 |
| The Great wildebeest migration-Serengeti Tanzania |
And the sector is expected to continue striving -
UNWTO forecasts international tourism to grow by 4% to 4.5% in 2014 and
to continue expanding up to 1.8 billion international tourists in 2030.
Indeed, tourism has become one of the fastest growing economic sectors; a
sector that drives global growth and development, creates millions of
jobs, spurs exports and investment and transforms peoples’ lives.
Yet, to ensure our sector remains competitive, we
must address a few challenges and as in every year at ITB, we take stock
and look into the future in an attempt to set the agenda for the
sector. Mindful that many issues such as financing, infrastructure
development or human capital which remain central to the future of the
sector, allow me to briefly focus on five key challenges, which we have
set as a priorities at UNWTO, committed to transform these into five
major opportunities.
1. Travel facilitation - In spite of the
significant progress made in recent years, destinations around the world
still require about two-thirds of the world´s population (66%) to
obtain a visa before departure. We must therefore improve visa policies
and processing, particularly if destinations want to attract the growing
source markets of China, Russia or India. It is rewarding thus to see
recent moves in the right direction coming out of the Schengen zone, the
USA or the UAE.
2. Connectivity – The advances of air transport in
recent decades have greatly contributed to tourism´s extraordinary
growth. Yet, in spite of the clear linkages between aviation and
tourism, and the fact that over 50% of the world’s international
tourists reach their destination by air, many countries still have
disjointed policies between the two sectors and restrictive skies. UNWTO
has made it a priority to bridge air transport and tourism policies; we
must therefore improve policy alignment and further liberalization as
these will lead to the growth of both sectors.
3. Taxation - When the imposition of unbalanced
taxes, levies, visa fees or airport fees becomes arbitrary, we are in
fact “killing the goose that lays the golden egg.” While properly
constituted taxes are a fundamental and legitimate fiscal tool, and the
sector should naturally contribute its due, an unbalanced taxation
policy on tourism can actually produce a net damage to the economy.
Having visited Australia two weeks ago, it was
very encouraging to see the Government’s freezing the Passenger Movement
Charge as a means to contribute to Australia’s Tourism 2020 targets. We
need to see more of this. We need to revisit out tax regimes and
measure their effects, not only on the tourism sector, but on the
economy all-together.
4.Cross-cutting government policies and
public-private partnerships -There can be no tourism development without
public/public partnerships; without national, cross-cutting policies
and inter-governmental coordination. Tourism needs to be a national
policy and not a sectoral policy. By the same token, there can be no
tourism development without public/private partnerships. This is an
expression we have become accustomed to use but the truth is, we are
still far from a real engagement of public and private sectors in
tourism development. The world has changed, the sector has transformed.
We have before us an opportunity to create new and innovative models of
cooperation which not only embrace the tourism public sector and private
sectors, but also the civil society and other players coming from areas
such as technology, arts, gastronomy or culture. We must therefore
realize that tourism is no longer about a product; it’s about
interconnected experiences that need all players for it to be complete.
5. Last, but without doubt not least,
sustainability. With growth comes responsibility. One billion
international tourists travelling the world can mean one billion
opportunities or one billion disasters. With the economic growth, job
creation and development opportunities that tourism brings, comes great
responsibility and the over-arching challenge of sustainability.
Together with our sister UN agencies – UNESCO and
UNODC – and leading partners in the private sector (Marriott and Sabre)
we are calling on tourists to make the right ethical choice as consumers
and thus contribute to preserve the natural and cultural assets that
form an invaluable part of the world´s heritage. We need to protect our
planet, our people while we make profit.
We are stepping up the efforts to support the
fight against poaching in Africa. This illegal killing of wildlife in
the continent is reaching alarming levels, threatening not only Africa´s
entire ecosystems, but also risking depriving thousands of local
communities of their livelihoods as Africa’s main tourism capital is in
danger.
Let us take the good news of tourism´s growth a
step further by answering its higher call. For growth and responsibility
are not a zero sum game. Our collective, responsible actions will
ensure that tourism remains an effective agent of change, shaping a
better future and a better world for all of us.
0 comments:
Post a Comment