UNWTO reacts to financial crisis while ensuring sustainability
The UNWTO’s Sixth International Tourism Forum for Parliamentarians and Local Authorities, held in Cebu in the Philippines from 22-24 October 2008 has brought together almost 400 representatives from 78 countries, with participants reviewed the key factors affecting tourism and how national and local governments can contribute to respond to the current economic challenges while not losing sight of long-term sustainability goals.
The programme of the forum was structured around:
** Major challenges of tourism development
** Communication and Ethics in Tourism; and
** Economic knowledge of tourism at the local level and the measurement of employment in the tourism sector
Officials and representatives of parliaments and local governments met with members of the private sector, reflecting the important role which national, regional and local governments have contributing to sustainable tourism.
The Forum was held under the auspices of the UNWTO and the Government of the Philippines, unanimously agreed on the following resolution:
Cebu Resolution
1. Request the Secretary-General to instruct the “Resilience Committee†(former Crisis Committee) of UNWTO to give urgent attention to all appropriate measures that could assist countries regarding the negative impacts the present financial crisis may have on their tourism industries;
2. Encourage Parliaments and Local Authorities to consider the implementation of the recommendations of the Davos Declaration and to set up appropriate programmes and projects that will enable their tourism sector to respond to the global challenges of climate change;
3. Urge Governments and all stakeholders in the tourism sector to implement in appropriate ways the principles of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism in their country and in their various business activities;
4. Request UNWTO to deliver general guidelines on measuring tourism at the regional and local levels regarding basic statistics, the tourism satellite account and the economic analysis of the contribution that tourism makes at those levels, and
5. Call upon local and regional tourism authorities to implement these general guidelines by allocating approximately two per cent of their budget for tourism promotion to achieve those objectives.
A Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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