecture, followed up on

the First Symposium, held in October 2007, in Wakayama

Prefecture. Guest speakers included a UNWTO TSA

specialist and tourism industry experts from the U.S. and

Japan, who discussed aspects and applications of TSA and

tourism statistics in regional tourism. The Symposium, co-

organized by UNWTO and the Japan Tourism Agency

(JTA), was planned and run by the Asia-Pacific Tourism

Exchange Center (APTEC). The event was well attended,

with some 230 participants, and concluded successfully.

The Symposium’s opening remarks, on behalf of the co-

organizers were made by Ms. Noriko Yagasaki, Director,

Tourism Economy, Japan Tourism Agency (JTA), and Mr.

Yuichiro Honda, Chief, World Tourism Organization

(UNWTO) Regional Support Office for Asia and the Pacific.

Prof. Tateo Oie, Osaka University of Tourism, chaired the

presentation sessions.

A keynote presentation on “Tourism Satellite Account for

Regional Tourism Strategy,”was made by UNWTO

Consultant Mr. Stanley Fleetwood, concerning the UNWTO

Statistics Capacity Building Program (SCBP), the status of

TSA’s use by countries worldwide, an OECD survey of

members’experiences with TSA, and future prospects for TSA.

Next on the program was a presentation by Mr. Tadayuki

Hara, Interim Associate Dean and Associate Professor of

Rosen College of Hospitality Management, University of

Central Florida, on “Tourism Statistics Applications for

Tourism Policies and Current Situation in Countries Have

TSA.”Mr. Hara provided an overview of TSA, and spoke on

how TSA is used in the development of domestic tourism

industries in countries that have adopted TSA, and how TSA

might be used in the future.


The Second International Symposium on Tourism and the Economy

J

10 March 2009, Osaka, Japan

Panel Discussion

Mr. Honda Mr. Fleetwood

12

Sep.

Mr. Kozo Miyagawa, Associate Professor, Keio Economic

Observatory (KEO), spoke on “Current Situation and Issues

on Tourism Statistics in Japan,”in which he discussed the

need for tourism statistics and cited the example of Osaka

City where certain analysis have been performed using

tourism statistics. The current state of regional statistics in

Japan, and issues to be resolved were discussed.

These presentations were followed by a panel discussion on

the “Utilization of TSA and Tourism Statistics for Regional

Tourism Strategy.”Panelists Mr. Fleetwood, Mr. Hara and

Mr. Miyagawa were joined by Mr. Yuzo Imai, Director, Public

Relations and Information Project, Tourism Industry

Association of Japan (TIJ). Mr. Imai presented the TIJ

booklet showcasing data on the remarkable economic

contribution made by the tourism industry, evidence which

was implemental in prompting government to increase

budgets for promoting tourism. Mr. Imai also shared industry

views on the effectiveness of TSA and other tourism statistics

in business management, as well as proposals for tourism

statistics and expectations for their implementation. Professor

Shinichi Satake of Osaka University of Tourism was

moderator. In the session, active exchange of views took

place, with occasional questions from the audience.

This year’s Second International Symposium on Tourism

and the Economy re-confirms the significant role that the

tourism industry must play in expanding domestic demand

through tourism exchange, and in promoting inbound

tourism, in order to address the widening economic gap

between regions and big cities. The Symposium also shows

how tourism statistics and TSA can play a large part in

formulating and implementing tourism policy that can

prevail in the increasingly tough international and

interregional competition now confronting tourism in the age

of globalization.

Source: APTEC

Symposium


n June 4, the Seoul Tourism Forum 2009 was held in

conjunction with the Seoul Tourism Awards 2009,

hosted by Seoul Metropolitan Government and organized by

Seoul Tourism Organization. The grand opening was held at

the Shilla Hotel in Seoul, Korea. Approximately 200 tourism

industry experts and academic professionals were gathered to

discuss “The Tourism Vision and Strategies for Seoul’s

Celebration as a Global Tourism City”.

Oh Se-hoon, Mayor of Seoul, offered the opening address,

discussing the takeoff of Seoul’s tourism industry. “Seoul’s

tourism infrastructure should be oriented towards becoming a

global tourism city.”Following the address, H.E. Martin

Uden, ambassador of Great Britain, offered a congratulatory

speech, saying, “Today Seoul had remarkable prosperity

compared to my first visit to Seoul thirty years ago. Industrial

development has been harmonized with natural friendliness in

Seoul. Seoul should remain as Seoul itself.”He emphasized the

uniqueness of the city character and held that Seoul should

sustain its current, authentic city image. Dr. Euh Yoon-Dae,

chairman of the Presidential Council on Nation Branding,

offered the keynote speech listing five goals aiming to improve

Korea’s tourism attractiveness and national brand image.

Following the opening ceremonies, theme presentations

were offered by Dr. Chulwon Kim, Dean of the College of

Hotel and Tourism Management at Kyung Hee University,

Ms. Chong Yoke Har, Director of International Marketing

Division of Tourism Malaysia, Mr. Ken Low, Assistant Chief

Executive of Singapore Tourism Board, and Ms. Daisy Lam,

Deputy Executive Director of Hong Kong Tourism Board.

The presentations had a common emphasis, that the

construction of a unique and strong brand image of Seoul is

very important.

Dr. Kim pointed out the problems of Seoul’s global

tourism policy as follows:● Construct Seoul’s brand image - Seoul needs a powerful

city identity;● Construct cooperative systems in conjunction with the

central government - Seoul needs administrative and

financial support from the central government.● Needs aggressive global promotion marketing - Seoul

needs to explore potential markets and needs to

aggressively promote the city image and tourism

development related to key global markets.● Secure diverse lodging facilities - Seoul needs to restore

Seoul Tourism Forum 2009 A Unique Brand Image of Seoul is the Key to a Global Tourism City

OOh Se-hoon Mayor of Seoul speaks an opening remark.

(from left) Dr. Dorothy Chase, Mr. Adrian Slaterand Mr. HyunJae Cho are attending as panelistsat the Seoul Tourism Forum.

14

Sep.

various accommodations at diverse prices.● Improve tourism conditions to receive foreign visitors

- Seoul needs to be aware of the importance of the tourism

industry to reach this goal.● A need to develop Seoul’s unique tourism products -

Seoul is currently lacking a diversity of tourism contents

and entertainment: developing medical tourism, MICE

shopping tourism and food tourism products are

important priorities.

Followed by the presentations, discussion went on with Dr.

Sohn Daehyun as moderator, Dr. Chulwon Kim, Dr. Suk-ki

Hong, research fellow of Seoul Development Institute, Mr.

HyunJae Cho, director general of Tourism Industry Bureau of

Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, Dr. Dorothy Chase,

professor of Recreation and Tourism Program at Central

Washington University, and Mr. Adrian Slater, general

manager of Park Hyatt Seoul, as discussants.

Brilliant ideas and suggestions for improving the tourism

hospitalities of Seoul were shared. Discussants pointed out the

lack of provisions for international languages, the lack of local

information and the absence of a specific brand image for

Seoul. Korea is planning a campaign entitled “Visiting

Korea”and “Visiting Seoul”for the year 2010. As Dr. Kim

stated, Seoul should be aggressive in promoting the brand

image of Seoul to attract more tourists and to achieve

visitation goals by 2010.

Seoul Tourism AwardsApproximately 450 tourism industry experts, businessmen

and officials from the Asia-Pacific region participated in the

Seoul Tourism Awards 2009 this year. The event was

established in 2008 to showcase Seoul as a tourist destination

and to recognize the contributions of individual members and

companies of the tourism industry in developing Asia Pacific

tourism. The City Government is planning to expand this

event into a festival entitled, “The Asia-Pacific Tourism

Festival”.

Eight different categories of Seoul Tourism Awards were on

offer and were awarded as follows: ● Edmund Ho Hau Wah, the chief executive of the Macau

Special Administrative Region, received the Best Overall

Contributor to City Tourism in the Asia-Pacific Award

category;● Seok-ho Yoon, the producer and director of the four season

dramas, received the Best Overall Contributor to Seoul

Tourism;● Si-Won Ryu, a famous Korean actor, and Toyoda Kazuyuki,

a Japanese actress, received the Best Stars Promoting Seoul

Tourism;● NYC & Company for the Best City Tourism Promotion

Campaign in Asia-Pacific;● Singapore for the Best Sightseeing City in Asia-Pacific, and;● Sydney Opera House in Australia for the Best City

Landmark in Asia-Pacific.

Seoul Business Travel MartThe Travel Mart (part of the Seoul Tourism Awards 2009)

was held for two days at the Shilla Hotel in Seoul.

Approximately 200 buyers and sellers from Asia-Pacific

countries participated in the Travel Mart. This event provided

tourism business opportunities to promote tourism products.

Hotels, travel agencies and other tourism related companies

participated to attract customers and buyers to Seoul and to

promote the brand of Seoul “Hi Seoul, Soul of Asia”and

“Sparkling Korea”.

Source: Seoul Tourism Awards

Dr. Suk-ki Hong is presenting current tourism situation of Seoul

Y


NWTO, in collaboration with the University of

Wisconsin-Stout, USA (the principal donor) and the

College of Hotel and Tourism Science of Kyung Hee

University, Republic of Korea, has embarked upon an

ambitious Project to donate used tourism textbooks to its

Asia-Pacific Member States.

These tourism textbooks cover the subjects of hotel,

restaurant, service and tourism management and have been

used at the University of Wisconsin-Stout. The semi new

books will be donated by this university through UNWTO

to its Asia-Pacific Member States that are in the developing

stages of their tourism industry. The individual behind this

knowledge-sharing idea is UNWTO’s 2005 Ulysses Award

laureate Dr. Jafar

Jafari -a faculty mem-

ber of the donating

university’s Depart-

ment of Hospitality

and Tourism.

As the first phase of this project, 300 tourism textbooks will

be given to member countries in the region by October 2009.

Kyung Hee University which produces UNWTO’s Asia-

Pacific Newsletter, will serve as the distribution channel for

these books.

UNWTO seeks to ensure that “rivers of knowledge”

continue to flow from the University of Wisconsin-Stout to

tourism and hospitality scholars and students in tourism

institutions and libraries in Asia and the Pacific. It is also

intended to encourage human resource exchanges in the long

term after the successful launching of this initiative.

For further information please contact:

Masih Sharif (Mr.)Regional Representation for Asia and the Pacific

United Nations World Tourism Organization

Capitan Haya 42, 28020 Madrid, Spain

Tel +34 91 567 93 17

Fax +34 91 571 37 33

Email [email protected]

http://www.unwto.org/asia

Instead of reading several books, read good books several times.

Stout University, Kyung Hee Universityand UNWTO

‘Tourism Textbook Donation’Project

“ '

U

” Seneca

Sep.

16

Recent Alert on New Influenza A (H1N1)n June 11, Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-General of

the World Health Organization (WHO) announced

the raising of the pandemic alert for Influenza A (H1N1)

from phase 5 to phase 6. According to her statement, leading

virologists and influenza experts have taken an assessment

based on available evidence. As of June 21, nearly 50,000

confirmed cases and 230 of deaths have been reported in 82

countries. Designation of this phase will indicate that a global

pandemic is under way. Compared to May, confirmed cases

have increased over five times and influenza A (H1N1)

infection-related deaths have showed an increase of more than

three times.

In accordance with the Pandemic Influenza Phase defined

by WHO, both Phase 5 and Phase 6 are in the Pandemic

Phase. These phases are also distinguished as a stage of


O

[Feature]



“Widespread Human Infection”. Detailed descriptions of

each phase classified by WHO are as follows: ● Phase 5 is characterized by human-to-human spread of the

virus into at least two countries in one WHO region.

While most countries will not be affected at this stage, the

declaration of Phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is

imminent and that the time to finalize the organization,

communication, and implementation of the planned

mitigation measures is short, and; ● Phase 6, the pandemic phase, is characterized by

community level outbreaks in at least one other country in

a different WHO region in addition to the criteria defined

in Phase 5.

Along with the emergence of Influenza A (H1N1), in

terms of tourism and travel interests, an urgent remedy was

necessary for implementation among national, regional and

international levels of the tourism sector. It is natural that

tourism sector should stick to a sensitive approach to prevent

infection of flu because virus can be carried by tourists who

travel around the world.

Although the first infection and sudden downturn of

tourist arrivals occurred in Mexico, there is no guarantee of

immunity for the Asia and the Pacific region. That’s why

authorities responsible for the tourism sector in each

respective country in Asia and the Pacific should keep an eye

on the phases of Influenza A pandemic outbreak.

The attention of the tourism sectors in Asia and the Pacific,

however, left out the answer to a key question - how can Asia

and the Pacific region deal with the current outbreaks of

Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic?

New Flu A (H1N1) Impacts on Asia and the Pacific

The most remarkable impact occured in tourism economy.

In an article called “Vulnerability is Highest in Asian

Economies Pandemic Highlights Risks as Economists Gauge

Likely Fallout”at WSJ.com (P. Barta and C. Tejada), the

author reported on the findings of heightened vulnerability to

economic impacts in Asia and the Pacific region from the

infection. According to an analysis of Nomura International,

more than 90 countries were ranked by their relative

vulnerability, based on population density, exposure to

international trade and other factors. The study suggests that

Asian economies are among the most vulnerable to economic

damage from a pandemic. It is in this context that companies

and consumers are changing their behavior to avoid public

gatherings and cancel trips and conferences, which in turn

could result in less spending and weaker growth if it rapidly

increases.

Response from the Asia Pacific TourismSector

On the same day when Dr. Margaret Chan, Director-

General of WHO announced to the press that “WHO

continues to recommend no restrictions on travel and no

border closures.”UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon made a

statement that “We must guard against rash and

discriminatory action, such as travel bans or trade restrictions.”

Such remarks might come as relief for tourism sectors, but

there is no time to enjoy the moment.

Looking into the current problems regarding the Influenza

A (H1N1) pandemic in Asia and the Pacific region’s tourism

sector, this is the time to take this issue to the next level. That

is, we should start off by finding a way to relieve tourists and

help them to resume travel. In terms of rapid response, the

performance of the tourism sector in Asia and the Pacific has

been evaluated as proper, considering the circumstances. As

of June 22, confirmed cases in Asia and the Pacific region are

almost 5,600. Compared to countries in North America, the

Asia and Pacific region has controlled the current situation

very well, so far.

When implementing regulations to respond to the

Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic, tourism authorities or

Sep.

18

policymakers should regard the situation with care because it

is a controversial issue to both tourists and destinations.

Sensitive response and immediate reaction towards recent flu

outbreak could be the ideal precaution. On the other hand, in

tourism, local people’s overreaction can develop into a

negative perception of tourism destinations.

Similarly, when arrivals at a destination are screened or

quarantined because of overly strict government precautions,

some may respond with dissatisfaction. To prevent negative

reactions from tourists, policymakers should consider that the

current situation of outbreaks depends on different stages in

different countries and continents. A policy of containment

appears to ease the spread of infection in some cases. In other

cases, mitigation of impact might be a more effective approach

than any restrictions such as violating or obstructing the

movement of people or the consumption of goods.

UNWTO’s Response: Importance ofGlobal Cooperation

As part of the preparedness efforts for a possible pandemic

situation, UNWTO established some three years ago regular

and active contacts within the United Nations System, in

particular with the WHO, the United Nations System

Influenza Coordination (UNSIC), the International Civil

Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Department of Public

Information of the UN (UNDPI). Internally, UNWTO

reinforced its preparedness work with the establishment of

the Risk and Crisis Management Section, which is the focal

point for the coordination with the UN on pandemics.

Since the onset of the outbreak of the novel influenza A

(H1N1) in April 2009, UNWTO has been actively involved in

the coordination and communication efforts for the travel and

tourism sector. The overall objectives of the activities were:● Facilitating fast and targeted communications and

providing relevant real-time information;● Promoting consistent messages throughout the travel

tourism sector;● Minimizing the impacts of the pandemic on the sector

through coordination and close cooperation with Member

States, WHO, UNSIC and TERN, and;● Providing guidance and assistance to Member States

To meet those objectives, UNWTO engaged at three

levels:● Inside the UN-System, UNWTO actively participated in

the top-level coordination effort with WHO, ICAO and

UNSIC to ensure that views and concerns of the travel and

tourism sector were taken into account in the decision

making process;● At the Member States’level, UNWTO immediately

activated the Influenza Focal Point structure, which had

been put in place as part of the Avian Flu preparedness.

UNWTO provided the Influenza Focal Points with

regular information updates, guidelines and common

messages, and shared lessons learned from previous

pandemic simulation exercises, and;● With respect to the industry, UNWTO was in close

contact and coordinated frequent meetings with the

Tourism Emergency Response Network (TERN) and

WHO. TERN consists of key global travel and tourism

network associations both public and private, across all

sectors. The active coordination and communication

between UNWTO, TERN and WHO provided an

insight into the needs, views and concerns of the travel and

tourism sector


In a similar vein, UNWTO Review and Preparation

Exercise on Travel and Tourism under Pandemic Conditions

was held in Nassau, Bahamas on the 16-17 September 2009.

Primarily aimed at the region of the Americas, the objectives

of this review and preparation exercise was to address the

current challenges as well as upcoming ones in view of the

current pandemic, and how to adjust the preparations of the

travel and tourism sector. In his welcome remarks of this

event, Vincent Vanderpool-Wallace, Bahamas Minister of

Tourism and Aviation, stressed that the current pandemic is

extremely important. He also pointed out that continued

collaboration between the health and the tourism sectors is

critical.

Until now, in comparison with other parts of the world, Asia

and the Pacific region’s preparedness plans have operated quite

well. Not only to maintain the present destination image, but

also not to lose a destination’s attractiveness for the future,

tourism stakeholders in Asia and the Pacific region need to

exchange information and ensure that the response system,

(such as SOS.travel and the tourist’s network alert system with

TERN) are in place. Preparedness and coordination are the

only proper responses to this global pandemic.

Basic Precautions

● Be prepared and stay vigilant!-- Consult your medical practitioner 4-6 weeks before

travel, regardless of your destination, to check onappropriate medications or inoculations, or for adviceon any specific health concerns.

-- Vaccination against seasonal influenza might still berecommended, please check with your national healthauthorities.

-- It is considered prudent for people who are ill todelay international travel.

-- Ensure that friends and family are informed of yourtravel itinerary.

● Monitor the local situation and follow local healthrecommendations!

-- Pay attention to announcements from the localgovernment of the country you are visiting.

-- Follow local public health guidelines, including anymovement restrictions and preventionrecommendations.

● Avoid close contact!-- Stay away from people who are sick to avoid

infection.-- Stay away from live animals in markets and other

places where you may come into close contact withdomestic, caged or wild animals.

-- Avoid contact with surfaces contaminated with animalfaeces or fluids.

-- If you are sick, put on a surgical mask to avoid thespread of the virus or stay at your hotel room.

-- Avoid eating or handling undercooked or raw poultry,egg or duck dishes.

● Keep your hands clean!

● Keep your cough and sneeze covered!

● Stay healthy!

● Monitor your health after your trip!-- Closely monitor any flu-like symptoms for 7 days

upon your return.-- If you develop symptoms that includ fever, coughing,

soar throat, vomiting or diarrhea, seek medicalattention immediately. Make sure to tell your healthcare provider the places that you visited.

● Air TravelPlease visit the International Air TransportAssociation (IATA) to access the information onInfluenza A (H1N1) and Air Travel.

Visit www.sos.travel for more information


J

n 7 May, 2009 United Nations World Tourism

Organization and Kyung Hee University’s College of

Hotel & Tourism Science held a UNWTO Special Session at

the COEX Conference Center in Seoul, Republic of Korea.

The main objective of the UNWTO Special Session was to

stimulate interest and inspire the spontaneous commitment

of all participants to environmental protection and poverty

reduction for sustainable development of the tourism industry

as well as the commemoration of the 60th anniversary of

Kyung Hee University to be held in connection with World

Civic Forum 2009.

About 100 delegates from diverse sectors, such as

government officials, decision makers of NGOs, educators

and disciplines, and opinion leaders from other engaged

organizations in tourism industry, attended. The morning

and afternoon sections of the UNWTO Special Session

proceeded on schedule with lively presentations and

discussions. In-depth intelligence was shared concerning the

two UNWTO Special Session’s pre-determined topics,

community-based ecotourism, and alleviation of poverty.

Moderators, Dr. William Cannon Hunter (UNWTO

Consultant) and Dr. Okmo Ahn, conducted discussions and

comments on presentations on certain touristic issues, given

by two presenters were well received.

Special Report on UNWTO Special SessionCivilization and World Tourism

20

Sep.

O

Plenary Session Panelists(from left) Mr. Yersu kim,

Dr. Paul Kennedy, Dr. Donald C. Johanson,

Dr. Howard Bloom, and Mr. Sesh Velamoor

Morning Section: “Community Based Eco-

tourism as a Green RevolutionApproach”

Dr. Daekwan Kim (Kyung Hee

University) presented a “Sustainable

Tourism Paradigm as a Green Revolution

Approach”and Dr. Walailak Noypayak

(Director of Tourism Authority, Thailand)

presented “Climate Change and Tourism”

with a powerpoint presentation followed by

a short documentary film.

To begin with, Dr. Daekwan Kim started

off his presentation by introducing current

issues regarding green revolution and green

growth. He suggested key elements of green

growth to be the improvement of eco-

efficiency and creating synergies between

economic growth and the environmental

protection. Furthermore, the strong

connection between climate change and

tourism dictates the impacts of climate

An Overview of World Civic Fourm 2009he World Civic Forum (WCF) 2009 was held on May 5-8, at theCOEX in Seoul, Korea. The WCF, a biennial forum, was organized

and hosted by Kyung Hee University and the United Nations Departmentof Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), with more than 3,000participants from 57 countries attending 93 sessions with 350presentations.

The WCF has joined with a large number of institutional partnersincluding: International Association of Economic and Social Councils andSimilar Institutions (AICESIS), the Conference of NGOs ConsultativeRelationship with the United Nations (CoNGO), Eastern RegionalOrganization for Public Administration (EPOPA), International Network ofMuseums for Peace (INMP), College of Liberal and Professional Studies,University of Pennsylvania (Penn LPS), UN Global Compact/The Principlesfor Responsible Management Education (PRME), United NationsEducational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), UnitedNations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), and Woodrow WilsonSchool of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University (WWS).

Under the theme of “Building Our Humanitarian Planet”, the forumcovered three key agendas: ● Civic Values for Global Justice; ● Civic Engagement in Public and Global Governance, and; ● Civic Action for the Global Agenda, including Climate Change.

The WCF consisted of six different sessions covering these key agendas,main topics of three separate thematic sessions. The Opening Ceremony,Roundtable on the Future of Universities, Plenary Sessions, ThematicSessions, Institutional Partner Sessions and UNDESA Sessions were themain programs included in the World Civic Forum.

Declaration of the WCF 2009 was presented at the Closing Ceremonyon the last day of the Forum. The declaration was drafted afterconsultations with academics, international organizations officials andpolicy advisers during this event. According to the declaration, to solvehumanitarian problems, “active civic participation is necessary and therole of post-secondary educational institutions is also important.”

Institutional Partner Sessions11 Institutions were involved in the WCF 2009 as institutional

partners. In the institutional partner sessions, each organizationoffered presentations based on different topics related to “BuildingOur Humanitarian Planet”. Among the eleven institutions, the UnitedNations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) organized aninstitutional partner session under the agenda of “Civilization andWorld Tourism”.


T

Dr. Inwon Chouethe President of

Kyung Hee University

change on tourism to consist of:

1) Direct climatic impacts,

2) Indirect environmental change impacts,

3) Impact of mitigation policies on tourist mobility and

4) Indirect social impacts.

Finally, on the basis of community-based sustainable

tourism, Dr. Daekwan Kim remarked that the strategy to

overcome current environmental challenges are mitigation

and adaptation.

Next Dr. Walailak Noypayak offered best practices based

on the case of Thailand’s tourism sector’s efforts against

climate change. Efforts there are being made to mitigate

climate change through strategies to reduce green house gas

emissions and a multi-year water supply plan implemented

for water shortage problems in Thailand.

The two presentations were followed by panel discussion for

the morning section. Panelists Dr. Lawrence Bendle (University

of Queensland), Dr. Seokho Lee (Korea National Open

University), Dr. Wu Lingfei (Shanghai

Institute of Tourism) and Mr. David

Mason (Kyung Hee University) offered

comments and questions relevant to the

presentation themes and representative

of their professional interests and

affiliations. Comments included issues

related to climate and environmental

issues in Australia, applications to the

China context, concerns for the need for

change in the tourism industry, and the

importance of low impact tourism such

as cultural tourism.

Afternoon Section: “Achieving a Civilized World throughTourism: Alleviation of Poverty”

In this session, Mr. Marcel Leijzer (UNWTO) introduced

the role of the UNWTO in promoting and developing

sustainable tourism via the ST-EP Program, and Dr. Chulwon

Kim (Kyung Hee University) presented a “Sustainable

Tourism Cooperation Model for Eliminating Poverty”.

Mr. Marcel Leijzer, representing the UNWTO, discussed

the recent tourism environment, and offered statistical data

regarding tourism growth. He stressed the important role of

the tourism sector and its potential for poverty alleviation. As

the United Nations Specialized Agency for tourism,

UNWTO is committed to addressing extreme poverty by

maximizing the beneficial impacts of tourism. As for its

efforts in poverty alleviation, UNWTO launched the ST-EP

Program which focuses on reducing poverty levels through

developing and promoting sustainable forms of tourism. In

the final consideration, Mr. Marcel Leijzer reemphasized that

22

Sep.

Pic 2Pic 1

8 Critical Points of “Sustainable Tourism Cooperation Model for Eliminating Poverty”

Dr. Chulwon Kim

1. To build on the principle of tourism development for eliminating poverty;2. To cultivate a spirit of independence and ownership in a host country;3. To find resources for business implementation;4. To deploy activities for strengthening the cooperation system;5. To deploy DB establishment business for developing countries;6. To develop concrete projects for each business;7. To build evaluation systems for business activities, and;8. To build a network of emergency response in tourism.

Pic 3 Pic 4


UNWTO will continue its efforts to enhance tourism’s

contribution to poverty reduction in order to make the

tourism sector work for the poor.

In Dr. Chulwon Kim’s presentation, “Sustainable Tourism

Cooperation Model for Eliminating Poverty”it was proposed

that international cooperation is essential to achieve the

elimination of poverty. International cooperation is regarded

as necessary to help poor nations achieve economic

development through the expansion of export and overseas

direct investment so that the gap of income and standard of

living between nations in a global village can be reduced.

Moreover, by suggesting the concept of PPT (Pro-Poor

Tourism), participation of poor people should be encouraged

to alleviate poverty as well. PPT is a form of tourism that has

the goal of eliminating poverty in mind, primarily through

the establishing of financial independence, locally, through

tourism.

Panelists Dr. William Cannon Hunter (UNWTO

Consultant), Dr. Wu Lingfei (Shanghai Institute of Tourism),

Dr. Lawrence Bendle (University of Queensland) and Dr.

Wonhee Lee (Korea Tourism Policy Institute) put forth their

comments and questions concerning such issues as the

problem of inclusion or sponsorship of states such as Taiwan

in UNWTO and other global organizations, the problem of

rural poverty in China and the disconcerting reality that

‘tourists love poverty’. Concerns were also raised over who

pays for poverty alleviation, and whether the Gulf States,

China and other rising economic powers are doing their share.

In addition the pragmatic concern over what Korean tourism

specialists can do to contribute to programs like ST-EP.

Overall the UNWTO Special Session proceeded on

schedule with informative presentations and in-depth and

relevant discussion. A deeper understanding was reached via

the dialogue between presenters and panelists concerning two

of the most pressing social issues in tourism today: climate

change, and the alleviation of poverty.

Pic 1. The morning section started with Dr.Daekwan Kim's presentation on"Community-based Ecotourism as a Green Revolution Approach"

Pic 2. Dr. William Hunterspeaks as a moderator

Pic 3. Panel Discussion in UNWTO Special Session at World Civic Forum 2009

Pic 4. Group of speakers and panelists of UNWTO Special Session

Pic 5. Mr. Marcel Leijzer Deputy Director, Department ofDevelopment Assistance, UNWTO

J

Pic 4

Sep.

24

An Historical Transformation into theFirst Free Port of the Philippines

ubic Bay is located 110 km northwest of Manila, the

capital of the Philippines. Because of its strategic

location, Subic Bay has a long history as a foreign military

base dating back to 1899. The latest was as an American

overseas military installation until 1992. The United States

built a small naval station in the early 1900s, however, after

the Second World War began, this base became the largest

American overseas military installation. By 1988, this base

with Clark air base nearby hired 70,000 Filipinos and

generated more foreign exchange than any other of the

Philippines’exports. Notwithstanding its economic benefits,

it was unfavorable to local people due to such reasons that it

Rebirth of an Old Military BaseClack & Subic Bay, the Philippines

[Destination Report]

S

infringed on Philippine sovereignty and brought various

negative social effects to nearby villages. In addition, Filipinos

were afraid of being the main target in any US-Soviet war.

When the US and the Philippines were negotiating for

extending the bases treaty, Mount Pinatubo erupted. This

was in 1991 and caused massive destruction, burying base

facilities in 18 inches of ash. The cumulation of these effects

led to the pullout of American naval forces from the region.

After the withdrawal of the American military, 8 billion

USD worth of world-class infrastructure and a highly

educated work force with fluent English (developed to satisfy

American preferences) were left behind. In 1991, Republic

Act 7227 to develop Subic into an economic powerhouse

instead of naval station was created. To facilitate financial and

administrative matters during the process, the Bases

Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) and the

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) were established.

The priority placed on this Act is reflected in the fact that

these authorities report directly to the President.

As a result, a new eco-tourism industry has emerged,

conducted by Aeta, a group of indigenous people, in the

Subic area. After the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo, the Aeta

people, once confined to a reservation, came back to their

hometown, and promoted an eco-tourism plan to the

authorities. The Aeta defined themselves as natural experts,

teaching the American Military how to survive in the

Philippine wilderness areas.

During the eco-tourism itinerary, they demonstrate their

real life in the forest, including opening their houses to

tourists. Trails, spas, restaurants and other amenities are built

in their area for visitors’convenience. All local developments

are restrained to minimize damage on environment and

debate with local people goes on before every decision is

made.

Eco-tourism is just one of the target markets in this local

tourism industry. To fulfill the vision, Subic Bay, as a premier

domestic and Asian destination, promotes eco-tourism, the

Retirement/Silver market, the MICE market, and the

Education market.

Open Skies PolicyThe Open Skies Policy was implemented in 1995 to cover

the fact that most tourists are coming to the Philippines by

air. Policy EO253 was issued to liberalize the domestic and

international civil air carriers by granting unilateral air rights


Tree Top AdvantureTourists walk along the tree top walks in Subic Bay

to foreign carriers. This policy contributed to the attraction of

low cost air carriers to the country. On July 2006, the

government backtracked on its Open Skies Policy in

Diosdado Macapagal International Airport by issuing

EO500A. This policy requires foreign aviation to be

designated as official carriers by their individual governments

and this impacted on the low-cost carriers, since many of

them were not nationally designated carriers. The new

EO500A indirectly influenced Subic Bay International

Airport (SBIA) as well.

Subic-Clark CorridorThe Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) is known as

the country’s longest expressway, linking economic and

tourism activities in Subic Bay Freeport and Clark Philippines

Freeport, and the Central Techno Park in Tarlac. A project of

the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA),

the 93.77 km, four lane highway has two major sections. The

first section is the 50.5 km Subic Clar section, which cuts

down travel time from Manila to Subic (via the North Luzon

Expressway) to 1.5 hours and from Clark to Subic to 45

minutes. As Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority and Clark

Development Corporation and Bureau of Customs signed of

Memorandum of Agreement and Joint Memorandum Order

by Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, a National Single

Windows program was institutionalized in order to

harmonize immigration, customs and quarantine procedures.

26

Sep.

Mt. PinatuboⓒGEORGE TAPAN

It’s critical for us to ensurethat tourism will have a sustainablemodel in the country to make surethis natural beauty will continue toexist for future tourist for years tocome. But most important is thatwe have to make sure these naturalassets will continue to exist andbenefit future generations. And theonly way to do this is through eco-tourism.

- Joseph Durano, Department of Tourism SecretaryKBS interview, 2008

“

”


With the opening of the expressway, arrivals increased. In

2008, 43,984 vehicles arrived during Holy Week, compared

to 25,300 during Holy Week the year before and 38,000

during Christmas the same year. Since April 2009, a total of

117,499 vehicles arrived in Subic Bay area.

VolunteerismIn Subic Bay, volunteerism, which was promoted vigorously

by the majority government, became a virtual prerequisite to

securing a livelihood in the formal sector. About 8,000

volunteers from all walks of life helped preserve resources

under the slogan of “Protect and Preserve to Prosper”.

Volunteers guarded homes, cut grass, maintained

infrastructure, and ran the power plant without payment.

This effort continued from 1992 to 1994 and until now, Subic

Bay Metropolitan Authority observes Volunteerism Day on

November 24, every year.

Environmental ProtectionConsidering the importance of the role of nature in the

development of Subic Bay Freeport, the Subic Bay

Metropolitan Authority has kept a maintained a consistent

thrust at its preservation through its Ecology department’s

Biodiversity Monitoring and Conservation Program (BMCP).

Also ongoing is a massive reforestation program where more

than 152,000 trees have been planted for the past 12 years,

boasting of a 94 percent survival rate. Laid out in a single row

and meters apart, these trees cover more than 1,500 km,

equivalent to about 16 times the stretch of the Subic-Clark-

Tarlac Expressway.

Puning Hot Springnearby Clark

K

epal has tremendous potential for

tourism development with its

unique natural and cultural heritage.

Sagarmatha (Mount Everest), including the

rest of the Himalayas is an attractor to all

sorts of tourists, and Lumbini, the birthplace

of Lord Buddha, which is a representation of

ancient culture and world peace. In addition

there are the two destinations, the

Kathmandu Valley and Chitwan National

Park listed in the UNESCO World Heritage List. National

parks, wildlife reserves, conservation areas, and the settlements

of various ethnic groups are common attractions in Nepal.

Despite a negative growth in tourist arrivals since 1998,

tourism is still contributing about 10% of foreign currency

earnings, which consists of second remittances, with a 3% gross

domestic product and an employment opportunity for about

2.5% of the total labor forces, directly or indirectly.

The Nepalese government held onto the traditional National

Plan (including tourism policies) for decades, with a good share

of success. The government had initiated the tourism

development plan in 1956 with the implementation of the first

National Plan. In 2002, the tenth plan took its development

position for five subsequent years. In the tenth plan, Nepal

aimed to increase foreign currency earning and increase

opportunities for employment by recognizing the importance of

tourism to national economic growth and development as well

as poverty alleviation.

The length of stay of tourists has been steadily growing and

has currently has reached more than 12 days on average. Most

tourists visit Nepal for mountain climbing, trekking and rafting.

However, tourists visiting the promoted tourism packages,

including eco-tourism, rural tourism, village tourism and home-

stay tourism are unexpectedly few and economically and socially

negligible. Rather, throughout Nepal, a higher quality tourist is

desired in lieu of the existing trekking tourist who spends little

money but contributes greatly to the pollution of the

Kingdom’s natural environment, littering empty cans, plastics,

water bottles and so on. The high Himalayan environment,

fragile as it is, remains at risk while the government remains

unable to identify a more desirable high quality tourist.

Case Study: A Rural Poverty AlleviationProgram Initiated Tourism andCommunity Development in Briddim(Rasuwa, Nepal)

The Briddim village, at an altitude of 2,290m, is located in

Rasuwa. The majority of the villagers are ethnic Tamang, a

community of Tibetan origin with a strong Tibetan culture.

Since 2002, through the Tourism for Rural Poverty Alleviation

Program (TRPAP), the Rasuwa District Development

Committee and Langtang National Park has obtained financial

support from the Canadian International Development Agency.

“Homestay”is one of the TRPAP modes of rural tourism,

selected by the Briddim TRPAP program. The home-stay

management sub-committee, which is joined by all home-stay

participating households, manages everything related to tourist

home-stay, including the reception of and hospitality towards

Sep.

28

[Tourism and Community Development]

A Sustainable Development Deception or the Sustainable Alternative Approach?

N

Lantang Valley the Briddim Village located at the end of the valley


tourists, supply of facilities, managerial workers, tariff

determination and service standardization.

The local community today is more aware of the strength-of-

community approach to economic matters and the revitalization

of their centuries-old community cooperation works, yet with a

more scientific and reasonable justification. Local community

physical assets have been developed and improved particularly

through stone-paved trails, potable drinking water, waste

management, community lodges, campsite development, public

toilets and bathrooms, monastery maintenance and visitor

information centers and signage through the tourism

development infrastructure fund provided by TRPAP.

Residents learn about conservation of natural and cultural

assets including local costumes, food, music and festivals,

leading to revitalization of their traditional practices. Though

this was not exclusively a community initiative, it has

empowered the local community, particularly the women,

opened up avenues of employment creation and income-

generation by enhancing a way towards a sustainable livelihood,

and thus exhibited a strong culture of community cooperation.

The Lesson LearntTourism in Nepal has been declining since 2000 due to the

Maoist insurgency. Rural areas have been especially hard hit. Yet,

the number of tourists is not the key issue for sustainable

development. Rather it is the prospective of best practices

concerning the maintenance of the cultural and environmental

status quo combined with the management of tourism’s positive

economic impact on the host community.

The community approach is designed to increase benefits to

communities and to encourage them to take charge on matters

of local socioeconomic, cultural and environmental concerns,

and to support conservation in tandem with tourism. The

Briddim initiative was based on the demand side of tourism,

encouraged by respective popular trekking routes. It enjoyed a

higher participation of the community in overall tourism service

matters.

Positives that can be taken from the case study include the

state of empowerment of the community itself, and awareness of

cultural and environmental niches to which they can assimilated

and create opportunities for sustainable livelihood. The

community has taken steps towards activities that would

enhance their capabilities in a range of different areas, increase

the stock of various assets, and they are working, indicating

signs of vigorous community solidarity.

Source: Tourism and Community Development: Asian

Practices, 2008, UNWTO

Briddim. A sign on the way to the Briddim Village

Himalaya Mountain

Trail Langtang tamang heritage trail ends at the Briddim

30

Backgroundhi Qiao Village, located in the Dan Zhai county of

Guizhou province in China, is composed of four

communities. The Miao tribe accounts for 97% of all

inhabitants - 241 households with 1,142 people. They still wear

the traditional Miao attire, and live in the traditional Miao-style

wooden house. Their livelihoods are mainly dependent on

agriculture due to Dan Zhai’s natural environment. Because the

village is encompassed by

mountains with a river

which wanders through,

such fruits as oranges,

waxberries, and pears are

abundant all around. Its

name, Shi Qiao, which

means stone bridge,

comes from a big rock at

the border of the village,

a natural bridge for its

inhabitants.

Sep.

Rural Tourism in an Ethnic VillageShi Qiao, China

The Success of Paper Making Skills in Shi Qiao

During the Tang dynasty (618-907 A.D.), the ancestors of Shi Qiao Villagelearned paper making techniques from the Han (206 B.C.- 220 A.D.) people.The technique, as it once was, has been inherited into the present. Themethod is acknowledged as closely similar to the process once recordedduring the Ming dynasty (1368-1644 A.D.). In 2006, this ancient technique ofwas finally listed as Intangible Cultural Heritage at the national level.

S

[Success Stories of Sustainable Tourism Develpment ¥±]

Flower Interposition

The Paper MarketTourists are looking around

the market

Key Features of Shi Qiao’sRural Tourism- Traditional paper making techniques

- A focus on the niche market

- Farm Stay tourism as a new sector in a

declining economic climate

Tourism in Shi QiaoRural tourism based on traditional paper making techniques

has been developed since 2005 in Shi Qiao, after they realized

that demonstrating traditional paper making techniques could

be a tourism market niche. Tourism is now the main source of

income for villagers. The usage of raw materials differentiates

their paper making techniques from other villages. Shi Qiao has

been using Goupi tree while others use Bamboo or Buyi.

Interposing materials like barks, roots, and flowers between the

thin layers of papers helped to diversify patterns as well as

improving the quality of paper products. In order to secure such

materials, environmental protection regulations have been

established that control the cutting and planting of trees and

the polluting of water, all of which are strictly monitored.

Emphasizing natural materials and handmade processes became

the factors to be welcomed by environmentalists. When there

was limited ability to improve the quality found, the

government authority and some NGOs tried to supply

assistance, especially on designing paper-used products to give

additional value.

Because of the denotation of PATA, the ancient paper

making site has been successfully maintained and visitor’s

awareness of this village has grown. Since its appointment as an

Intangible Cultural Heritage at the national level and listed in

the travel agencies’itinerary, the village has enjoyed widespread

publicity. Moreover, the visitation of some celebrities to this

village has enhanced its repute even further. In 2007, famous

musician Tan Dun, who won the Oscar best music award for

the movie “Crouching Dragon Hidden Tiger”, shot his MTV

“The melody of the paper”here. 4,500 overseas tourists visited

this village in 2008, up from 3,124 in 2005. It is remarkable

that such a small village enjoyed such increase, considering the

strict visa controls in place for that year due to the Olympic

Games and weather-related disasters in China. With visitor

numbers increasing, household income also rose from 20,000

Yuan in 2005 to 30,000 Yuan in 2008 thanks to rural tourism.

Owing to increasing numbers of visitors, some paper making

workshops have expanded in scale. Because 100% of jobs are

held by local residents, the roles among residents who

participate in tourism have become broader and clearer.

Households who excel at paper making demonstrate the

process and sell paper products to visitors, and other families are

taking part in reception services, performance, or catering

services. More job opportunities are available even to

disadvantaged people who take positions in the local tourism

industry.

By taking part in the local rural tourism industry, residents

have enjoyed a rising awareness of their own cultural value and

identity. Worship to Cai Lun, the ancient Chinese paper

inventor is now held at the beginning of each year, and all the

grown-up males of the village have attended this ceremony to

show their thanksgiving. This ceremony is even seldom to be

seen in Chinese Han people’s village.

The ‘Ancient Paper Making Technique Association’which

plays an important role in occupational training, along with a

local farmer organization was established in order to coordinate

problems that naturally arise with a local tourism industry. At

one time, capital outflow from the local community to outside

travel agencies was a serious problem. The association, then

becoming a representative of the village to negotiate with these

travel agencies, has mitigated this problem.

Towards a World-class Tourism DestinationSelecting a niche market, considering the competitiveness of

the village, and concentrating on it were the keys to success in

rural tourism in Shi Qiao. To be a stronger tourism destination,

different shareholders such as government authority and

NGOs, local trade associations, and the residents themselves

have occupied themselves in the consideration of all matters

related to the process of tourism development. Decisions are

made after cost/benefit analyses and are based on a long-term

perspective so that local rural tourism can be sustainable, rather

than concept driven.

Source: UNWTO


Shi Qiao from the air

Sep.

Conferences and Meetings

East Asia Inter-regional Tourism Forum

CIBTM 2009 - The China Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition

The World Route Development Forum 2009

3rd Annual Routes Leaders Forum 'Airlines & Airports Towards a Common Vision'

JATA WTF - JATA World Tourism Congress

JATA World Tourism Congress and Travel Fair 2009

JATA WTF - JATA World Travel Fair

PATA Travel Mart 2009

4th Annual General Meeting of Asian Federation of Exhibition and Convention Association

PATA Board of Directors Meeting

XVII UNWTO General Assembly

10th World Knowledge Forum

Hangzhou West Lake Expo

ITB Asia - The Trade Show for the Asian Travel Market

ITM - India Travel Mart Goa

Korea MICE Expo

3rd UNWTO/PATA Forum on Tourism Trends and Outlook

CITM - China International Travel Mart

43rd UFTAA Congress

2009 EAS Congress - Workshop on Livelihood Management and Sustainable Coastal

Tourism - International Conference

2nd International Conference on Tourism, Religions and Dialogue of Cultures

32

Sept.

Oct.

Nov.

Dec.

8-10

8-10

13-15

14-15

17

17-20

18-20

22-25

23-25

25-28

5-8

13-15

17-Nov.7

21-23

30-Nov.1

10-11

15-17

19-22

20-24

23-27

14-16

Gangwon, Republic of Korea

Beijing, China

Beijing, China

Beijing, China

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo, Japan

Tokyo, Japan

Hangzhou, China

Daejeon, Republic of Korea

Hangzhou, China

Astana, Kazakhstan

Seoul, Republic of Korea

Hangzhou, China

Singapore, Singapore

Goa, India

Incheon, Republic of Korea

Guilin, China

Kunming, China

Kathmandu, Nepal

Manila, Philippines

Nara, Japan

Month Date Conference and Meeting Venue

XVII UNWTO General AssemblyThe 18th Session of the UNWTO General Assembly on

Oct. 5-8, in Astana, Kazakhstan, will bring together tourism

ministers and senior officials from national tourism

organizations, as well as public, private and academic Affiliate

Members. As such the Assembly represents the most

important gathering of travel and tourism stakeholders.

Against a background of economic turmoil, a worldwide

flu pandemic and advancing climate change, the Assembly

will meet to respond to these global challenges.

This key meeting provides the platform to debate and

agree upon UNWTO’s position on the current global

economic downturn. The tourism industry can and must play

an important role in both recovery from the crisis and the

emergence of a more sustainable, greener global economy.

This year’s General Assembly will also see the election of a

new Secretary-General for UNWTO.


CIBTM 2009 - The China Incentive,Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition

China Incentive Business Travel and Meetings Exhibition

(CIBTM) will be held on September 8-10, in Beijing, China.

This annual exhibition will provide business opportunities,

networking events, and educational programs to those who

work in the MICE industry. Airlines, conference venues,

tourist organizations, convention and visitor bureau,

technology providers, hotels / spas, trade associations,

conference planners, event management, special interest

travel, incentive destinations, and attractions & entertainment

will have a place at this exhibition. Professionals responsible

for the planning and organization of meetings, conferences,

incentive travel and events related to corporations,

associations, agencies, Professional Conference Organizers

(PCO’s) and industry media from across China and the region

are expected to take part in this event’s educational programs

and visit the exhibitions.

The World Route Development Forum 2009The World Route Development Forum 2009 will be held on

September 13-15, in Beijing, China. Market information will

be shared, new opportunities found, and start-up strategies

developed between every type of airlines and airports from

every continent, whether they are flag carriers or low cost

airlines, hub or regional airports. Route efficiency, defense, and

recovery will be hot issues for independent researchers and will

be closely discussed during this exciting forum. For more

information, please contact [email protected]

JATA World Tourism Congress and TravelFair 2009

JATA World Tourism

Congress and Travel Fair

2009 will be held on

September 17-20, 2009

in Tokyo, Japan. With participants from travel companies,

travel bureaus, airlines, hotel businesses, tour guides and

public offices, JATA World Tourism Congress will discuss

tourism under the theme “Asia Tourism NOW!”At the

JATA Travel Fair, exhibitors will promote field proposals,

introduce JATA-implemented projects, present new styles of

travel through cooperation with businesses peripherals to the

travel industry and stimulate and educate the demand for

travel in specific tailored ways only possible at this event. For

more information, contact http://www.jata-wtf.com/index.

php?lang=en

43rd UFTAA CongressThe UFTAA General Assembly and Annual World

Congress is the yearly congregation of the organization’s

members which is attended by the officials, guests and invited

speakers. It is participated in by the senior leaders of various

travel agents’and tour operators associations from over 80

countries worldwide. The prestigious event consists of the

Board Meeting, the Association leader’s Meeting, the

General Assembly, and the Business sessions aimed at

resolving pertinent issues to improve the travel industry. This

year, Nepal Association of Tour and Travel Agents (NATTA)

has the won the honor to host the 43rd UFTAA World

Congress in Kathmandu (Nepal) from 20th-23rd November

2009 and will be followed by 3rd NATTA Himalayan Intl.

Travel Mart-2009 (23rd-25th Nov 2009).

Under the theme “Sustainability, Networking and

Profitability”the co- organizers, composed of the Nepal

Tourism Board (NTB) and Nepal Airlines Corporation are

leaving no efforts spared in making the UFTAA 2009

Congress successful and enjoyable for all delegates and guests.

Visit http://www.natta.org.np/uftaanepal/index.php?page_

id=22 for more information. For any inquiries, please contact

[email protected]

Sep.

34

2009 EAS Congress - Workshop onLivelihood management and SustainableCoastal Tourism - International Conference

The East Asian Seas Congress 2009 will be held on

November 23-27, 2009 in Manila, Philippines. The event

will be hosted by the Government of the Philippines through

the Department of Environment and Natural Resources

(DENR). It is being organized by the Partnerships in

Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia

(PEMSEA) and DENR and supported by the Global

Environment Facility, United Nations Development

Program, and United Nations Office for Project Services and

Coastal Management Center. Various partner organizations

are being invited to co-convene Congress workshops,

seminars and events.

Carrying the theme, “Partnerships at Work: Local

Implementation and Good Practices,”it will highlight

initiatives and good practices covering key aspects of coastal

and marine resource management and how interregional,

interagency and multi-sector partnerships are contributing

toward the attainment of regional and international

environmental targets. The EAS Congress 2009 will review

progress with respect to the implementation of the

Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia

(SDS-SEA), assess the achievements and challenges that

remain, and mapping out future actions to ensure the steady

advancement towards the sustainability of the seas of East

Asia. http://pemsea.org/eascongress will provide further

information. Please contact [email protected] for any

inquiries.

ITB Asia - The Trade Show for the AsianTravel Market

ITB Asia, annual event of three day B2B trade show and

convention, will be held on October 21-23, 2009 in

Singapore. International exhibitors of all sectors of the travel-

value chain, Asia Pacific’s leading companies and emerging

small and medium-sized enterprises meet with top buyers

from the MICE, Leisure and Corporate Travel markets.

ITB Asia is featuring the full range of travel products,

services and goods, while at the same time is functioning as a

knowledge platform for the industry with the concurrently

held ITB Asia convention and events by partners. Please

contact http://www.itb-asia.com for more information.

PATA Travel Mart 2009PATA Board of Directors Meeting

PATA Travel Mart 2009 will

be held on September 22-25,

2009 in Hangzhou, China. The

PATA Board of Directors

Meeting will also be held during

this time (September 25-27) in

conjunction with the PATA

Travel Mart. In addition, the

5th UNWTO Conference on

Destination Management on

(September 21-22) will precede

the PATA Travel Mart. For further information, please visit

www.pata.org/patasite/index.php?id=100

Hangzhou West Lake ExpoThe 2009 West Lake Expo will be held from October 17 to

November 7, 2009 in Hangzhou, China. More than 10

million trips of person will participate in the various activities

of the Expo and professional investors will be 50 thousand. 20

percent of the booths will be occupied by businesses from

other countries. For celebrating the 80th anniversary of the

West Lake Expo and the 10th year after it was resumed,

firework ceremony will be performed 2009 is the 80th

anniversary of the West Lake Expo and also the 10th year

after it was resumed. For further information, please contact

http://www.xh-expo.com/en/index.html


UNWTO Welcomes 25 new Aff iliateMembers

The 85th Session of the UNWTO Executive Council (7-8

May, Bamako, Mali) approved the admission of 25 new

Affiliate Members to the World Tourism Organization. The

new intake of Members includes a broad representation of the

tourism private sector of fifteen countries in four continents.

Mr Eulogio Bordas, Chairman of Affiliate Members

welcomed the members, saying “Their entry will, without

doubt, give a new boost to the task of strengthening the role

of the private sector within the Organization and the public-

private sector dialogue within UNWTO”.

Macao University of Science and Technology, located in

Macao, China, is the only Asian institute that became an

Affiliate Member of UNWTO at this time. UNWTO is

unique in the United Nations system in that it welcomes

members from the private sector, educational institutions,

destinations and NGOs, encouraging them to engage in

public private partnerships to contribute to the positive

development of tourism.

UNWTO Ulysses Prizes go WorldwideThe UNWTO celebrated the 7th edition of the Ulysses

Prize and Awards on the 27th of May. In awarding these

prizes, the UNWTO seeks to recognize and stimulate

innovative knowledge creation, dissemination and application

in the area of tourism and bring to light the latest advances.

Professor Chris Cooper who has an outstanding career in T-

research and T-education, has been awarded the 2009

UNWTO Ulysses Prize for Academic Excellence in the

Creation and Dissemination of Knowledge in Tourism. Open

Governance in the Portuguese Tourism Administration -

Turismo de Portugal, IP awarded the First Prize of 2009

UNWTO Ulysses Awards for Innovation in Tourism

Governance. The Government of Thailand’s Action Plan for

the Recovery of its Tourism and Industry in light of the

Global Economic Crisis - Ministry of Tourism and Sports of

Thailand also achieved Special Jury Prizes in this category.

The First Prize of 2009 UNWTO Ulysses Awards for

Innovation in Tourism Enterprises was given to ClubHotel

Riu Karamboa- Cabo Verde “Desarrollo turistico de un nuevo

destino”- Riu Hotels & Resorts. Finally, Programa de Vias

Verdes y el pasaporte turistico de Vias Verdes - Fundacion de

los Ferrocarriles Espanoles won the First Prize of 2009

UNWTO Ulysses Awards for Innovation in Non-

Governmental Organizations. One of the Special Jury Prizes

in this category was presented to Business - BIRD

Biodiversity Research and Development of Nepal. Now in its

7th edition, the UNWTO Ulysses Prize and Awards is

striving to create a more permanent structure, with broader

worldwide outreach activities, to make science and innovation

more prominent in tourism policy and governance.

China Can Lead Tourism’s Support of theG20 Programme

Tourism and Travel can support the G20 stimulation

programmes. It creates jobs, boosts development and

promotes open, two way trade. It can also play a part in the

transformation towards a new Green Economy. China’s

vibrant tourism sector can become a model for other nations

as a world leader.

Addressing the Boao Forum for Asia on “Tourism and the

Financial Crisis”UNWTO Assistant Secretary-General

Geoffrey Lipman explained that tourism - business and leisure

travel - can play a role in the G20 led economic recovery.

“Tourism is a service industry and that means people - not

only in the sector but throughout the value chain, in areas

such as manufacturing for transport, construction for

infrastructure and agriculture for food”. He added “It’s also a

development lifeline - for the poorest countries; tourism is a

major export. China, which has emerged as a world leader in

tourism, is on course to becoming the top domestic, inbound

UNWTO in Asia

' '

'

'

~~

'

36

Sep.

and outbound market in the world and thus has a vital role to

play.”

The Chairman of China’s National Tourism Administration

(CNTA), Shao Qiwei affirmed that China’s actions to counter

the financial crisis would help global tourism. “Policies from

both central government and local governments to boost

consumption will sustain domestic and outbound tourism.”

He added that reviving global tourism needed efforts from all

countries and regions. China would contribute its part, with

other nations, to help the industry recover.

UNWTO is also calling for recognition of the potential for

the sector to contribute to the long-term transformation to a

Green Economy, based on reduced carbon outputs, clean

energy and new technologies. Mr. Lipman said, “We account

for 5% of carbon emissions and we have to fix that in line

with new norms, which will be developed at the UNFCCC in

Copenhagen at the end of this year - in a timely, globally

meaningful and appropriately differentiated way. So we need

smart tourism that links wise growth with clear carbon

reduction. We must adapt, mitigate and use technology as

never before. And we must secure financing for the poorest

countries to stay in the game.”The meeting took place on

Hainan Island, which is being developed as an International

Tourism Island by China, with the support of UNWTO.

Jakarta is Recovering Rapidly from theBomb Attacks

Apart from the specific areas where Hotel JW Marriot and

Hotel Ritz Carlton are located, life has basically restored to its

normality. “Jakarta did stop for a moment on Friday, but not

for long. We are not going to allow terrorists to dictate and

allow them to make Jakarta their hostage”. Fauzi Bowo,

Governor of DKI Jakarta made the above comment on 21

July at the Jakarta Media Centre.

Latest data, obtained from Indonesia’s Ministry of Culture

and Tourism and confirmed by the Indonesia Hotel and

Restaurant Association, reveal that there is no obvious tourist

exodus from Jakarta nor from Bali as a result of the bomb

blast. The Government of Indonesia, right after the incident,

took a number of immediate actions in order to minimize the

negative impacts of the attacks. A Crisis Centre was

immediately established in the Ministry of Culture and

Tourism to provide the tourism industry as well as the

individual visitors with the comprehensive information and

the latest updates of the situation. Jero Wacik, Minister of

Culture and Tourism personally switched on the Ministry’s

Emergency Response System and the Standard Operations

Procedures (SOP), following the UNWTO’s guidelines for

crisis in the tourism sector.

There is no room for terrorism to kill tourism. There is no

room for terrorists to use tourism to kill innocent visitors, said

Dr. Taleb Rifai, Secretary-General a.i. of UNWTO. Despite

the temporary setbacks, Indonesia, as a world-famous tourist

destination will continue its charm of cultural and natural

diversity. In fact, Indonesia performed exceptionally well last

year, achieving a 16.8 % increase of international tourist

arrivals. From January to May 2009, tourist arrivals to Bali,

Indonesia's prime destination, were up by as high as 9.35 %

when most destinations in the region were adversely affected

by the financial and economic downturn. Time and again,

Indonesia has manifested itself as an exemplary model to use

tourism as an effective instrument not only to confront the

short term economic difficulties but more importantly as a

driving engine for job creation, trade and development.

At the press conference held on 22 July 2009 in Jakarta,

Xu Jing, who was also taken to the site for inspection,

congratulated the Government of Indonesia and the tourism

industry of the country for their professional approach and

efficient capacity in handling the crisis. The current difficulties

are short in nature. As long as the industry rallies together to

overcome the setbacks, the country will continue to build an

even stronger tourism sector in the nearest future, as

indicated by Taleb Rifai to Minister Wacik over the phone on

17 July, the very day of the attack.


Vote for “The New 7 Wonders”

A vote for the New 7 Wonders of Nature is ongoing at the

website of The New 7 Wonders of Organization at

www.new7wonders.com, as a part of New 7 Wonders of

Nature campaign. This campaign has been implemented to

raise awareness of global attractions, and more tourism

income can ensure that these natural treasures can be better

preserved for future generations. 71 Asian attractions, out of

261 qualified national and multinational nominees from 222

countries, are nominees. These are classified into 7 categories,

including Landscape/Ice Formations, Islands, Mountains/

Volcanoes, Caves/Rock Formations/Valleys, Forests/National

Parks/Nature Reserves, Lakes/Rivers/Water-falls, and

Seascapes. This vote was finished on July 7, 2009. And the

top 77 voted nominees were announced without any ranking

on the event of Official Declaration of the New 7 Wonders of

the World Ceremony in Lisbon, on July 7, 2009.

ICCA Appoints New Asia Pacific RegionalDirector

ICCA is delighted to announce that Mr. Noor Ahmad

Hamid is taking over as Asia Pacific Regional Director on 27

July 2009, based in ICCA’s Kuala Lumpur offices. He

replaces Jane Vong Holmes, who led ICCA’s Asia Pacific

operations for eight years and has recently moved on to

become Managing Director for the BestCities Global

Alliance.

45 year old Noor holds a Diploma in Tourism

Administration, KPSL - equivalent to a Degree in Tourism

and is about to complete his MA in Business Administration;

he has worked for Malaysia Tourism Promotion Board in

USA and in his home country, including a period as head of

the Bidding Unit in MTPB’s Convention & Incentive

Division. He also ran the Business & Event Department for a

number of years in the private sector Richmond Group Sdn

Bhd, and before taking on his new role with ICCA he

managed a variety of activities in PEMPENA Sdn Bhd

developing sponsorship, marketing and-innovative

promotional programmes in a number of Asian countries.

ICCA CEO Martin Sirk said: “We’re delighted to welcome

Mr. Noor into ICCA. He combines strong strategic analytical

skills with a track record of innovation and hard work, and

we’re sure he’ll swiftly get to grips with the key issues across

this vast region and start building strong relations with our

members. He’s worked in a variety of business cultures, both

in terms of different nationalities, and also in terms of the

entrepreneurial, corporate sector and governmental

environments, and that flexibility and breadth of experience

is vital when dealing with our complex membership mix.”

Noor Hamid said, “I’m thrilled to be joining ICCA, and

am determined to build on the fantastic foundation of success

that Jane Vong Holmes achieved. Asia Pacific’s meetings

industry is still expanding at a tremendous pace, creating

great business potential for our members throughout the

region. it’s going to be my job to make sure every member

takes full advantage of the opportunities that we create for

them.”

Incheon International Airport is NamedWorld's Best Airport 2009

Incheon International Airport (Seoul, South Korea) has

been designated World’s Best Airport for 2009, in the World

Airport Awards published by Skytrax (http://www.worldair

portawards.com).

The most prolific World’s Best Airport winner in recent

Asia Pacific News Brief

38

years, Hong Kong International Airport, was pushed into

2nd place by Incheon International, with Singapore Changi

Airport ranking 3rd best in the world, according to the latest

passenger satisfaction rankings. Skytrax reported that the

final winning margins between these top 3 positions was the

smallest ever known for such a large global project and at one

stage it looked like there might be a dead-heat result

between these top three airports.

The World Airport AwardsTM are based on the results

from 8.6 million questionnaires completed by airline

passengers in 2008/9, covering more than 190 airports

worldwide. The survey evaluates traveler experiences across

39 different airport service and product factors, from check-

in, arrivals, transfer through to departure at the gate

New Policy on Pakistan Tourism to beAnnounced

Minister for Tourism Maulana Atta ur Rahman Tuesday

formed a committee comprising of all provincial secretaries

headed by the Federal Secretary of Tourism to make

recommendations for devising a new policy on tourism. This

decision was made in consultation with all provincial tourism

ministers at the Inter-ministerial Meeting on Promotion of

Tourism held in Rawalpindi with the Minister of Tourism as

chair. Maulana Atta ur Rahman said that the existing

tourism policy was approved in 1990 and it was still in place

with no changes at all. “In 2007, this two-decade old policy

was re-printed and circulated, however, nothing new was

added.”the minister said, and urged the provincial tourism

ministers to co-ordinate with the Federal Tourism Ministry

with regard to formulating new policy on tourism. “In the

new policy, we intend to make concerted and serious efforts

with the provinces, private sector, travel agencies and all

others who are affiliated with tourism to boost our tourism

industry.”the minister said. The provincial tourism ministers

were requested to contribute their suggestions and feedback

regarding new tourism policy. Maulana Atta ur Rahman

proposed inter-ministerial meeting be held in a scheduled

manner and it should take place on quarterly basis.

Later, he agreed to the proposal of Punjab Tourism

Minister, Malik Nadeem Kamran that the meeting should be

held in the first week of every month. All ministers were

eager to host the next meeting and extended their warm

reception to the participants as well as all out co-operation for

promoting tourism. It was decided the meetings would be

held on rotation starting in Islamabad next month. Maulana

Atta ur Rahman said the post 9/11 scenario posed great

challenges to Pakistan with western media singling out this

south Asian country with negative press. “We all need to join

hands at this particular juncture to save our country from

falling prey to this malicious propaganda.”he maintained.

The minister spelled out efforts made so far by his ministry

for promoting tourism. He made particular mention of his

idea about introducing medical tourism in Pakistan which

was an emerging global phenomenon. Maulana Atta ur

Rahman said Pakistan offers many prospects for medical

tourism given its talented doctors, state of the arts hospitals

and low cost but reliable medical treatment. The meeting

was attended by: Minister for Food and Tourism (Punjab)

Malik NadeemKamran, Minister for Culture, Sports and

Tourism (Sindh) Sassui Palejo, Minister for PDMA and

Tourism Mohammad Rahim Mengal (Balochistan) Minister

for Culture, Sports, Tourism, Museums, Archaeology and

Sep.

Incheon International airport

Youth Affairs Syed Aqil Shah (NWFP) Minister for Culture,

Sports, Tourism and Youth Affairs (AJK) MuhammadTahir

Khokhar and Advisor Tourism, Sports, Culture, Environment

(Northern Areas) Abdul Hamid.

‘Bukchon’Project Wins UNESCO Award

Seoul City’s project to preserve Bukchon, a village replete

with hanok (traditional Korean houses) has won a UNESCO

heritage conservation award, city officials said yesterday.

The “Hanok Regeneration”project has been honored with

an Award of Distinction in the 2009 United Nations

Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Asia-Pacific

Heritage Awards.

“The project has brought about a striking change in

people’s attitudes to the city’s residential quarters. The large-

scale project has raised awareness about the heritage value of

the hanok and preserved an important traditional Korean

architectural legacy.”UNESCO said in a press release.

Since 2001, the Seoul Metropolitan Government has

carried out the project in the village that covers more than

1.07 million square meters in the heart of the capital. The

city has financially supported the renovation of 300 of the

1,022 houses in Bukchon. It has also bought 30 old houses

and opened them to the public for cultural experience. Last

December, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon vowed to preserve

4,500 hanok in Seoul with a budget of 370 billion won ($300

million) by 2018. Located between the Gyeongbok and

Changdeok palaces - key royal landmarks of the Joseon

Dynasty, Bukchon was where relatives of the royal family and

high-ranking public officials resided during the dynasty. Most

of the traditional houses have been remodeled to include

renovated kitchens and bathrooms. But the basic structural

features have been kept intact, offering a glimpse into the

lifestyles of those who lived there centuries ago.

Since 2000, UNESCO has conferred the awards to

recognize the achievement of individuals and organizations in

successfully restoring structures of heritage value in the Asia-

Pacific region.

TCEB Commences New “SustainabilityInitiative”, Conducting “ Go GreenExhibition”Campaign

Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has

implemented new sustainability initiative programs by

introducing the “Go Green Exhibition”campaign, and by

doing so, sets environmental friendly guidelines for Thailand

exhibition industry. TCEB aims to invite both private and

public entrepreneurs to join this newly launched project, in

order to integrate efforts in developing and creating

competitive advantage of Thai exhibition industry. 25

organizations have already joined.

Medical Tourism One - stop ServiceCenters Now Open

On July 21 2009, an online and offline one-stop service

center for medical travelers opened in Korea, making

information on medical tourism in Korea more easily

accessible to international travelers.

The online service will be offered through the Visit Korea

website (www.visitkorea.or.kr). Information is currently



Bukchon Traditional Korean houses are inharmony with a modern city, Seoul

40

Sep.

available in English, Japanese, and Chinese (simplified), and

from August it will also be available in Russian. The website

provides an overview of Korea’s medical tourism, a step-by-

step guide to medical tourism services, information on

medical service providers, and an advanced search system to

help travelers select the appropriate medical institution.

Medical tourism information booths have been set up in

the Tourism Information Center (TIC), located in the

basement of the Korea Tourism Organization (KTO), and in

Incheon International Airport. As well as providing

information, the Medical Tourism Promotion Center at the

KTO’s TIC has medical equipment for visitors to check their

health. It includes a BMI (body mass index) machine, a stress

measurement device, a blood pressure meter, and a machine

to detect skin aging. Visitors can then discuss their results

with professionals at the center. The Medical Tourism

Information Center at the airport contains a lounge especially

for travelers who have come to Korea for medical reasons; it

has a refrigerator to store drugs and free internet connection

so travelers can browse for information on medical service

providers and travel agents.

The KTO’s Medical Tourism One-stop Service Centers will

be a vital resource for international travelers interested in

Korea’s medical services. The centers will provide professional

advice to help travelers find the right medical institution and

treatments for them. Information will be up to date and

provided in an unbiased manner. Currently it is taking

applications from medical institutions that wish to be listed

with KTO.

Tourism Malaysia Won AME Gold AwardTourism Malaysia has won a gold award in the “Best

Sustained Success”category for its highly-acclaimed

“Malaysia Truly Asia”campaign at the Asian Marketing

Effectiveness (AME) Awards 2009 in Hong Kong on 26 May

2009. Tourism Malaysia Director for Hong Kong, Zaliha

Zainuddin, accepted the award on behalf of Tourism

Malaysia. The campaign was launched in 1999 and had since

won more than 20 top international awards. Last year, the

Malaysia Truly Asia campaign won the AME gold award in

the Best Long-term Marketing Brand category. The Acting

Director General of Tourism Malaysia, Dato’Amirrudin

Abu, said that Tourism Malaysia was truly honored to receive

the accolades from AME. “The award is a significant

recognition of the accomplishment by Tourism Malaysia

team and our partners in promoting and positioning

Malaysia as a destination that embraces the best of Asia. The

award is also a reflection of our dedication towards excellence

in the hospitality industry.”he said.

ASEAN Meetings to Boost Tourism of ThaiIsland

Local tourism executives announce that Thailand's

southern resort of Phuket expects to see the recovery of its

tourism, which has been sluggish for the past months,

following the signals conveyed by ongoing meetings of the

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Thai News Agency quoted Sethaphan Buddhani, chief

of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Phuket office, as saying

that tourists will find Phuket and Thailand safe destinations,

since the regional high-level meetings have been arranged

there.

Phuket is hosting the 42nd ASEAN Ministerial Meeting

(AMM), the Post Ministerial Conferences (PMC) and the

16th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), which kicked off July

17 and run through Thursday, July 23.

UNWTO Solidarity with Indonesia andConfidence in its Tourism Sector

UNWTO expressed its solidarity with the people of

Indonesia in the face of the recent events in Jakarta, that

targeted its tourism facilities.

The UNWTO Secretary-General a.i., Taleb Rifai,

confirmed that UNWTO is working closely with the


Ministry of Culture and Tourism to advance its tourism

sector, which plays a vital role for Indonesia in terms of jobs,

trade and development and has recently succeeded in

achieving solid and impressive results due to its rich and

diverse products.

Secretary-General a.i. Rifai expressed great confidence in

the capacity and experience of the Government of Indonesia

to quickly overcome the current difficulties, to consolidate

the rich and vast tourism assets that it possesses and to

continue building an even stronger Tourism sector in the

future.

UIA Reports Proved Singapore’s Hard TrialsUnion of International Associations (UIA) has announced

International Meeting Statistics for the Year 2008 in June,

2009. These announcements concern 316,128 meetings

which took place in 1,664 cities of 193 countries, in 2008.

Findings indicate that Europe took first place with 52.73% of

the market share, and Asia took the second place (followed

by America at 17.83%), reaching 21.67%, at the continental

level. It was USA (1,079 meetings, 9.73%) at the top of

international meeting countries 2008 followed by France

(979 meetings, 7.19%), Singapore (637 meetings, 5.75%,

and Japan (575 meetings, 5.19%). Of the top international

meeting cities in 2008, Singapore took first place over Paris

(France, 419 meetings, 3.78%) and Brussels (Belgium, 299

meetings, 2.70%). Other Asian cities, such as Tokyo (Japan)

and Seoul (Republic of Korea) ranked at 6th and 7th with

150 (1.35%) and 125 (1.13%) meetings held, respectively.

Luxury Travel Vietnam Wins Best ServiceAwards for 3 Consecutive Years

Vietnam’s first luxury tour company, Luxury Travel, will

appear at Vietnam’s Best Service Awards 2009 on January,

2010 at the Hanoi Opera House, supported by the Vietnam

Ministry of Trade and Industry, to receive the Best Service

Award, 2009.

The poll online and offline of Vietnam’s Best Service

Awards 2009-2010, held every year since 2009, aims to

identify excellent businesses in 11 categories - which Vietnam

committed to develop when joining the World Trade

Organization (WTO) - including: information services,

tourism, entertainment, technical construction, distribution,

education, environment, finance, healthcare, transportation

and general trading.

This is the second successive year that Luxury Travel has

received The Top Trade Services Awards from the Ministry of

Trade and Industry, and confirms that Luxury Travel provides

the best and most reliable upscale travel services in Vietnam

and Asia.

MPI Expands its Asia Pacific Presence

Meeting Professionals International (MPI) enhances its

global presence with the announcement of two new

partnerships in the Asia Pacific region. Beijing Tourism

Administration (BTA) is the newest MPI Strategic Partner

and will work with MPI to develop the MICE (Meetings,

Incentives, Conferences and Events) market in Beijing.

Another newcomer, Meetings and Exhibitions Hong Kong

(MEHK) under the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) will

be the first Asian supporter of MPI’s Global Partner

Program.

Through membership recruitment, Chapter establishment,

and a training center, BTA and MPI will work together to

develop the MICE market within Beijing. As part of this

strategic partnership, MPI will work with BTA on

establishing a training center in Beijing. The Global

Certificate in Meeting Operations, Planning and

Management training practices will train local industry

professionals to acquire the skills needed to plan, execute and

manage meetings and events at international standards.


Tourism Market Trends, 2007Edition - World Overview

Data on the evolu-tion of internationaltourism worldwideand the accompanyingaggregated data arepresented in thisedition of World

Overview. Part one of the volumeprovides a qualitative assessment oftourism development in the world anda quantitative analysis of the world’stourism. The second part of thisvolume is dedicated to a discussion oftourism topics of interest.World Overview completes the

other five volumes that provideregional tourism overviews with aglobal perspective and worldwideaggregate data. At the same time, itcan be used as a volume on its ownby those not interested in the regionalperspective and individual countries’data that are found in the five regionalreports (see below).Published: 2008 Price : 85.00€

Tourism Market Trends, 2007Edition - Set of Five RegionalReports plus World Overview

This is the mostup-to-date set ofvolumes on tourismtrends published bythe World TourismOrganization. Thesebooks present an

analysis of tourism flows andearnings through 2006. It includessections on global and regionaltrends, with special emphasis on thecountries of each region. It presentsfigures on arrivals, receipts, hotelcapacities, and major source markets.

This set includes the followingTourism Market Trends (single price :€ 85.00) :TMT Africa, 2007 in English or FrenchTMT Americas, 2007 in English or SpanishTMT Asia and the Pacific, 2007 in EnglishTMT Europe, 2007 in English or FrenchTMT Middle East, 2007 in EnglishTMT World Overview, 2007 in English,French or SpanishPublished : 2008 Price : 450.00€

Tourism and Community Develop-ment-Asian Practices (2nd Edition)

Asia’s fast growingtourism industrywith its variety oftourism markets hasbecome a nationaleconomic growthengine. This second

overviewed edition of the reportprovides a compilation of casestudies of a selected number of Asiancountries. It describes how commu-nity tourism is developed in theregion and how tourism cancontribute to the development of localcommunities. It aims to improve theunderstanding of the complexity andthe related factors of the situationalelements which need to be taken intoaccount for better policy guidance.This study attempts to share someexperiences among Asian countries aswell as regions elsewhere in theworld. The book serves as a referencefor graduates and university students.Furthermore it can be of considerableinterest to policy makers andprofessionals working in communitytourism.Published: 2009Price: € 40.00 (Online Only)

Compendium of Tourism Statistics,Data 2003-2007, 2009 Edition

The Compendium ofTourism Statistics isdesigned to providea condensed andq u i c k - r e f e r e n c eguide on the majortourism statistical

indicators in each country. The 2009 edition provides statisticalinformation on tourism in 208countries and territories around theworld for the period 2003 - 2007. It isedited in English only, with countriesclassified according to Englishalphabetical order. For easy referencein Arabic, French, German, Russianand Spanish, the text of the basicindicators and the basic referenceshas been printed in a separatepasteboard.Published : 2009 Price : 65.00 €

Yearbook of Tourism Statistics,2009 Edition (Data 2003 - 2007)

The 2009 edition ofthe Yearbook ofTourism Statisticsprovides for 204countries and territories data on totalarrivals and overnight

stays associated to inbound tourismwith breakdown by country of originfor the period 2003 - 2007. The titles of the tables are in Englishonly. Notes are given in English,French and Spanish. Names ofcountries, regions and sub-regions aswell as the classification included onthe tables are in English only.Countries are classified in accordancewith English alphabetical order.Published : 2009 Price : 175.00 €

asiapacific.unwto.org/sites/all/files/pdf/16th.pdf · subsidies for the tourism industry, including...

Documents

Transcript of asiapacific.unwto.org/sites/all/files/pdf/16th.pdf · subsidies for the tourism industry, including...