The 29th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commissions: Promoting the role of sustainable tourism in the International Year 2017
Update: May 22, 2017
(TITC) - This is one of important contents in the 29th joint meeting of the UNWTO Commissions for East Asia - Pacific and South Asia held by World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in collaboration with Bangladesh Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism on 17 May 2017 in Chittagong City, Bangladesh.

The overview of the meeting

The event had the attendances of Secretary General of UNWTO - Mr. Taleb Rifai, Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific of UNWTO – Mr. Xu Jing; officials of UNWTO, Bangladesh Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism, national tourism organizations of UNWTO member countries; and representatives of international organizations.

At the meeting, Mr. Taleb Rifai confirmed tourism has become an essential demand of the human lifestyle. The world tourism has 7 consecutive growth years. In 2016, international visitors all over the world amount to more than 1.2 billion arrivals, increasing of nearly 4% over 2015. Tourism contributes about 10% global GDP, 30% of trade and service value; each 10 jobs generated in the world, 1 job is for tourism industry. Nowadays, tourism has become the third largest economic industry in the world.

Today world tourism has 3 priorities and 3 challenges in need of addressed: (1) Security and safety; (2) Capture the development of digital technology – the factor can change the behavior of visitors; (3) Ensure long-term sustainable development.

The Vietnamese delegation at the meeting

At the meeting, the delegates updated the activities in each country related to the International Year 2017. On behalf of the Vietnamese delegation, Mr. Le Tuan Anh – Deputy Director of Department of International Cooperation (under Viet Nam National Administration of Tourism) informed about the forthcoming High-Level Policy Dialogue on Sustainable Tourism on 19 June 2017 in Ha Long City, Quang Ninh Province. Accordingly, the conference will be attended by tourism ministers of APEC countries, senior delegates, experts of UNWTO, World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC), international organizations and other stakeholders. The content of the dialogue agenda will address the key issues that UNWTO has set for the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017.

On this occasion, the Vietnamese delegation expressed the gratitude for the technical support of UNWTO, especially hosting the International Conference on Tourism and Sports in September 2016 in Da Nang City; and preparation for High-Level Policy Dialogue on Sustainable Tourism within APEC Year 2017 in Viet Nam.

Thu Giang