During the event’s conference, WTACH President Chris Flynn will present on the growth and significance of cultural heritage tourism.
The World Tourism Association for Culture & Heritage (WTACH) has been appointed as Association Partner for the Qatar Travel Mart in Doha, 17-19 November 2020.
The development is part of a bilateral agreement between WTACH.org and NeXTfairs, the QTM 2020 organisers.
In the agreement, WTACH will advise NeXTfairs on programme content for the one-day conference to be held in conjunction with the mart. WTACH will also use digital media to brief its global membership about the benefits of participating in QTM.
During the event’s conference, WTACH President Chris Flynn will present on the growth and significance of cultural heritage tourism. There will be discussions on the challenges and opportunities facing the world’s cultural and heritage sites, many of which have deteriorated noticeably as a direct result of over-tourism.
However, in 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic has applied the brakes temporarily. “Covid has given us all an opportunity to pause, reflect and reshape our policies on cultural and heritage tourism,” said Flynn. “The aim now is to ensure that protections are in place that will preserve fragile and unique cultural assets as we come out of lockdown.”
The association’s president said that he would work closely with QTM 2020 organisers to share WTACH’s philosophy. The objective in Doha would be to present strategies and goals to a global audience that cares about culture and heritage in tourism.
“We simply must protect our world’s diverse culture and heritage assets, many of which are sacred sites,” said Flynn. “We need to work with local custodians, host communities and visitors. Too many important sites have been damaged as a result of mismanagement.”
“We are looking forward to working closely with NeXTfairs to ensure that our important messages enjoy a global reach,” he said.
The partnership was welcomed by NeXTfairs General Manager Rawad Sleem. “We believe that there is a need to focus upon responsible tourism by minimising the negative impact it brings to communities,” he said. “That is why we are pleased to have WTACH as our Association Partner for Qatar Travel Mart.”
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
