ON THE GROUND Issue 5 June 2018 1
Message from the Executive Director The first half of 2018 has been busy for UNWTO s Technical Cooperation. We have signed several cooperation agreements for new projects as well as initiating negotiations to provide new technical assistance, on top of ongoing activities. Our technical cooperation projects continue to cover a wide range of thematic areas, including policy and strategy development and master planning; marketing, promotion and crisis management; development of statistics systems and the Tourism Satellite Account; hotel classification; human resources development and capacity building; enhancement of the participation of local communities in the tourism process; youth and women empowerment; and sustainable tourism and biodiversity conservation. We currently have 22 projects ongoing in Algeria, Botswana, China, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Lesotho, Madagascar, Morocco, Mozambique, Oman, Paraguay, Qatar, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, and Zimbabwe; as well as a regional project spanning Benin, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Guinea and Niger. New initiatives are in the pipeline for several countries. We are implementing these projects thanks to the financial support of both longstanding and new partners, such as Member State governments, the African Development Bank, the German Development Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Guangzhou Chimelong Group, the United Nations Development Programme and the World Bank. This newsletter provides a glimpse of the activities carried out during the first half of 2018. We convey thanks to all our Member States and partners for their strong support in enabling the successful implementation of technical assistance missions and projects on the ground. Shanzhong Zhu Executive Director 2
New Tourism Marketing Strategy for Yunnan Province, China UNWTO is developing an international tourism marketing strategy for China s Yunnan Province for the period 2017-2022, as well as a specific marketing plan targeting the French source market, at the request of the Yunnan Provincial Tourism Development Committee (YPTDC). The strategy builds on an assessment of the Province s tourism product and focuses on collaboration opportunities for marketing, as well as training to strengthen marketing capacity and use of E-marketing tools. In November 2017, UNWTO s team of experts began working with YPTDC and other provincial tourism stakeholders to prepare the strategy. In April 2018, we conducted a situational analysis of the challenges and opportunities for international tourism marketing in Yunnan, identified product packages for the international market, and discussed ideas on marketing priorities and approaches. While the draft marketing strategy is being completed, market research activities are taking place in France for the preparation of a specific strategy targeting the French tourism source market. Indepth interviews are being carried out with local tour operators to identify suitable outbound and online travel trade and media entities in France that specialize in China and Yunnan in particular. The project will conclude with a seminar to inform YPTDC officers of the implementation of the strategy and marketing plan for France. The province of Yunnan is located in the Southwest of China, bordering Myanmar, Lao People s Democratic Republic and Viet Nam. It has a varied landscape encompassing snow-capped mountains, limestone karst peaks, rice terraces, lakes and deep gorges, offering good opportunities for nature excursions. The region is known for its large number of ethnic minorities and has many museums and temples. Together with agriculture and mining, tourism is one of the main economic sectors of the Province and is increasingly recognized as a force for economic growth in China and of vital importance for the development of a cutting-edge service sector. Mid-term review meeting 3
Supporting Sri Lanka s Tourism Strategic Plan Amending the Bahamas Building Code UNWTO is designing proposals for several projects that will contribute to achieving the objectives of the Sri Lanka Tourism Strategic Plan (SLTSP) for the period 2017-2020. The SLTSP is defined by Sri Lanka s vision to be recognized as the world s finest island for memorable, authentic and diverse experiences, and mission to be a high-value destination offering extraordinary experiences that reflect Sri Lanka s natural and cultural heritage socially inclusive and environmentally responsible and provide economic benefits to communities and the country. The plan highlights the issues that need to be addressed in order to achieve these goals. Based on extensive consultation held in Sri Lanka in February 2018 with tourism stakeholders from public and private sector, UNWTO proposed the following priorities: Fielding a scoping mission to formulate a Tourism Master Plan Setting up the conditions to develop a Tourism Satellite Account Carrying out capacity studies at popular tourist sites to introduce a visitor management system Developing a community tourism strategy Planning to expand tourism and hospitality training provision Adapting coastal forts and colonial buildings for tourism use Conducting an in-depth background analysis on priority and seasonal markets identified in the strategic plan UNWTO recently completed a mission to the Bahamas to prepare an Interim Addendum to its Building Code, last revised in 2003. The Bahamas Building Code (BBC) is a regulation which, within the tourism context, is particularly important for ensuring attractiveness while taking into consideration principles of sustainability in the design of tourism enterprises and other construction. The update includes elements of sustainability and protection against the effects of climate change. In February 2017, UNWTO presented various scenarios on ways the Code could be further strengthened after interviews and meetings with key stakeholders on cultural, architectural and environmental conditions in the Bahamas. The Bahamian Working Committee considered it necessary to create an Interim Addendum as opposed to rewriting the entire code, which would take years to complete. In December 2017 workshops and meetings were conducted to define the scope and content of the planned Addendum. They revolved around how to incorporate measures to protect against the impacts of climate change and to increase the sustainability of the built environment into the country s laws and regulations, regional coordination efforts, and international treaties. The mission was fielded at the request of the Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Tourism. These proposals were then presented to various development agencies in the country who were seen as potential donors who would support their implementation. 17th Century Kalpitiya Fort 4
New Tourism and Wildlife Conservation Project in Zimbabwe In January 2018, UNWTO and the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry of Zimbabwe launched a project whose activities link tourism development, wildlife conservation and sustainable livelihoods in Zimbabwe. The project forms part of the UNWTO/Chimelong Initiative, which advocates tourism as a path to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and particularly wildlife conservation. The main activities are development of new facilities for wildlife conservation and game viewing, and raising awareness on wildlife-based tourism and its potential to create sustainable livelihoods. In March 2018 in Harare, UNWTO met with the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Ministry of Environment, Zimbabwe National Parks, local government and associations to plan building and marketing of a game viewing platform, community campsite and ranger accommodation. The meeting also exchanged ideas on building the capacity of community members to develop and manage the campsite, and awarenessraising activities for tourism and biodiversity conservation. The game viewing platform will be built within the Hwange National Park, and the community campsite and activities will be created just outside of it in the Tsholotsho district. UNWTO/Chimelong Initiative on Wildlife Conservation and Sustainable Tourism in Africa & Asia and the Pacific: http://asiapacific.unwto.org/chimelong The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Tourism and Hospitality Industry, Dr. Thokozile Chitepo (right), and UNWTO Programme Manager for Technical Cooperation, Mr. Marcel Leijzer (left) at the project Inception Meeting 5
Khiva Region Cultural Heritage Framework Project Updating the Tourism Satellite Account for Botswana UNWTO and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) reviewed tourism and cultural heritage development financing opportunities in Uzbekistan, anchored around hotels and sites with historical importance, towards the Uzbekistan Government s decree on integrated development of the tourism potential of Khiva and the Khorezm region for 2017-2021. In particular, UNWTO assessed development opportunities of EBRD s cultural heritage financing proposal for Khiva City, whose old town retains more than 300 historic monuments and houses, mostly dating from the 18th and 19th centuries. The beneficiary of the project is the Government of Uzbekistan, whose 2017-2021 sustainable tourism development agenda for Khiva and the Khorezm region correlates with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. As part of this agenda, Sustainable Development Goal 11 calls for sustainable cities and communities, and within it, target 11.4 asks us to strengthen efforts to protect and safeguard the world s cultural and natural heritage. The findings of UNWTO s assessment will be used to define the extent of work required to carry out the sustainable development programme for the Khorezm region, which plans infrastructure improvements involving many other important sectors. Such improvements are expected to increase the connectivity and accessibility of the region and, consequently, of tourist flows. In February 2018, Botswana presented its updated Tourism Satellite Account (TSA) for the reference year 2016, a result of a UNWTO project that began in March 2017 and included: improving the tourism statistics database; implementing an improved inbound visitor survey; providing in-depth training to ensure ongoing data collection and analysis; and updating the TSA (the last one was prepared in 2011 for reference year 2009). The updated TSA for 2016 showed that tourism directly contributes to 4.9% of Botswana s GDP, up from the 3.9% recorded in the previous TSA. This is the third time that the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism of Botswana has collaborated with UNWTO to prepare a TSA, which is the United Nations Statistical Commission s standard statistical framework for measuring the contribution of tourism to an economy. The United Nations has called for a framework of meaningful and feasible indicators for making tourism a real contributor to the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. The TSA initiative is designed to help strengthen national capacities for meaningful economic measurement of tourism. It is administered by UNWTO as the UN s official tourism statistics agency. On this occasion, the TSA was prepared with the support of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA), and co-financed by the Federal Republic of Germany through the development bank KfW. KAZA TFCA is a development project of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), owned and led by the governments of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. A street scene in Khiva s Ichon Qala Mr. Jimmy R. Opelo, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment, Natural Resources Conservation and Tourism of Botswana, officially presenting the updated TSA for Botswana for the reference year 2016 6
UNWTO/Chimelong Initiative on Sustainable Tourism and Conservation of Great Apes in the Democratic Republic of Congo Crisis Communications Strategy for Madagascar In January 2018, UNWTO launched a project aimed at strengthening links between conservation of great apes and development of sustainable tourism in protected areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The ongoing project activities are centred around investing in capacity-building and equipment provision for the conservation of bonobos; and working with communities to raise awareness on the importance of biodiversity conservation and exploring opportunities to develop sustainable forms of tourism in and around habitats of great apes. The project hopes to provide local communities with more diverse income-generating opportunities in areas where socio-economic development is limited. At the same time, it responds to the need for concerted efforts to support conservation of great apes in DRC, in line with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 15, which targets a halt in global biodiversity loss. DRC is home to the second largest rainforest in the world and three of the world s four major species of monkeys: the gorilla, chimpanzee and bonobo (with the fourth species, the orangutan, living only in Asia). All three are classified as endangered, due to deforestation and the destruction of habitat in the areas where they live. The bonobo is an endemic species of DRC and is under the threat of extinction. The project is being carried out through the UNWTO/Chimelong Initiative, and in collaboration with the Ministry of Tourism of the Democratic Republic of Congo and the African Wildlife Foundation (AWF). The AWF has its own ongoing project acclimatizing bonobos to the presence of humans in DRC s Lomako Yokokala Faunal Reserve. In February 2018, UNWTO began providing technical assistance to the National Tourism Board of Madagascar to create a Crisis Communications Strategy, by conducting an in-depth review of existing protocols and institutional coordination for crisis communications. UNWTO is assessing training needs for both public sector and media, and formulating a crisis communications strategy featuring step-by-step protocols, templates for different types of crisis and media to be addressed, guidelines for measuring effectiveness, best practices, and a guide to using social media. The project, in collaboration with World Bank Madagascar, aims to minimize the impact of crises on a country with a view to double international visitor numbers by 2020 from their 2016 level of 293,000. In 2017 Madagascar received 255,000 international arrivals, almost 13% fewer than 2016, due to changing perceptions of security and health risks and media reports on events in the country, such as a four-month plague outbreak. From the project, UNWTO has learned that some tourism stakeholders in Madagascar have experienced difficulties in managing unpredictable but recurrent crises, as well as in communication methods. The next step of the project is to present the final version of the Strategy on Crisis Communications in October 2018 to be implemented by the Madagascar National Tourism Board and all the stakeholders involved. Experts and volunteers in the field Participants of the training on crisis communication strategy and media relations held in Antananarivo, Madagascar from 11-15 June 2018 7
The UNWTO Technical Cooperation team (from left to right): Bana Tamim; Lucia Barca; Marcel Leijzer; Shanzhong Zhu (UNWTO Executive Director); Vanessa Satur; Olivia Siv; Zineb Remmal TECHNICAL COOPERATION: The very heart of UNWTO s programme of work, supporting Member States in their efforts to enhance competitiveness and sustainability in their tourism sector. OUR MISSION: To meet the specific tourism development needs of the Member States and support them in their efforts to advance and promote the tourism industry as an engine for socio-economic growth and poverty alleviation through the creation of employment. Contact Us World Tourism Organization Technical Cooperation Email: teco@unwto.org www.unwto.org Follow us: