World Travel Market is to host a major UNWTO Ministers’ Summit on Tourism and Climate Change, a key part of an international programme to widen and deepen the debate on one of the biggest challenges facing the industry. Ministers will be…
World Travel Market is to host a major UNWTO Ministers’ Summit on Tourism and Climate Change, a key part of an international programme to widen and deepen the debate on one of the biggest challenges facing the industry. Ministers will be asked to consider and ratify a Declaration recommended by environmental experts at the UNWTO’s Summit on Climate Change in Davos, Switzerland in October.
The Ministerial Declaration is to be put to the UNWTO’s General Assembly at the end of November and will be a major aspect of the organizations submission to the UN’s Bali Climate Summit in December 2007. UNWTO Secretary General General Francesco Frangialli called it “the most important and intensive tourism industry analysis on Climate ever undertaken and a key component of the overall global response to an issue, which is, together with Poverty Alleviation, the challenge of our times.”
The Ministers’ Summit on Tuesday 13 November at ExCeL London, forms part of World Travel Market’s Ministers’ Programme, now in its third year.
Fiona Jeffery, World Travel Market’s Chairman said that WTM was an appropriate event for such a significant initiative to take place. “Over the past 13 years, World Travel Market has become an established business platform on environmental issues”, she said.
“Environmental concerns and humanitarian and community issues have been embraced in World Travel Market’s original Environmental Awareness Day and latterly with Responsible Tourism Day. At the same time, the UNWTO has identified extreme poverty and climate change as two of the most trenchant issues with truly global impact. It is therefore highly appropriate and right that the UNWTO and World Travel Market work together.”
“This is a high level event that we hope will make a meaningful contribution to the discussion on the impact of climate change and its knock-on effect on travel and tourism”, added Jeffery. “It is important to remember that tourism is not just a potential victim of climate change – although that in itself is of grave concern – but also contributes to its causes. Every one of us has to be concerned, involved and committed to protecting our world and our industry, not only for now, but for future generations.”
“The Ministers’ Summit at World Travel Market is an historic event that impacts the entire international travel and tourism industry. This is the reason why we will take steps to ensure that everyone working in the international industry can hear the discussions during the Summit and its outcome.”
UNWTO Spokesperson Geoffrey Lipman said that “We are delighted that World Travel Market is supporting this event. We believe that UNWTO has a unique opportunity to input to the global decision making process on this critical matter of Climate Response. We plan to do this in a way that reflects key issues of importance to the public and private sector players who we represent, as well as destinations and travelers themselves. We will also ensure that there is a real coherence between Climate Change solutions and the Millennium Development Goals, as they apply to our sector.”
The Summit on Tourism and Climate Change is to be held on the eve of the first ever WTM World Responsible Tourism Day, again in association with the UNWTO, on Wednesday 14 November.
The day, supported by many well known figures in the private and public sector, including Sir Richard Branson and Prof David Bellamy, is the world’s most ambitious international day of industry action. It is a unique opportunity for governments, the travel industry, local communities and travelers to show that it is practical contributions that count, not just talk.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
