UN tourism meet in Cebu to tackle global issues

MANILA, Philippines - The 6th International Tourism Forum for Parliamentarians and Local Authorities slated this Oct. 22-25 in Cebu will touch on global issues affecting the industry like climate change, poverty alleviation, peace-building and the role of women in tourism, a statement released Wednesday by the Department of Tourism read. Spearheaded by the department and Congress, together with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the forum, held every two years, will gather national tourism administrators, legislators and local executives from the association’s 157 member countries and territories; and more than 300 affiliate members from the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities. President Gloria M. Arroyo will welcome participants in the opening ceremony and gala reception at the Marquee of the Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort and Spa. "This is going to be an exceptional exchange of ideas on how to foster robust tourism without sidestepping pressing global concerns," the press release quoted Tourism Secretary Joseph H. Durano as saying. Mr. Durano and Francesco Frangialli, Secretary-General of the UNWTO, will give keynote addresses on The Policy and Legislation for Tourism Development. The conference opens with consultants and experts from the UNWTO who will conduct a two-day seminar on tourism satellite system. Entitled, "Technical Workshop on Tourism Statistics and Tourism Satellite Account (TSA)," the lecture will be handled together with Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Tourism Working Group, and led by Antonio Massieu, Chief of the Department of Statistics and TSA of UNWTO. "Aside from the major challenges facing the industry, we are also looking forward to discussing the alignment of our tourism strategies with other countries," said Eduardo Jarque, Jr., DoT Undersecretary for Planning and Promotions. An international standard system, the TSA determines the travel industry’s contribution to economic activities and helps gauge a nation’s tourism standards against those of other countries, he explained. The agenda also includes the presentation of the latest TSA, which was last updated in 1993. There will also be a discussion on the proposal for a capacity-building program to strengthen statistics-based decision-making, and linking tourism figures and the balance of payments. Narzalina Lim, former Tourism secretary and president of Asia Pacific Projects Inc., will open the third day as moderator of roundtable discussions on sustainable development, climate change mitigation and adaptation, poverty alleviation, as well as consumer protection and rights. "Climate change can be a concern if we are not ready for it. We expect to hear new perspectives on greenhouse gas emissions, mangrove reforestations, coastal and reef preservation, and even preparedness for extreme climatic events," Mr. Durano said. "Poverty alleviation mechanisms are also on the agenda. There will be updates on the seven approaches to poverty reduction which were implemented in 2006." Helping the marginalized sector through tourism involves the employment, supply of goods and services, establishment and running of micro, small and medium-sized tourism enterprises by the poor, said Rolando Cañizal, DoT Director for Tourism Development and Planning. Experts of crisis situations, Jero Wacik, Minister of Culture and Tourism of Indonesia, and David Musila, Minister of State for Defense and Former Director of Tourism of Kenya, will lecture on tourism amid crisis and peace-building. Other speakers scheduled on the third day include Sasithra Pichaichannarong, Tourism Minister of Thailand; Shahram Saber, regional director of Pacific Asia Travel Association; and Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan, vice-chairman of the Board of Trustees of the World Wide Fund for Nature. Bohol Rep. Edgar M. Chatto (1st District), chairman of the Committee on Tourism will open the fourth session with the topic on economic knowledge at local levels and the measurement of employment in tourism sector. The fourth day will also include discussions on future trends in tourism, with issues such as public-private partnerships and measuring the excellence of prime destinations to increase their competitiveness. Aline Koala, former Minister of Culture, Arts and Tourism in Burkina Faso, will present the issue of the role of women in promotion and development in tourism. Meanwhile, the Tourism department is inviting travel and tour stakeholders, entrepreneurs, hotels, resorts, airlines, and transport services to join three upcoming major tourism trade expositions in Europe which will be held in the last quarter of the year. These are: * the Travel Trade Gazette Incontri, the premier business-to-business travel trade event in Italy, which will be held on Oct. 24-26 at Rimini Fiera, Italy; * Dive Show 2008 in Birmingham, England from Nov. 1-2; and * the World Travel Market 2008 in Excel Docklands, London that is scheduled from Nov. 10-13. - BusinessWorld