The first ever meeting of the UNWTO Destination Council was held in Berlin to coincide with the city`s annual ITB travel fair, bringing together more than 50 delegates representing Full, Associate and Affiliate members of the…
The first ever meeting of the UNWTO Destination Council was held in Berlin to coincide with the city`s annual ITB travel fair, bringing together more than 50 delegates representing Full, Associate and Affiliate members of the Organization.
Andre Vallerand, Special Advisor to Tourisme Montreal, was elected chairman. Vice-chairmen will be representatives of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), with the election of a third to be decided at the next Council meeting.
Established at the 16 th General Assembly in Dakar, the Destination Council replaces the “Task Force for Destination Management” which had been operating since 2002 under the chairmanship of Michael Refalo, former Minister of Tourism for Malta .
Its main objectives are to:
- Identify the needs and address the key challenges involved in successful destination management and marketing
- Formulate recommendations for the UNWTO Programme Committee
- Function as an information exchange on good practices, with the aim of encouraging stakeholders, policy makers and Destination Management/ Marketing Organizations to develop a ‘destination vision’ and apply effective management tools
- Advocate and raise awareness of the importance of credible, consistent and comparable research (qualitative and quantitative analysis) for measuring the performance of tourism destinations
- Support and actively participate in UNWTO activities concerning destination management and marketing, including key- result areas such as:
- Sustainable destination development and planning at local level
- Product development and innovation
- Quality standards
- Competitiveness and strategic management and marketing tools (vision, image, positioning, branding)
- Effective destination management structures
- Measurement of economic impact of tourism at local destination level
- Monitoring of consumer behaviour, segmentation and psychology
- Information technology and new media activities in marketing
- City tourism
- Creating additional competitive advantages: such as event management, low-cost airlines and the rejuvenation of mature destinations
Among the comments raised at the meeting was the need for UNWTO to help developing countries in particular in modelling and structuring Destination Management Organizations (DMOs) with regard to tourism clusters.
Delegates also underlined the importance of issues such as the assessment of quality indicators; the need for reliable and consistent research on the return of investment in promotion and marketing; research on future trends in the marketplace; exchange of practices with other international organizations and exploring the development of complementary activities in destinations affected by natural disasters.
Addressing the opening session, UNWTO Secretary–General Francesco Frangialli explained that the Council would consist of Affiliate Members representing destination management/marketing organizations or institutions at local, regional and national level and existing Associate Members. Full Members will be invited to participate in the work of the Council and benefit directly from the related activities.
In a report on the achievements of the former Task Force, Dr Refalo said it had carried out useful preliminary work that will serve the Council as a launch pad to further develop the concept and workings of customized Destination Management.
The Chairman of Affiliate Members, Carlos Vogeler highlighted UNWTO`s role as a unique platform for networking in public-private partnership and its ability to bring strength to the tourism industry. His fundamental objective is to create synergy and interaction among the three different Councils of the Affiliate Members, he added.
Mr. Vallerand highlighted the importance of the new council and expressed his intention to work in collaboration with the other two – Business and Education -, while German Porras, a member of the UNWTO Strategic Group, gave a presentation on the “Rejuvenation of Tourism Destinations”.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
