International Seminar On Future of World Tourism – Crisis After Crisis

Kashmir, a state of India has come out of crisis, crisis from violence, after fighting out peace in the recent days, said, Omar Abdullah, Minister of Tourism, Jammu & Kashmir, while speaking at the PATWA seminar 2009 held at London during World Travel Market (WTM), attended by leaders from the tourism industry and guests from the media. PATWA Handbook was also released prior to the seminar by Edmund Bartlett M.P, Minister of Tourism, Jamaica.
He further said that Kashmir is so beautiful that it is always a consideration for poets from all over the world to pen down its beauty. It is not just a place but also a fairy tale poem to the naked eyes. Kashmir is about snow-capped mountains, beautiful Mughal gardens, luxurious houseboats, and colourful shikaras on Dal and Nagin lakes, flowers and fresh fruits – making sure that if there is a paradise on earth, it is here. It’s a destination that has natural beauty and charm in abundance, but with all that it has an opportunity for adventure tourism too. Apart from that Kashmir is a shopping paradise; legendary Kashmiri shawls with dazzling range of colours and embroideries are on every tourists list. Jewellery, wood work, metal ware, pottery, carpets and many other items are the other products that attracts tourists from all over the world to Kashmir.
Later on supporting his words, he also shared a few minutes presentation on ‘Kashmir’ before the esteemed panel of the PATWA seminar and the members of the audience.
Edmund Bartlett M.P, Minister of Tourism, Jamaica, said, “Tourism is, in the main, the industry that has survived the economic ravages where other industries have receded badly or failed utterly. We are, therefore, as custodians of this vital portfolio of tourism, expected to nurture and unleash its income-earning potential, and therefore its transformative potential, on our respective economies and societies. Just last week, the world woke up to the unwelcome news that the rate of unemployment in the world’s largest market, the United States, rose to 10.2% in October – the highest rate since 1983. The UNWTO expects international tourism to decline between 2% and 3% in 2009, in the face of the challenges wrought by the global recession and by the Influenza A (H1N1) Virus. Even in the midst of these realities, the contribution of travel and tourism to the global employment stands at 7.6% of total employment, or one in every 13.1 jobs. In the Caribbean, the most tourism-dependent region in the world - the value of tourism stands at 14.8% of Gross Domestic Product (US$39.9 billion), and the industry has created over 2.1 million direct jobs, or 1 in every 7.8 jobs. The World Travel & Tourism Council ranks the Caribbean Travel & Tourism economy as number 13 in absolute size worldwide, but, crucially, ranks it number one in relative contribution to national economies.”

He further said, “In my own country, Jamaica, the tourism industry has always been an important source of foreign exchange, and its importance has risen in the last two years. We, too, have had to deal with economic and epidemiological challenges. However, we are tackling the adversities, and we are experiencing success. Our visitor arrivals have increased by 4% to date for 2009, making Jamaica the number one destination in the Caribbean, and the World Travel Awards’ Most Outstanding Destination. As we look to the future of tourism, to the time when even these current crises must end, we have realized two important things. Firstly that Tourism has the potential to be the world’s biggest and most capital intensive business. This is because of the wide and deep links it creates. There is no sector that is untouched by tourism. Health, Security, Wellness, Heritage/Culture, Education, Sport, Commerce, Agriculture - whatever the area, it either currently facilitates tourism or holds the potential for it, and secondly that the new consumer base for tourism is to be found in the regions with the largest population densities.”
“The future of tourism will be based on three pillars: New Markets, New Technologies and New Partnerships. This follows on our current emphasis of Marketing, Product Development and Investment. This is the New Tourism paradigm that we are pursuing in Jamaica. It is our ambition to earn US$5 billion annually by 2015, and receive 5-million visitors annually by that time”, he concluded.
Zaida Carrillo, Presidenta de Inatur, Venezuela, said, “The latest economic data and prospects indicate that the world’s economy may be starting to emerge from its most severe recession of this century. Though tourism will survive the crisis it will undertake certain negative consequences, basically from the point of view of employment. Therefore, governments should play their roles in continuing to invest in the sector, taking into account its significant value as an export and its potential to lead the way out of the current crisis. Travel and tourism face the future slightly optimistic and have the potential to play an essential role post crisis recovering by providing jobs, infrastructure and stimulating trade between countries and people.”
She further said, “What have to be in our focus are not the current crisis but the short term opportunities and the medium and long term perspectives for the industry. These perspectives lie in more sustainable products highlighting the relevance on the environment and on the customer who demands enriching personal experiences. It is a must that we educate travellers in order to minimize the impact on the local environment, infrastructure, people, and culture because as we all know tourism is not only an activity that involves visiting cities, mountains, museums or beaches but it enhances also a cultural aspect as it involves people.”
Dato’ Mirza Mohammad, Director General, Tourism Malaysia, said, “We fought the financial crisis, which was followed by another crisis of the (H1 N1) influenza and soon managed to get over that phase and continue to establish and promote Malaysia as a tourist destination.” Comprehending on the future of Tourism, Geoffrey Lipman, Assistant Secretary General, UNWTO gave an account of various activities conducted by UNWTO during the time of crisis and how they educated people from this industry and supported developing countries in Asia and Africa to overcome the tough phase. Concluding the seminar, Sagar Ahluwalia, Secretary General, PATWA, said, “The emphasis should be on the need of having a taskforce to fight crisis of all sorts, a taskforce that believes strongly in the potential of tourism as an industry. PATWA talks about problems in the aviation and tourism industry by organizing seminars and meetings, which it will continue doing in the coming years too.”