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Tourism leaders from the Americas have met to address the current challenges and opportunities around restoring confidence in travel across the region.
A special seminar on the UNWTO International Code for the Protection of Tourists (ICPT) featured interventions from the experts involved in drafting the landmark legal framework. The Code was approved by consensus by the 24th UNWTO General Assembly in Madrid, Spain, and is aimed at providing tourists with greater legal protection as the world opens up again following the pandemic.
To date, Ecuador, Guinea Bissau, Moldova and Paraguay have formally adhered to the ICPT, with the aim of integrating all of the Code in their national policies and legislation, and Uruguay has also announced it intends to do so. In particular, Ecuador is currently developing its national Organic Tourism Law (Proyecto de Ley Organica de Turismo) aimed at developing the necessary measures for the implementation of the ICPT within the country.
The technical seminar was held against the backdrop of the 67th meeting of the UNWTO Commission for the Americas and the 1st International Congress on Tourism and Law, organised by Uruguay in collaboration with UNWTO.. In addition to expert insights on the application of the Code, participants were also presented with the results of a recent survey assessing the potential impacts of the ICPT on ‘visitor protection legislation and policies’ conducted by the Association of the Caribbean States in collaboration with UNWTO.
Alongside this, a Panel of Ministries of Tourism addressed the specific challenges and opportunities for the recovery of the tourism sector in the Americas in the environment arising as a result of COVID-19. The panel discussion focused on emergency situations and consumer protection rights of tourists and explored opportunities for rebuilding confidence among tourism consumers in a post-COVID-19 world.ADVERTISEMENT

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The American Members of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) have met to assess the current state of the sector and plan for its sustainable future. The 67th meeting of the UNWTO Regional Commission for the Americas brought tourism leaders from across the region together in the leading destination of Punta del Este, Uruguay.
Across two days, Tourism Ministers and other high-level representatives, including private sector leaders and delegates form international organisations reviewed UNWTO’s leadership of the sector over the past year, with Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili’s report focused on key international tourism trends and the Organisation’s key priorities for the region, including work around education and investments.
High-level support of hosts
The Regional Commission was inaugurated by the President of Uruguay, Luis Lacalle Pou, who was joined Minister of Tourism and host of the gathering, Tabaré Viera, and by the country’s Minister of Foreign Relations, Francisco Bustillo. The meeting came just two weeks after Uruguay hosted a global UNESCO conference, reflecting the country’s commitment to multilateral cooperation and support for the mission and values of the United Nations, among which tourism for development is key.
President Lacalle welcomed the UNWTO leadership, stating that tourism remains a key part of Uruguay’s state economic policy, and the Commission meeting “emphasised the importance of everyone working for the reactivation of tourism”, both in Uruguay and across the wider region.ADVERTISEMENTUNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said: “Tourism has proven potential to inspire change and drive growth across the Americas and UNWTO’s Member States of the region are showing the way forward in building a tourism sector that works for everyone, with sustainability and inclusiveness at its heart.”
Alongside the Commission Meeting, both met in private to further deepen the already-strong partnership between UNWTO and Uruguay, a key ally in the region and promoter of tourism for development across the Americas, including through high-level multilateral platforms and organisations.
Minister Tabaré Viera underscored Uruguay’s commitment to restart tourism, reminding participants that this first major tourism gathering in Uruguay since the start of the pandemic, sent a clear message beyond the region itself. The Minister also announced that Uruguay will adhere to the UNWTO International Code for the Protection of Tourists, and so be among the first countries in the world to take firm steps to restore confidence in international travel, further emphasising Uruguay’s commitment to tourism and to keeping tourists safe and protected.
Turning challenges into opportunitiesUNWTO Members addressed the key challenges facing tourism today and opportunities for recovery and growth. The debates among member states were complemented by special interventions, including the presentation the Tourism Promotion Hub for Latin America, Latina Tower, in New York City, and by the Latin American Development Bank (CAF).
CAF, the leading investor in infrastructure across the region, addressed for the first time a UNWTO governing body, advancing the newly-established partnership between the Bank and UNWTO. Alongside this, a policy discussion on “Accelerating Recovery and Building Resilience”, benefitted from insights of leaders from across the region, 
Generating trustWithin the framework of the Regional Commission, Members met for a seminar on the UNWTO International Code for the Protection of Tourists. The landmark legal code, designed to offer tourists more protection and so increase confidence in international travel, was adopted by Members at the UNWTO General Assembly in 2021. Two countries of the Americas, Ecuador and Paraguay have already made steps to incorporating it into national legislation, while Uruguay will initiate the corresponding process. UNWTO’s legal experts provided updates on the implementation and workings of the Code, with a focus on addressing existing gaps in the provision of assistance to tourists caught in emergency situations, drawing from lessons of the pandemic.
Next StepsOn the side-lines of the Regional Commission meeting, Secretary-General Pololikashvili met with the Minister of Tourism of Brazil, Carlos Brito, and then separately with Minister of Tourism from Guatemala, Ms. Anayansy Rodríguez, to discuss their countries’ tourism sectors and opportunities to work more closely with UNWTO in the post-pandemic recovery phase.  To conclude, Members States voted to hold the 68th meeting of the UNWTO Regional Commission for the Americas in Ecuador in the first half of 2023.

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John Bell, the first Executive Director of the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA), was honoured with the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award at the Caribbean Hotel & Resort Investment Summit (CHRIS), which he was instrumental in launching.
Taking place at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida this week, the honour was bestowed upon Bell for his significant contributions to the hospitality industry. Fellow tourism legend and former CHTA CEO and Director General Alec Sanguinetti accepted the award on Bell’s behalf.
Among his many achievements, Bell, who was the guiding force of CHTA (formerly the Caribbean Hotel Association or CHA) for 29 years, was lauded for recognizing the critical need to get investors and financial institutions engaged in the Caribbean hotel sector. He launched the first investment conference in 1997, triggering prolific growth in the region’s leading sector.
“We thought that it would be a good idea to bring the financial community into some kind of a direct contact with the hotel industry (so) we decided the best way to do that was to partner with another company, which in that case was the Financial Times of London,” Bell said. “We got them to become involved and use their clout to bring in the different players … and it worked extremely well,” he added.
In her tribute, current CHTA President Nicola Madden-Greig noted that “it is not often that we get to honor living legends in our field,” adding that Bell’s vision and energy “framed the key role of tourism in the economies of the Caribbean.” ADVERTISEMENTFrank Comito, who served as CEO and Director General of CHTA until January 2021, described CHRIS, which Bell envisioned more than 25 years ago, as “the single most important factor which contributed to the phenomenal growth of Caribbean tourism.” 
Comito asserted the growth and development of Caribbean tourism “stands on the broad shoulders of John Bell, whose drive, vision, and persuasive nature over three decades laid the foundation on which we continue to build today.”
Vanessa Ledesma, CHTA’s Acting CEO and Director General who was originally hired by Bell, pointed to the catalytic role the investment summit played in the development of Caribbean economies.
She cited The Bahamas, Dominican Republic and Jamaica as key beneficiaries as early host destinations for the investment conference in the 1990s. “These destinations and the region have much to be grateful to John for his leadership, which helped to propel tourism’s growth throughout the Caribbean,” Ledesma stated.
Vanessa Ledesma, CHTA’s Acting CEO and Director General, former CHTA chief executive Alec Sanguinetti, and Jeff Higley, President of the BHN Group, saluted their colleague John Bell in Florida

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Developed in collaboration with some of the world’s leading technology, finance and business companies as Mastercard the initiative is focused on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which make up 80% of all tourism businesses. UNWTO aims to reach at least 1 million tourism SMEs over the lifetime of the Programme, providing them with the foundational skills and knowledge needed to harness the power of new and emerging technologies.
UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili says: “Small businesses are the backbone of tourism. The Digital Futures Programme will help them to recover from the impacts of the pandemic and drive the sector forward, powered by innovation and new technology.”
In order to provide SMEs with tailored guidance and and tools, the Programme is built on a Digital Readiness Diagnostic Tool that benchmarks SMEs across five key digital dimensions – Connectivity, Business Growth, E-Commerce, Big Data and Analytics, and Payments and Security. The launch event, held at IE Tower in Madrid, was attened by around 200 participants including the Ambassadors to Spain of UNWTO’s Member States, as well as invstement and promotion Agencies, and SMEs themselves.

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has urged Asia-Pacific states to further ease border measures to accelerate the region’s recovery from COVID-19.
“Asia-Pacific is playing catch-up on restarting travel after COVID-19, but there is growing momentum with governments lifting many travel restrictions. The demand for people to travel is clear. As soon as measures are relaxed there is an immediate positive reaction from travelers. So it is critical that all stakeholders, including governments are well-prepared for the restart. We cannot delay. Jobs are at stake and people want to travel,” said Willie Walsh, IATA’s Director General, in his keynote address at the Changi Aviation Summit.
The Asia-Pacific region’s international passenger demand for March reached 17% of pre-COVID levels, after having hovered at below 10% for most of the last two years. “This is far below the global trend where markets have recovered to 60% of pre-crisis levels. The lag is because of government restrictions. The sooner they are lifted, the sooner we will see a recovery in the region’s travel and tourism sector, and all the economic benefits that will bring,” said Walsh.
Walsh urged Asia-Pacific governments to continue easing measures and bring normalcy to air travel by:
Removing all restrictions for vaccinated travelers.
Removing quarantine and COVID-19 testing for unvaccinated travelers where there are high levels of population immunity, which is the case in most parts of Asia.
Lift the mask mandate for air travel when it is no longer required in other indoor environments and public transport.
“Supporting and more importantly accelerating the recovery will need a whole of industry and government approach. Airlines are bringing back the flights. Airports need to be able to handle the demand. And governments need to be able to process security clearances and other documentation for key personnel efficiently,” said Walsh.ADVERTISEMENTChina and Japan
Walsh noted that there are two big gaps in the Asia-Pacific recovery story: China and Japan.
“So long as the Chinese government continues to maintain their zero-COVID approach, it is hard to see the country’s borders reopening. This will hold back the region’s full recovery.
While Japan has taken steps to allow travel, there is no clear plan for the reopening of Japan for all inbound visitors or tourists. More needs to be done to further ease travel restrictions, starting with lifting quarantine for all vaccinated travelers, and removing both the on-arrival airport testing and daily arrival cap. I urge the government of Japan to take bolder steps towards recovery and opening of the country’s borders,” said Walsh.
Sustainability
Walsh also called on Asia-Pacific governments to support the industry’s sustainability efforts.
“Airlines have committed to achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. A key to our success will be governments sharing the same vision. There are high expectations for governments to agree a long-term goal at the ICAO Assembly later this year. Achieving net zero requires everyone to shoulder their responsibility. And among the most important things that governments should do is incentivising the production of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF). Airlines have bought every drop of SAF that is available. Projects are underway that will see a rapid increase in SAF production over the next years. We see SAF contributing to 65% of the mitigation needed to achieve net zero in 2050. That will require governments to be much more proactive,” said Walsh.
Walsh acknowledged that there have been positive developments in Asia-Pacific. Japan has committed considerable funds for green aviation initiatives. New Zealand and Singapore have agreed to cooperate on green flights. “Singapore’s cross industry International Advisory Panel on a sustainable aviation air hub is a positive example for other states to adopt,” said Walsh. He also called on ASEAN and its partners to do more, particularly looking for opportunities in the region to expand SAF production.

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High profile visitors including leading tour operators, travel agents, aviation partners, industry stakeholders as well as members of the press visited the stand to meet with the Jamaica Tourist Board delegation
The Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) has successfully concluded a busy second day at the 2022 edition of Arabian Travel Market.
High profile travel trade professionals including leading tour operators, travel agents, aviation partners, industry stakeholders as well as members of the media visited the stand to meet with members of the Jamaica delegation to discuss new and expanded partnerships, opportunities for collaboration and platforms for elevating the reputation of Jamaica as a destination of distinction for Middle East travellers.
The Jamaica delegation was led by Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism of Jamaica and accompanied by Donovan White, Director of Tourism, Jamaica Tourist Board along with a variety of industry representatives from Jamaica.
During the first two days of the event, the delegation connected with key industry stakeholders and met with new and potential partners to discuss ways to further promote Jamaica to Middle East-based travellers.ADVERTISEMENTJamaica Tourist Board also hosted a ‘Taste of Jamaica’ on stand activity for media and industry delegates from across the GCC and wider MENA region, enabling visitors to sample authentic cuisine and exquisite Blue Mountain Coffee during the networking event.
Hon. Edmund Bartlett, Minister of Tourism of Jamaica commented: “We’ve seen some great interest from the MENA region and made strong headway with leading industry professionals from the region. We look forward to undertaking further meetings to discuss potential collaboration during the next two days of the show which will further raise the profile of the destination.”
Donovan White, Director of Tourism, Jamaica Tourist Board commented: “We have been delighted with the warm welcome we received during the first two days of Arabian Travel Market and were pleased to welcome new and existing partners from across the MENA region to the stand for an authentic ‘Taste of Jamaica’. The positive meetings and interactions we have undertaken with new and potential strategic partners will further develop tourism ties and help build a solid foundation for exponential success within the MENA market.’
Jamaica Tourist Board is considered the Caribbean’s Leading Tourist Board 2021 by voters at the World Travel Awards.

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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that the 2022 Cabin Ops Safety Conference (COSC) will take place as an in-person event in Lisbon, Portugal, 14-16 June with TAP Air Portugal as the Host Airline.
In the face of numerous operational challenges, the airline industry improved its safety performance in several key areas in 2021, compared both to 2020 and to the average of the five years 2017-2021, including reductions in the accident rate and the number of passenger fatalities.
These strong results were achieved as the industry ramped-up operations from the low point of April 2020, while addressing numerous issues, including crew shortages and a sharp rise in unruly passenger events.
“Airlines and their employees have done a superb job over the past two years under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. Now, as COVID-related travel restrictions are eased, flight operations are ramping-up and the focus needs to be on ensuring we maintain the same high levels of safety and efficiency. The Cabin Ops Safety Conference is the forum for cabin safety experts from airlines, regulators, OEMs and suppliers to join together to share insights on the most important cabin safety challenges,” said Nick Careen, IATA’s Senior Vice President of Operations, Safety and Security.
Sessions will address key topics including:ADVERTISEMENT >Unruly passengers
Cabin crew fatigue
Human trafficking
Cabin accessibility issues
Cabin safety investigations
Cabin design
Accessible lavatory design
The event also will feature workshops on turbulence, cabin crew wellbeing and safety management. Additionally, the popular Cabin Safety Exchange will return. This discussion forum provides an opportunity for cabin safety professionals to share insights about the top cabin safety issues and shapes and steers the work of IATA cabin safety agenda in the years to come.

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Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RATKDA) has unveiled a new brand campaign at Arabian Travel Market (ATM) 2022, marking the next chapter in the tourism marketing of the fast-growing emirate.
Building on the successful launch of its new vision and brand identity at last year’s ATM, RAK Calling uses integrated social media platforms to follow a group of influencer friends as they discover the nature Emirate. In collaboration with renowned content creators from Europe and the Middle East, the digital-first campaign showcases the diversity of Ras Al Khaimah and a myriad of tourism experiences across its pristine beaches, lush mangroves, sprawling deserts and majestic mountains. Locations include the beautiful Waldorf Astoria Ras Al Khaimah and Jebel Jais, the UAE’s highest peak, with its iconic zipline, unique dining experience Puro 1484 and new and upcoming attractions Jais Wings, RAK Airventure, Jais Sledder and the Wingsuit Diving Platform taking centre stage. 
Appealing to those who cherish responsible, meaningful and truly memorable experiences in the new era of travel, RAK Calling will resonate with those seeking ‘a sense of place’ and wanting to ‘live their moments.’ It joins several other leading and emerging destinations that have focused on purposeful, engaging content, including Iceland and New Zealand. Launched today (9th May), creative assets will be released in the Middle East and Europe across multiple languages via digital and social media channels. 
“This campaign marks an exciting next step in providing visitors with immersive content that not only highlights our iconic locations but also gives a sense of how Ras Al Khaimah can make you feel,” said Raki Phillips, Chief Executive Officer of Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority. “We recognise how important different mediums are in creating something that can easily be understood and remembered by intended audiences. We saw this first-hand when we launched our new brand identity last year with a razor focused approach that was instrumental in helping us achieve almost pre-pandemic visitor numbers in 2021. With RAK Calling, we are on the cusp of the metaverse; it’s an exciting new chapter in the destination’s virtual presence.”
He further added: “This campaign also represents other emerging destinations that don’t have large scale budgets but can creatively work with content makers to develop something super compelling and relevant to today’s audiences.”ADVERTISEMENTThe new campaign stars Egyptian actor Sherif Fayed (@sheriffayed) paragliding over the Hajar Mountains in a teaser for the soon-to-be launched Jais Wings experience, as well as Saudi mountaineer Raha Moharrak (@rahamoharrak) experiencing the thrill of the Jebel Jais Flight and UAE-based radio host Kris Fade (@krisfade) rock climbing at Bear Grylls Explorers Camp. Other highlights include:
‘Emirati batman’ Khalifa Al Ghafri (@khalifa_alghafri_uae), Dani Roman (@daniroman_) and Marco Fuerst (@fuerstmarco) gliding over Jebel Jais from the Wingsuit Diving Platform – the first base jump platform in the UAE recently opened for professional base jumpers and wing suit flyers
Dany Neville (@danyneville) hosting a DJ set whilst soaring over Ras Al Khaimah with RAK Airventure, the Emirate’s new tethered hot air balloon experience
Jessica Kahawaty (@jessicakahawaty) and Enjy Kiwan (@enjykiwan) taking on the mountain biking trails at Jebel Jais
Mad Shadz (@madshadz) conquering his fears on the Jais Sledder, the region’s longest toboggan run
Arabian Gazelles (@arabiangazelles) taking on the picturesque mountain roads and hairpin bends
German model and reality television star Fiona Erdmann (@fionaerdmann) enjoying the view from 1484 by Puro, the highest restaurant in the UAE
As part of its digital-first approach, Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Authority has also unveiled two redesigned websites for the destination, reflecting the new brand identity announced last year. “We are constantly innovating to provide incredible and seamless experiences for our visitors, which starts even before they set foot in our beautiful Emirate. In the new era of travel, people research their destination in detail before making an informed choice. Our new websites give them a real feel for what our Emirate offers and provide both inspiration and details to make their visit truly memorable,” added Phillips.
To find out more about Ras Al Khaimah’s new campaign, check out YouTube.  Alternatively, check out the Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority stand at Arabian Travel Market, ME3310.
Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority is considered the Middle East’s Leading Adventure Tourism Destination 2021 by voters at the World Travel Awards.

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