UNWTO demos transparency

BANGKOK, 17 October 2011 – The UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) ended its 19th biennial General Assembly in Seoul last week by setting new standards of transparency and accountability for the entire travel industry and its myriad of membership-based associations.

Fulfilling one of the key pledges made by the Secretary-General Dr Taleb Rifai upon his election to the post two years ago, the UNWTO posted its entire set of meeting documents on line for full public view.

The public now has unrestricted access to full, unedited information on the world’s apex tourism body, including its detailed finances, membership status, projects, activities, staffing and much more. Read more

UNWTO forecasts modest growth

MADRID, 14 October 2011 – United Nations World Tourism Organisation released its long-term forecast on international tourist arrivals, claim travel will grow moderately to 1.8 billion trips by 2030.

The Tourism Towards 2030 forecast was presented 0n the occasion of the 19th session of the UNWTO general assembly, 8 to 14 October, in Gueongju, South Korea.

Forecasting a moderate pace in growth, international tourist arrivals are expanding worldwide at an average 3.3% a year. Read more

Global tourism hits new record

MADRID, 9 September 2011 – International tourism grew by almost 5% in the first half of the year, recording a record 440 million arrivals, the UN World Tourism Organisation said Thursday.

The results show that “in spite of multiple challenges, international tourism continues to consolidate the return to growth initiated in 2010,” the UN body said in its report.

“Between January and June of this year, overall arrivals reached 440 million, 19 million more than in the same period of 2010,” the body said from its Madrid headquarters. Read more

UNWTO: Global tourism on rebound

MADRID, 19 Jan 2011 – Advance Release of the UNWTO World Tourism Barometer presented at World Tourism Organisation’s News Conference at its headquarters in Madrid Spain indicates international tourist arrivals were up by almost 7% to 935 million, following a 4% decline in 2009.

2009 arrivals were hit by the global economic crisis that crippled travel from key traditional markets such as Europe.

Boosted by improved economic conditions worldwide, international tourism has recovered faster than expected from the impacts of the global financial crisis and economic recession of late 2008 and 2009. International tourist arrivals were up by 6.7% compared to 2009, with positive growth reported in all world regions.

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Twists and turns in ownership impact on quality

BANGKOK, 1 December 2010 – As foreign tourism investors and international hotel chains expand their footprint in the Asia-Pacific region, a report by the International Labour Organisation has warned that frequent changes in ownership can create unstable and insecure working conditions that will affect both service quality and the ability to attract qualified people to work in the hospitality sector.

“The impact of ownership changes in the sector varies from country to country and is linked to diverse corporate structures and business methods,” says the report prepared for discussion or at the Global Dialogue Forum for the Hotels, Catering, Tourism Sector, jointly organised by the ILO and the UN World Tourism Organisation in Geneva last week. “The consequences may differ from little or no impact to important effects on the workplace.

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Job opportunities grow in tourism

BANGKOK, 29 November 2010 – UNWTO and the International Labour Organisation are joining forces to improve work opportunities in tourism, UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, stated late last week.

“Tourism can become a key generator of jobs after the crisis,” said ILO Director-General, Juan Somavia, but dialogue to improve quality is important because success depends so much on service quality.”

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Silk Road tourism strategy

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan 18 October 2010 – Following the cooperative format and tourism implementation strategy of the Greater Mekong Subregion countries, tourism representatives of 26 countries along the legendary Silk Road took the first steps towards adopting a new Silk Road Action Plan at a meeting in this historic Central Asian city earlier this month.

Meeting for the first time right inside one of the majestic halls of the Islamic mosques and madrasahs at Registan square, a UNESCO World Heritage site, delegates cleared the first draft of the plan prepared by the main coordinating agency, the Madrid-based UN World Tourism Organisation.

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THA president backs ministry forecast

BANGKOK, 12 July 2010 – Thai Hotels Association is backing the Ministry of Tourism and Sports revised target of 15.5 million tourists this year, claiming it was feasible if the situation returned to normal.

Earlier, THA had estimated a substantial decline in tourists that would have seen tourist arrivals this year drop to around 13 to 12 million arrivals from 14.15 million last year.

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UNWTO and PATA vouch support

BANGKOK, 6 July 2010 – The World Tourism Organisation and the Pacific Asia Travel Association say they will back and support Thailand’s efforts to return to normalcy following political unrest earlier in the year.

Their comments came just a day after the government said it was still delaying a decision on lifting the Emergency Decree that covers 24 provinces in the country.

Both PATA and UNWTO commended recovery measures undertaken by the Thai Government and the collaboration of the Thai private sector to support tourism in the country and vouched for the unwavering solidarity of the international tourism community.

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Tourism makes global recovery

Global tourism is poised to make a strong recovery but there are serious challenges too related to global economic order and ecological balance that will impact on tourism, according to UNWTO secretary-general, Taleb Rifai who is attending the ITB this week.

ITB 2010 follows a year of decline when international tourist arrivals fell by 4%, while earnings fell by approximately 6%.

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