Dubai, 14 June 2014:
The 27th Joint Meeting of the United Nations World Tourism Organization
(UNWTO) Commission for East Asia and the Pacific (CAP) and theUNWTO
Commission for South Asia (CSA)& UNWTO Regional
Ministerial Conference on Positioning Tourism in a Wider Socio-Economic
Context was hosted in Maldives from 3rd-4thJune 2015, at Bandos Island
Resort & Spa, Maldives. Countries from East Asia and South Asia were
represented in the commission meeting, with
affiliated members and numerous international organizations.
The Opening Ceremony
held on 3rd June 2015 at Bandos Island Resorts & Spa, was enhancedby
the presence of His Excellency President Abdul Yameen Abdul Gayoomas
the Guest of Honor, and comprisedof some very special
and important events for the Maldives tourism industry. This includes
the Visit Maldives 2016 Year Campaign being nationally launched by His
Excellency Yameen Abdul Gayoom. This campaign is a destination marketing
initiative by the Maldives Marketing & PR
Corporation (MMPRC) with the objective of increasing tourist arrivals
to the Maldives. This event was followed by the endorsement of the Open
letter campaign by the Maldives, during the ceremony where the Dr.
TalebRifai, Secretary General of UNWTO presented
the open letter to His Excellency President Yameen Abdul Gayoom. This
campaign is a joint effort by UNWTO and World Travel and Tourism Council
(WTCC) to maximize travel and tourism’s contribution economic growth
and development. By accepting this open letter,
His Excellency endorsed this campaign geared towards encouraging world
leaders to acknowledge tourism’s potential to generate growth,
development and employment.
The Ministerial
Conference on Positioning Tourism in a Wider Socio-Economic Context was
held in conjunction with the Joint Commission meetings with two main
objectives:
- To take stock of the event to which UNWTO’s Open Letter initiative has achieved its main objective of advocating that countries duly recognize the socio-economic contribution of tourism to their national economies;
- And to examine national policies that will engender strategies to ensure that the projected growth in tourism demand will translate into socio-economic benefits for non-tourism sectors of the Asia-Pacific economies.
Ministers of Tourism,
Deputy Ministers and senior government officials discussed and debated
the next steps in strengthening government awareness and support to
enable advancement of the tourism sector. Stimulating
discussions enabled open sharing of national and regional insights,
experience and expertise from various tourism experts. The main focus of
the Joint Commission Meeting and the Ministerial Conference was on the
developments in the world tourism industry,
remarks and milestones achieved by the tourism industry and also the
challenges and obstacles faced by the industry and how to overcome those
challenges were also discussed.
Honorable Minister of
Tourism, Mr. Ahmed Adeeb Abdul Gafoor, hosted a special Gala Dinner on
3rd June, honoring and welcoming the delegates to the Maldives.
Ministers, senior government officials, Maldivian
tourism industry pioneers and a huge number of industry participants
also attended the dinner and were part of this social function. A very
significant ceremony also took place during the dinner, where Maldivian
Industry leaders signed the Private Sector Commitment
to Global Code of Ethics for Tourism (GCET) and the five prominent
enterprises and associations signing this commitment included the
Maldives Association of Tourism Industry (MATI), Crown &Champa
Resorts, Sun Island Resorts & Spa, Centara Hotels & Resorts
Maldives and Canareef Resort Maldives. Private By signing this
commitment they pledge their commitment to observe the principle of the
Code; respecting human rights and cultural heritage, protecting the
environment and vulnerable groups, working towards social
inclusion, gender equality, and accessibility – that is, abiding by
highest moral values that we as a society have accepted as fundamental
in the 21st century.
The CAP-CSA Joint
Commission meeting is UNWTO’s principal annual event in the Asia Pacific
Region, and the meetings took place in Bandos Island Resort & Spa
on 4th June 2015. The Joint Commission Meeting was
chaired by Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Minister of State, Culture and Tourism,
India and was co-chaired by Mr. Rolando Cañizal, Assistant Secretary of
Tourism, of Philippines. Honorable Minister of Tourism, Mr. Ahmed Adeeb
Abdul Gafoor lea the delegation from Maldives
for the joint commission meeting. Key topics discussed during the
meetings this year included UNWTO’s program of work for the region,
Asia’s use of TripAdvisor as a source of consumer’s data and other
statutory issues related to the UNWTO Asia-Pacific Member
States.Mr. Mohamed Umar Maniki, Chairman of MATI, honoring the
delegates and extending them to warm hospitality of Maldives, hosted a
farewell dinner on the evening of 4th June at Bandos Island Resorts
& Spa. The efforts of the chairman were complimented with
participation from senior government officials and tourism industry
leaders in this social gathering.
The events were
concluded with a special technical tour organized by Ministry of Tourism
for the delegates on 5th June 2015, aimed at exposing the participants
to the unique Maldivian tourism products and the
Maldivian hospitality. The first half of this technical tour included a
photo flight excursion, where the delegates took a tour of the Male’
atoll area in the Twin Otter seaplanes of Trans Maldivian Airways,
flying over the pristine lagoons and islands of
Maldives, taking a closer look at the scenic details enabling them to
truly appreciate the beauty of the paradise on earth.This was followed
by a high tea organized by Kuramathi Island Resort, where the locals
where exposed to the outstanding Maldivian hospitality.
