Archipelagic states to meet on common travel woes

Urgent issues on air transport, linkages among countries, preservation of natural and cultural environment, community involvement in tourism development, product diversification, and post SARS recovery strategies, will be put into focus during the five-day world tourism conference in Manila on June 16-20.

The said issues shall be discussed during the portion of the world meet entitled the “First Meeting of Archipelagic and Island States” to be participated in by tourism department ministers and bureau heads from archipelagic and islands estates and tourism industry leaders from the private sector.

Tourism department ministers and bureau heads from archipelagic and island states will converge in Manila on June 20 for their first meeting aimed at addressing such common problems as accessibility and security, including the effects of the dreaded Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) on international travel.

Their first meeting, slated at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel Manila, is aimed at addressing such common problems as accessibility and security, including the effects of the dreaded Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) on international travel.

The meeting will coincide with the last day of the June 16-20 activities of the World Tourism Organization’s Committee for East Asia and the Pacific chaired by Tourism Secretary Richard Gordon.

Participants in the First Meeting of Archipelagic and Island States shall include industry leaders from the private sector with whom the tourism ministers will discuss issues on air transport, linkages among countries, preservation of natural and cultural environment, community involvement in tourism development, product diversification, and post SARS recovery strategies, among others.

Among the prominent participants are WTO secretary-general Francesco Frangialli, Pacific Asia Tourism Association president and chief executive officer Peter de Jong, Sri Lanka Tourism Board Chairman Pushpakumara Withana and Permanent Secretary Prathap Ramanujan, Fiji Senior Tourism Officer Sat Narayan, and Indonesian Culture and Tourism Permanent Secretary Sapta Nirwandar.

“The presence of these archipelago and island states will greatly contribute to the intelligent exchange of ideas for the development of long-term solutions to the common concerns of the participating nations,” Gordon said.

The meeting starts at 9 a.m., with Gordon delivering the welcome remarks.

The speakers at the meeting are Deputy Tourism Commissioner Ismail Firag of Maldives, director Nigel Summer of marketing firm Horwath Asia Pacific, business development manager Brett Morgan of our operator Go Holidays, and regional vice president for Asia Pacific Andrew Drysdale of the International Air Transport Association, with editorial director Yeoh Sien Hoon of Reed Business Information Asia as moderator and master of ceremonies.

Firag will present an island nations success story and best tourism practices, especially in conservation efforts, accessibility, product diversity, community involvement, and the problems that threaten its success.

Summer, on the other hand, will discuss an investor’s point of view on how islands successfully market themselves to the economic attractive to investors.

Similarly, Morgan will speak on what makes an island destination attractive to tourists, what tour operators are looking for, and how to succeed in selling island holidays, while Drysdale will show a different perspective of the problems and issues affecting island destinations and the incentives to keep airline services available.