Two big int’l tourism events set in Manila

In a bid to address the worsening effects of SARS in the global tourism industry, some tourism ministers from over 70 archipelagic islands and states will converge in Manila for two big events — the World Tourism Organization (WTO) Asia-Pacific Ministerial Summit on Crisis Management on June 6-20 and the First Meeting of Archipelagic and Island States on June 20 at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel.

“This meeting is a timely occasion to gather senior officials from tourism administrations and representatives of the industry and international organizations to exchange ideas and experiences, assess the effects of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and other crises that hit the region, and develop a collective strategy and action plan in the short and medium term,” said Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon who is also the chairman of the WTO-Committee on East Asia and the Pacific.

The tourism ministers and representatives of various international organizations are expected to formulate a resolution that will address tourism problems and issues such as accessibility, leakages from archipelagic economies, preservation of natural and cultural environments, community involvement in tourism development and product diversification.