The World Tourism Organization (WTO) is to convene a high level international meeting in Phuket between January 31 – February 1 to discuss…
The World Tourism Organization (WTO) is to convene a high level international meeting in Phuket between January 31 – February 1 to discuss an action plan for regional tourism recovery in the wake of the December 26, 2004, tsunami disaster.
The Emergency Session of the WTO Executive Council will be attended by senior representatives of the WTO, several international and regional organizations as well as industry leaders worldwide.
Phuket has been chosen as the venue for the meeting to demonstrate the support of the international tourism community for the affected countries.
Twelve countries have suffered severe physical and structural damage but the loss of hundreds of thousands of lives in the popular Indian Ocean destinations has heightened the importance of the disaster.
The WTO has praised the speed at which the Royal Thai Government has acted to restore normalcy to the Andaman area.
Mrs Juthamas Siriwan, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) thanked the WTO for choosing Phuket as the venue of the meeting.
As most of the affected areas were tourist spots, Mrs Juthamas said Thailand would be sharing with the delegates its extensive experience in crisis management and recovery planning.
She said, “Now, the most important thing is to start rebuilding the economy in the affected areas as the livelihood of thousands of locals depends on it.
“I am confident that the presence of so many senior executives in Phuket at the meeting will boost the image and restore confidence of the visitors in the island’s safety and readiness to receive visitors.
“It will also give the guests a chance to see that barring a few areas that have suffered serious damage, most of the other places have been restored and are fully operational,” she added.
The agenda includes a technical meeting to be held jointly with organizations like the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) to assess the impacts of tsunamis on tourism to the Asian countries.
Following the meetings, TAT will launch a range of global marketing campaigns to bring back visitors to the country.
The World Tourism Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations based in Madrid, is the leading international organization in the field of tourism and serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and practical source of tourism know-how.
In 2004, the WTO`s membership comprised of 144 countries, seven territories and more than 300 Affiliate Members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations and local tourism authorities.
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