Student Organizations In Nigeria Celebrate World Tourism Day With "WALK4TOURISM"

Come Tuesday 27th of September 2016 In line with the theme for World Tourism Day 2016, The Tourism Students Initiative Network (TOSIN) and Youth Tourism Development Organisation (YTDO) in collaboration with other tourism bodies will be organising A "WALK4TOURISM"   across few states of the country, using Adire (An indigo dyed cloth produced by Yoruba women of south western Nigeria)and the  to promote tourism and culture in Nigeria.

According to the coordinating secretary of the group, Ogunkoya Pascal, “The first walk for tourism was last held in September 1997 and this year, we are going to replicate it in some states in Nigeria to mark the 2016 edition of the World Tourism Day with the theme ‘TOURISM FOR ALL- PROMOTING UNIVERSAL ACCESSIBILITY"

“We are replicating the walk4tourism this year in Lagos State starting from Ikeja/Allen roundabout, with over 100 youth. The event will also feature cultural dances,” he said.

The endurance walk which will end at the Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja is to sensitise the public on Nigeria's tourism and cultural potentials.

“This edition of walk4tourism will be done in Lagos, Oyo, Ogun,Osun, Imo, Kogi and Bauchi States on Tuesday, 27 September, 2016. Happy World Tourism Day 2016 in advance.

World Tourism Day 2016 Celebrates "Accessible Tourism"

Press ReleaseTourism for all: people with disabilities, senior citizens and families travelling with small children, and sooner or later all citizens will appreciate the advantages of universal accessibility. This is why UNWTO has chosen to celebrate World Tourism Day 2016 on the theme of accessible tourism. Official celebrations will take place on 27 September in Bangkok, Thailand.

For the last quarter–century World Tourism Day, held annually on 27 September, has aimed to foster awareness of the importance of tourism and its social, cultural, political and economic impact. This year’s official celebrations will be held in Bangkok, Thailand on the theme of ‘Tourism for All – Promoting Universal Accessibility’.

Reaching universal accessibility in tourism is a shared responsibility of all parties involved in the tourism value chain, as well as a business opportunity for companies and destinations.

“Everyone has the right to access leisure and tourism services on an equal basis. Yet 1 billion people around the world living with disability, along with young children, seniors and persons with other access requirements, still face obstacles in accessing fundamentals of travel such as clear and reliable information, efficient transportation and public services, and a physical environment that is easy to navigate.  Even with modern technologies, those with visual, hearing, mobility or cognitive impairments are being left behind in many tourism destinations.” said United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in his official message.

“All of the world’s citizens have the right to experience the incredible diversity this planet has to offer. Therefore, it is highly important that all countries and destinations, as well as the industry, promote accessibility for all in the physical environment, in transport systems, in public facilities and services and in information and communications channels”, said UNWTO Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai.

“This year's theme, ‘Tourism for All – Promoting Universal Accessibility’, is a challenge for Thailand and the world to recognize the necessity of accessibility in tourism and to accommodate everyone anywhere they may travel to (…) We have to understand the theory of Universal Design (…) As the world of travel and tourism is an expanding industry and the number of travelers increases every year, we have to ensure that travelling the world has to is as safe and seamless as possible,” explained Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul, Minister of Tourism and Sports of Thailand.

The official celebrations include a ‘Tourism and the Media’ session held on 26^th September at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, and a full-day conference the following day. During the event, experts on accessibility and tourism will exchange views and best practices, addressing the need to work in cooperation to advance in the ‘Tourism for All’ agenda.

Creating an adequate policy framework for specific business development strategies, the need to increase awareness and capacity building targeting both decision makers and tourism professionals are some of the topics to be addressed during the conference. Andrew Stevens, Asia Pacific Editor of CNNMoney, will moderate this discussion.

The conference will also address innovative strategies in the development of accessible tourism infrastructure, products and services which add value to destinations and enhance their competitiveness on the global tourism market. A number of best practices will be featured with the aim of emphasizing the value of investing in accessibility.

The celebrations of World Tourism Day 2016 are being held in collaboration with CNN, UNWT

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), a United Nations specialized agency, is the leading international organization with the decisive and central role in promoting the development of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. It serves as a global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism know-how. Its membership includes 157 countries, 6 territories, 2 permanent observers and over 500 affiliate Members

Fintech-Savvy Travel Businesses Advance Using B2B Wallet to Compete

Fintech has already made its mark in banking, insurance and several other sectors. Now the time has come for Financial technology to spur new approaches especially in the Business to Business (b2b) segment. Travel agencies can use Fintech to streamline their systems and build more efficiencies.

Travel Business can boom with Fintech

Technology has already changed how we travel around the world. Gone are the days of paper tickets and in most cases boarding passes. Online booking portals have already made it possible for travellers to comparison shop from the comfort of their own homes. Innovation in mobile technology means that we can get a ticket anywhere while on the move at any time. Some of the greatest innovations in travel technology have been in the way we pay for our travel. While in the past the only way to get a ticket was to actually walk into a travel agency and pay for the ticket with cash, check or a card, today we simply make electronic payments with ease.

Amadeus: High Volumes and Low Margins

Amadeus is a travel technology giant which operates in 195 countries and is known for investing in innovative areas especially in Research and Development (R&D). Recently Amadeus announced that they would be partnering withMasterCard and Ixaris to bring a B2B wallet prepaid product to the market.

The travel business is fiercely competitive and Amadeus and its partners are using their B2B wallet approach to cut costs. Amadeus’ Celia Pereiro, Head of Travel payments said in a press release regarding the demand for such products: 

“By combining the strengths of Amadeus, MasterCard and Ixaris, we bring flexibility, efficiency and confidence to travel agent B2B payments. Since we launched the product in February we have seen overwhelming demand for it and today have customers in 10 European countries.”

We at Cointelegraph talked with Alex Mifsud, Founder and CEO of Ixaris Technologies, the partner of Amadeus in the B2B wallet and he says:

“Online travel is a dynamic and fiercely competitive market with high volumes and low margins. With supplier networks that span the globe - including hotels, airlines, and cruise operators - the complexity and costs of payments is high which eats into already thin margins.”

Fintech will help drive costs down

Amadeus has already announced the release of its B2B product in February and is now offering travel agencies the option of either saving cash or earning while paying their travel provider partners.  Hany Fam of Mastercard Enterprise said in an Amadeus press release that the B2B product has given travel agencies ‘host of reasons’ to leave cash, check and other payment mechanisms behind.

We asked Alex Mifsud about how Fintech can help the travel industry and he remarked: 

“Fintech, and payments tech in particular, is playing an important role in driving growth and improving margins for many online travel businesses. Optimising payments through technology, such as we’ve just announced with Amadeus, has the potential to reduce payment-related costs - which can amount to 20% of profit margins - to near zero, bringing a welcome boost to an OTA’s profitability.”

It seems what has already happened in the Business to Consumer sector in the travel business is now playing out in the B2B sector. If travel agencies can cut their payments costs, they are able to actually earn more in an industry where margins are razor thin. Fintech has a special role to play here and the B2B wallet product offered by Amadeus and its partners is an interesting offering to watch out for. Rest assured no one needs checks - for anything.

Travel industry impact

The travel industry has a huge impact on the world economy, In 2015 travel and tourism contributed a total of US$ 7.2 trillion to the world’s GDP which is nearly 9.8 per cent of the global GDP according to a report published by World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC). This sector is poised to outperform the rest of the global economy in all of the next decade and will grow at a projected 4 percent on average annually. The growth in 2015 alone was at 3.1 per cent and we have been in the 6th positive year of growth for the industry. 1 out of every 11 people work in the travel and tourism business. 

Tourvest unveils new brand in East Africa 

Martin Cook, Managing Director East Africa, says the rebranding is an exciting development in Tourvest’s East Africa operations.

Tourvest Destination Management will rebrand Vintage Africa under the Sense of Africa brand.

“The rebranding in East Africa allows Tourvest to extend the reach of this brand, crafting a footprint for all of TDM’s operations outside South Africa,” Tourvest said in a statement.

The rebrand process, which includes new domain names, website presence, social media and overall company image, is scheduled to be completed by September 1.

“The brand is refreshing by its simplicity, clean lines and looks and further demonstrates Tourvest’s commitment to developing its presence throughout Africa,” said Martin Cook, Managing Director East Africa.

2017 International Year of Sustainable Tourism For Development

 2017 International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development

The United Nations 70^th General Assembly has designated 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 

This is a unique opportunity to raise awareness on the contribution of sustainable tourism to development among public and private sector decision-makers and the public, while mobilizing all stakeholders to work together in making tourism a catalyst for positive change.

In the context of the universal 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the International Year aims to support a change in policies, business practices and consumer behavior towards a more sustainable tourism sector than can contribute to the SDGs.

The #IYSTD2017 will promote tourism’s role in the following five key areas:

(1)        Inclusive and sustainable economic growth

(2)        Social inclusiveness, employment and poverty reduction

(3)        Resource efficiency, environmental protection and climate change

(4)        Cultural values, diversity and heritage

(5)        Mutual understanding, peace and security.

The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the United Nations Specialized Agency for Tourism, has been mandated to facilitate the organization and implementation of the International Year, in collaboration with Governments, relevant organizations of the United Nations system, international and regional organizations and other relevant stakeholders.

Join us in celebrating 2017 as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development!

UNWTO Network of Observatories meets to discuss the measurement of sustainable tourism at destination level

Under the title 'Advancing the Measurement of Sustainable Tourism Development', UNWTO Member States, NGOs, academic institutions and other public and private sector entities discussed approaches to effectively measure, monitor and assess tourism performance and impacts at destination level. This consultative process takes place at a time in which the international tourism community embraces the Sustainable Development Goals.

UNWTO welcomed more than 70 experts from 21 countries at its Headquarters in Madrid, to discuss and share experiences related to the measurement and monitoring of the impact that tourism has on destinations. Special focus was put on the relevance and the opportunities available from non-traditional data sources, including social media analysis, geospatial data mapping, big and live data collection and usage, as well as the analysis of credit card spending patterns and the flow of visitors based on mobile device information.

This consultation takes place in the context of recent achievements that underline and strengthen the role and responsibilities of sustainable tourism as a positive instrument for development such as the recently adopted Sustainable Development Goals as well as the upcoming International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017. The two days meeting included presentations and discussions covering among others the processes of measuring sustainable tourism at the local level, common challenges and needs and the chances deriving from different data sources.

Participants stressed the need for more evidence-based decision making as well as regular and timely measurement approaches to support responsible policy-making and management of tourism at the local level.

UNWTO has been promoting the use of sustainable tourism indicators for measurement since the early 1990s as essential instruments for effective tourism policy planning and management at destinations. 

In this framework, the UNWTO Network of Observatories (INSTO) was created in 2004. The Network encompasses destinations around the world committed to regular monitoring of tourism in order to better understand destination-wide resource use and foster the responsible management of tourism.

UNWTO addresses the impact of new technologies on the tourism sector in Japan

 

Over 400 participants from 26 countries gathered in the city of Nara, Japan, to discuss the impact that new technologies are having on the tourism sector and how these can help the sector to further develop at the UNWTO International Conference on Tourism and Technology. It was conducted within the framework of the 28^th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and South Asia from 1-4 June 2016.

The 28^th Joint Commission’s meeting discussed UNWTO’s Programme of Work for Asia and the Pacific, the link between tourism and security, and the ethical approach of the sector. The Conference was the first of its kind organized by UNWTO to highlight the linkage between new technology and tourism in the Asia-Pacific region in order to examine the current emerging technologies that are of primary relevance to the tourism sector. 

As summarised by Akihiko Tamura, Commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism of Japan at the Opening: “Our work embraces not only tourism, but also transportation and infrastructure policies that require the latest advanced technologies. Finding out how to raise travelers’ satisfaction levels through various experiences and activities during their travels is a challenging but crucial task for us.”

To this, the UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai added that “Two major revolutions have marked the last decades: the travel revolution, which has positioned tourism as a fundamental element of our lives, and the boom of new technologies that have changed the game for many sectors including tourism. In both revolutions, nations from Asia and the Pacific have emerged as leaders.”

As estimated by UNWTO, 2030 will witness 1.8 billion international tourists travelling around the world. Of those, 535 million international travelers will visit Asia and the Pacific – a figure which almost doubles the current number of inbound travel to the region. In this framework of continuous growth, innovations brought to the tourism field by technological advances were identified during the Conference as opportunities to enhance the sector.

In this regard, UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai underlined that the priority areas of the Organization such as making travel safer and more seamless through processes such as the e-visa, improving the quality and competitiveness of destinations and businesses, can be materialized in a better manner through innovation and technology.

Additional topics such as the use of ICTs within the tourism sector, consumer trends and new business models were also debated in the sessions. Mario Hardy, CEO of the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), highlighted the new innovations that are changing the travel industry including crowdsourcing, the sharing economy, 3D printing and wearables, among others.

On the future impact of new technologies in the tourism sector, Yuri Furusawa, Vice-Commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency, mentioned that “Technological progress is enabling people to travel more easily, and we now live in an era in which, each year, 1.2 billion people enjoy overseas trips. Travel encourages direct human and cultural exchange, creating a basis for people to learn more about the importance of each other’s cultures and lives, and to live in harmony. Technology has made an immeasurable contribution to such developments.”