The WTO.TedQual-certified members of the World Tourism Organization from…
The WTO.TedQual-certified members of the World Tourism Organization from Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula, represented by Universidad Externado de Colombia, Universidad de San Martin de Porres (Peru), Universidad Anahuac (Mexico), Universidad Anahuac del Sur (Mexico), Universidad del Salvador (Argentina), CENP (Spain), Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Spain), CENP (Spain) and Centro de Investigacion y de Tecnologias Turisticas de las Islas Baleares del INESTUR (Spain), in a meeting held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 14-16 December 2005, with the collaboration and participation of the Secretariat of Tourism of Argentina, drew up the following conclusions:
Considering that the priority objective of the UNWTO Network of TedQual Centres is to support the UNWTO’s Programme of Work in Education and Knowledge Management, which was presented and approved at the 2005 General Assembly in Dakar, and which facilitates and promotes the creation and dissemination of knowledge for the increased competitiveness and sustainability of tourism as a tool for development,
Considering that achievement of this objective is necessary for the implementation of the 2006-2007 UNWTO Education Council Programme of Work, also approved at the 2005 General Assembly,
Considering that the sessions dedicated to tourism at the Iberoamerican Summits in San Jose (Costa Rica, October 2004) and Zamora (Spain, September 2005) have recognized among their priorities the establishment of instruments for international collaboration among educational institutions in the region, and
Wishing to contribute to the close collaboration among TedQual-certified institutions in the region and the UNWTO Department of Education and Knowledge Management, with the objective of strengthening governance within the area of tourism,
HAVE AGREED UPON THE FOLLOWING:
- To propose that the UNWTO Department of Education and Knowledge Management, in collaboration with the UNWTO Education Council, elaborate a manual on Crisis Management for Tourism Destinations that includes a systemization of types of crises and best practices in each case, facilitating the efficient intervention of the UNWTO—both in the immediate response and the recuperation phases—and the coordination with other organisms of the United Nations and NGOs
- To propose that the UNWTO Department of Education and Knowledge Management, in collaboration with the UNWTO Education Council, develop a Code of Professional Conduct for Tourism Destination Managers, in concordance with the UNWTO.Sbest Certification
- To collaborate actively in the development and implementation of the UNWTO.Sbest Programme for Excellence in Destination Management Organizations, contributing to good governance of destinations
- To stimulate, with the collaboration of the UNWTO Department of Education and Knowledge Management and the UNWTO.Themis Foundation, TedQual certification of institutions in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula, with the objective of increasing participation of institutions from countries that are not adequately represented within the UNWTO Network of TedQual Centres
- To increase the number of scholarships offered by UNWTO TedQual Centres in the region, both for exchanges of professors and graduate students as well as for officials of UNWTO Member States within the context of the UNWTO.Scholars Programme, through the UNWTO.Themis Foundation
- To contribute to the development and updating of a Capabilities Database for UNWTO.TedQual Centres to address the needs of UNWTO Member States in the area of Tourism Knowledge Management
- To support the UNWTO.TedQual Volunteers Programme and the participation of postgraduate students of UNWTO.TedQual Centres in Latin America and the Iberian Peninsula, as well as the governments and tourism destinations of the region, based upon the terms established in the UNWTO.TedQual Volunteers Manual
- To request that the UNWTO and the ST-EP Foundation support tourism destinations, communities, and institutions in the region’s developing countries, especially through increased application of programmes such as UNWTO.TedQual, UNWTO.Sbest, UNWTO.Scholars, and UNWTO.TedQual Volunteers
- To request the support of the recently-created Iberoamerican General Secretariat in programmes for institutional strengthening through the education and knowledge management in tourism programmes mentioned above
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
