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Seychelles participated in 110th Session of UNWTO Executive Council

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The 110th Session of the UNWTO Executive Council met in Baku, Azerbaijan from June 16-18, 2019. More than 40 Member States joined by representatives from the public and private sectors attended the meeting. Seychelles was represented by Minister Didier Dogley, Minister for Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine and Mrs. Anne Lafortune, Principal Secretary for Tourism.

The objectives of the UNWTO Council meeting are to bring together Member States for high level discussions on the direction of the global tourism sector, provide overview of UNWTO’s activities and progress over the previous year, and make key recommendations on the way forward.

The key priorities of UNWTO were presented during the meeting by the Secretary-General, Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili. This includes closer alignment with the wider United Nations system, financial sustainability and a focus on the role innovation, digital transformation and entrepreneurship can play in the global tourism sector. Another of UNWTO’s priorities is to make tourism a leading source of more and better jobs and a top provider of education and training.

In his intervention Minister Dogley welcomed the progress made in the newly launched ‘UNWTO Agenda for Africa’. “This four year plan will play a major role in realizing the potential of tourism for Africa if well implemented, focusing on tourism as a driver of poverty alleviation, job creation and professional development,” said Minister Dogley.

The Executive Council also endorsed the latest financial results and structural reforms implemented under the Secretary-General, which reflect the ongoing effort to guarantee the economic sustainability of the Organisation.

In the margin of the council meeting, the Minister and Principal Secretary for Tourism also met with Spain’s Secretary of State, Mrs. Isabel Maria Oliver Sagregas to discuss the possibility of a Memorandum of Understanding in the field of tourism between the Seychelles Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism of the Kingdom of Spain. Spain has a well-developed tourism industry and signing an MOU with their Ministry responsible for Tourism can assist Seychelles to learn and benefit from Spain’s experience in the areas of training and exchange programs, sharing of best practices in fields such the Tourism Satellite Account, Management of tourism risks, Product Diversification and Cruise Tourism.

The meeting in Baku will be followed by the 23rd Session of UNWTO General Assembly, due to take place in Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, in September 2019. Held every two years, the General Assembly is the most important high-level meeting of global Tourism Ministers and the private sector in the world.

MEDIA CONTACT: STB News Bureau, Tel: +248 4 671 354 / +248 4 671 313, stbnews@seychelles.travel  www.seychelles.travel

Bartlett attends UNWTO Executive Council Meeting Welcome Reception

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Jamaica Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, seen left in the main photo, is keeping the Hon. Didier Dogley, Minister of Tourism, Civil Aviation, Ports and Marine for the Seychelles and Dr. the Hon. Charles Banda, Chairman, United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Executive Council, amused during the welcome reception for delegates to the 110th UNWTO Executive Council Meeting.

The event took place on Sunday, June 16, at the Mugham Club Restaurant in Baku, Azerbaijan. The UNWTO Executive Council meeting is taking place June 16-18 in Baku.

Above, the Jamaica Minister of Tourism Bartlett, seen on the left, poses for a photograph with Mr. Zurab Pololikashvili, United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Secretary General, and Mr. Fuad Naghiyev, Chairman of Azerbaijan’s State Tourism Agency. The three gentlemen met at the welcome reception for delegates.

The Executive Council, in consultation with ‎the Secretary-General, works to implement its own decisions and ‎recommendations of the Assembly.‎ The Council meets at least twice a year.‎

MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4926-30, Fax: 920-4944

Tourism Must Tackle Inequalities says Tourism Minister Bartlett

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Jamaica Minister of Tourism, the Hon. Edmund Bartlett says that for tourism to be truly sustainable there must be greater equality among all stakeholders and a more equitable distribution of tourism earnings.

He was speaking at the 110th Executive Council meeting of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) on Monday (June 17) at the Heydar Aliyev Center in Baku, Azerbaijan.  The three-day Executive Council meeting is taking place from June 16 – 18, 2019.

With revenues from international tourism totalling US$1.7 trillion in 2018 and one in 11 of the world’s jobs generated by tourism, Minister Bartlett said, “It begs the question of the distribution of this enormous wealth and the impact that it is having on the highly tourism-dependent regions of the earth.”

He noted a real concern as many of the countries that have the highest level of tourism dependence, like the Caribbean with a GDP dependence of 40% or more and the US Virgin Islands with 98.5% dependence on tourism, are characterized also by high unemployment, a high debt to GDP ratio, social concerns and high levels of income inequality.

He also pointed to statistics which indicate that 80% of global tourism is owned by Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTEs) but less than 20% of the returns go to them.

“This is hugely disturbing and creates asymmetry and imbalance, and that picture doesn’t look so good,” Minister Bartlett said.

He said the tourism focused discussions at the UNWTO Executive Council meeting, provided “an opportunity for us to take a greater dive into understanding how this great industry of ours must impact the world in a more positive way by creating greater elements of equality, inclusiveness and most of all to build the capacity of tourism-dependent regions to not just recover and grow but to thrive”.

Minister Bartlett took the opportunity to welcome the announcement by the United States of America that it is considering returning to the UNWTO.  The announcement was made earlier in the day by Ms. Emma Doyle, Assistant to US President Donald Trump and Principal Deputy Chief of Staff in the White House.  “The return of the US can only help to make the Americas stronger as a tourist destination,” he noted.

MEDIA CONTACT: Jamaica Ministry of Tourism, Corporate Communications, 64 Knutsford Boulevard, Kingston 5, Tel: 920-4926-30, Fax: 920-4944

WTTC: Travel and Tourism is Zambia’s 2018 fastest-growing national economic sector

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The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) is getting ready for its Annual Summit in Seville next month, and Africa will be happy.

Report after report is confirming enormous growth potential for the African Travel and Tourism industry.

Alongside WTTC’s good numbers, a new initiative spearheaded by the eTN Corporation is the African Tourism Board which will launch on April 11 at an ATB Conference in Cape Town, South Africa.

“This all confirms the important role Africa has established globally,” said eTN President and Interim African Tourism Board Chairman Juergen Steinmetz.

Travel and Tourism is Zambia’s 2018 fastest-growing national economic sector, contributing US$1,846.9MN (ZMK19.4 billion) to national economy, reported WTTC, and 318.9 thousand jobs to the Zambian economy in 2018 while posting a +6.3% Gross Domestic Product (GDP), making it the fastest and bullish economic sector in the country.

International visitors alone spent ZMK8.4 billion representing 8.3% of the total Zambian exports, and in terms if spending characteristics the leisure sectors account for a total of 38% while business was at 62%. Domestic spending on tourism and travel stood at 47% while international spending was 53%. The industry is estimated to create a total of 464.6 thousand jobs in 2019 with an estimated 1.1million expected international visitors in 2019.  This is according to the World Travel and Tourism Council’s annual review of the economic impact and social importance of the sector released this month.

Tsogo Sun Garden Court Hotel Kitwe Zambia – Photo courtesy of Garden Court Kitwe Management

WTTC is an international non-governmental organization which represents the Travel and Tourism private sector globally with over 170 membership that includes CEOs, chairmen, and presidents of the world’s leading Travel and Tourism businesses from across the globe covering all industries. The organization works to raise awareness of Travel and Tourism as one of the world’s largest economic sectors, supporting one in 10 jobs (319 million world wide and generating 10.4% of the world GDP in 2018).

The World Travel and Tourism Council is the global authority on the economic and social contribution of Travel and Tourism. The organization promotes sustainable growth for the Travel and Tourism sector, working with governments and international institutions to create jobs, to drive exports and to generate prosperity. Together with Oxford Economics an international consulting firm headquartered in Oxford United Kingdom and prides itself as a global leader in forecasting and quantitative analysis, produces annual research that shows Travel and Tourism to be one of the world’s largest sectors. WTTC has been producing comprehensive reports quantify, compare and forecast the economic impact of Travel and Tourism on 185 economies around the world for nearly 30 years. In addition to individual country fact sheets, and fuller country reports, WTTC produces a world report highlighting global trends and 25 further reports that focus on regions, sub-regions and economic and geographic groups.

Commenting on this extraordinary data by WTTC, Zambia’s celebrated tourism pundit Dr. Percy Ngwira stated that WTTC has revealed something that needs thorough reflection and validation in line with Zambia’s national data produced relevant national competent institutions. He was, however, quick point out that the travel and tourism sector in Zambia has indeed being growing arguably so in the past five years owing to the current governments implantations of conducive policy and commitment to develop the sector.

According to the Zambia’s Minister of Tourism and Arts Charles Banda who is also UNWTO Executive Council Chair the current Zambian government has recognized prioritized the tourism and placed it as the second most important economic sector in the country that is poised to play  a significant  role in the country’s economic emancipation towards the achievement of Zambia’s  national Vision 2030, which aims to transform the country  into a prosperous middle income nation by the year  2030 and to create a new Zambia which is a strong and dynamic middle-income industrial nation that provides opportunities for improving the well-being of all, embodying values of socio economic justice.

Recently Zambia has witnessed growing investment in the tourism sector, many new hotels have been built including Hilton Hotel group that opened a $100m luxury 20-floor mixed-use Hilton Garden Inn hotel in the Zambian capital Lusaka in 2018.

The Zambian copper rich region located near the Democratic Republic of Congo also had a new state of art hotel by Tsogo Sun of South Africa Garden Court Kitwe that was open late last year.

eTN is a media partner for WTTC.

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