Policy and Positioning Issue Highlights from World Travel Market

 Tourism Policy, Tourism-related Taxes, Visa Policy, World Travel Market  No Responses »
Nov 132011
 

The World Travel Market (WTM) finished last week with almost 48,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international press in attendance. The WTM was a veritable candy store of seminars, press conferences and exhibitor activities — far more than was humanly possible to absorb. However, a few issues seemed to dominate some of the discussions. Here are just a few highlights:

  • The World Travel and Tourism Council downgraded its forecasts for tourism growth. Click here for more information.
  • WTTC President David Scowsill again called for scrapping the UK Air Passenger Duty, which has been cited as discriminatory and counter-productive. Here’s a link for more information.
  • WTTC is also pushing for a universal electronic visa scheme, which would make it easier to travel globally and reduce processing costs for governments, the travel industry and travelers.
  • Strong Ministers of Tourism from Egypt and Tunisia were at WTM pushing hard to regain market share and more strongly reposition their destinations. Free elections in both countries seem to show that all parties support rejuvenated tourism sectors.
  • The UN World Tourism Organization is forecasting 1.8 billion international tourist arrivals by 2030– a staggering number that requires even more attention to planning and strategies for sustainable tourism development.
  • UNWTO Secretary General Taleb Rifai also said that the Organization is forecasting that by 2015 emerging economies will be receiving more international tourist arrivals than advanced economies.
  • WTM reported on the opening day that the industry should watch for fast growth among increasing outbound travel from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Malaysia,  Mexico and Argentina — the SLIMMA countries!

Watch this space for more highlights…

 

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 Posted by scottwayne at 23:33

Rwanda’s Proactive Tourism Policy: New National Park

 East Africa, Tourism Policy  No Responses »
Oct 312011
 

Rwanda is actively working to grow its tourism sector in as sustainable a way as possible and the efforts are succeeding. Gishwati Forest is known as the Forest of Hope, a forest that epitomizes Rwanda’s commitment to conservation, reforestation and community development through ecotourism.

Map showing location of Gishwati National Forest in Rwanda

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Over several decades, Gishwati Forest became nearly completely depleted due to large scale cattle ranching and refugee resettlement. By 2001, only 1500 acres of the original 250,000 remained.
  •  In 2007, President Paul Kagame and the Great Ape Trust chose Gishwati as the site of a new national park and launched the Gishwati Area Conservation Program (GACP). In 2010, the Rwandan Ministry of Lands and Environment endorsed the establishment of a 30 mile forest corridor linking Gishwati to Nyungwe National Park.
  • In October 2011, the GACP presented a pilot tourism program. Today, the Trust reports that 20 chimpanzees have been identified and the Forest now comprises 3,665 acres.  The program will offer guided hikes and visits with handicrafts producers, traditional healers and beekeeping.
  • Gishwati is being reforested as part of Rwanda’s policy of active reforestation, which aims to have 30% of the country covered by 2020. To achieve this, the Ministry for Forests and Natural Resources has embarked on a massive tree planting effort – over 67 million tree seedlings will be planted.

For more information contact: Philibert Ndandali, Senior Promotion Officer,  Rwanda Development Board (RDB). Cell: +250 788 684804 (Rwanda)  during the World Travel Market or + 44 7572 091962 (UK). Email: philibert.ndandali@rdb.rw

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 Posted by scottwayne at 05:38  Tagged with: ,

Travelers’ Philanthropy – A Strategy for Sustainable Tourism Development

 Sustainable Tourism Resources, Tourism Planning, Tourism Policy  No Responses »
Oct 282011
 

Travelers’ Philanthropy — literally travelers giving back to a destination — can be a strategy for sustainable tourism development if established and managed carefully.

The Washington, DC-based NGO, Center for Responsible Travel (CREST), has made this strategy a cornerstone of their mission. Each year CREST conducts a diverse and fascinating Traveler’s Philanthropy Conference that brings together a broad cross-section of stakeholders from the public sector, business world and civil society to discuss and report on best practices of leveraging traveler support for destinations, particularly in emerging markets. This year’s conference was in Costa Rica and produced a comprehensive set of workshop proceedings and reports on best practices.

A couple of presentations that particularly caught my attention were CREST Director Martha Honey’s presentation “Origins, Growth and Different Models” of Travelers’ Philanthropy and Program Director David Krantz’s “Readiness Checklist.”

Dr. Honey defines Travelers’ Philanthropy as  ”tourism businesses and travelers making concrete contributions of time, talent, or treasure. to local projects that is beyond what is generated through normal tourism business transactions.” She describes how tapping travelers’ generosity and care for the places they visit can be leveraged to the benefit of the destination and, at the same time, it can benefit the suppliers — the various businesses that provide tourism services to visitors. To read her full presentation, click here.

 

Krantz offers us a straightforward, no nonsense list of seven steps for the preparation of Travelers’ Philanthropy programs:

1) Know the area

2) Demonstrate good leadership

3) Invest in short corporate social responsibility projects

4) Assess the area

5) Scan potential projects

6) Develop agreements

7) Design a program

For more details and to download his full presentation, click here.

The full conference proceedings can be viewed and/or downloaded from the CREST website for the Conference.

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 Posted by scottwayne at 11:57

Tanzania’s Untapped Tourism Potential

 East Africa, Tourism Policy  No Responses »
Oct 252011
 

Today, AllAfrica.com published an excellent mini-report on Tanzanian tourism, which rightfully questions why, given the richness of the country’s tourism resources and attractions, has the country’s economy has not benefited more.Policy may change with World Bank support, which will make the tourism sector even more competitive. According to AllAfrica.com, “Tanzania is said to have defied [...]

 Posted by scottwayne at 17:11  Tagged with: ,

Whistler, Canada: Treat taxpayers like shareholders, businesses tell municipality

 Americas, Canada, Cities and Towns, Tourism Policy, Tourism-related Taxes  No Responses »
Oct 202011
 

Taxpayers = Shareholders — a simple concept with a lot of validity that came out of a breakfast meeting at the Wild Wood Cafe in Whistler, Canada of a few local business owners. Frankly, this is the first time that I’ve seen this idea mentioned in the press. Enlighten me if you know of other [...]

 Posted by scottwayne at 18:09  Tagged with: ,

Cleveland – Heart of Rock & Roll – Tries to Kill Music & Tourism Tax

 Tourism-related Taxes, US Cities and Towns  No Responses »
Oct 182011
 

For city governments flailing for tax revenue, take note of Cleveland – an example of what not to do and then an example of how to undo the mistakes. Cleveland, like many destinations, depends on music to draw visitors and generates millions in spending and revenue as a result. So when the City decided to [...]

 Posted by scottwayne at 11:48  Tagged with: ,

OECD and UNEP Publish Report for Policymakers on Climate Change and Tourism

 Tourism Policy, Uncategorized  No Responses »
Oct 172011
 

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OECD and UNEP Publish Report for Policymakers on Climate Change and Tourism

The OECD and UNEP have just published “Climate Change and Tourism Policy in OECD Countries.” The Report estimates that global greenhouse gas emissions from tourism could double in 25 years. They conclude that “Policy-makers must now develop effective strategies, regulations and incentives that focus on its main sources of current and future emissions.” Is it [...]

 Posted by scottwayne at 08:59  Tagged with: ,

Canada Faced with Visa and Security Challenges in Attracting Visitors

 Americas, Visa Policy  No Responses »
Oct 112011
 

Canada is faced with some of the same challenges as the US in attracting more international visitors: tight visa restrictions and security concerns. As the Gazette in Montreal reported today, “Canada is missing out on a potential economic tourism windfall, says the head of the country’s tourism agency. Surveys show that many foreign tourists would [...]

 Posted by scottwayne at 20:07  Tagged with: ,

One Percent Sales Tax Earns Myrtle Beach +$25 Million for Tourism

 Tourism-related Taxes, US Cities and Towns, USA  No Responses »
Oct 112011
 

In 2011, TripAdvisor rated Myrtle Beach, South Carolina the number one beach destination in the US. Google rated Myrtle Beach number two for the summer 2011 — no doubt a sign of the Myrtle Beach area’s successful marketing and promotion campaigns. They have especially emphasized online marketing campaigns. These campaigns are financed by a “tourism [...]

 Posted by scottwayne at 14:57  Tagged with: ,

South Korea Pledges Policy of Tourism Support for Developing Countries

 East Asia and the Pacific, Tourism Policy  No Responses »
Oct 102011
 

The 19th  Session of the UNWTO General Assembly opened yesterday in South Korea. The Korea Times reported that Choe Kwang-shik, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism said that his country has and will continue to lend support to poor nations to help them fight poverty through generating larger tourism revenue. “We will provide financial, technical know-how [...]

 Posted by scottwayne at 10:29  Tagged with: ,
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