DRThiruvananthapuram: The 12th UN World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) Asia/Pacific Executive Training Programme on ‘Tourism Policy and Strategy’ kick-started at The Leela Raviz, Kovalam here the other day. Alphons Kannanthanam, Union Minister of State for Tourism, inaugurated the event.
‘Tourism & Technology’ being the focal theme, the executive training programme is being jointly organised by the Regional Programme for Asia and the Pacific, UNWTO’s operational arm, Department of Tourism, Kerala and Union Ministry of Tourism.
“The promotional video of ITB Berlin trade fair has garnered 17 million views in 12 days which showcases the power of social media and digital technology. Social media and technology plays a major role in helping tourists zero in on destinations to travel to. Therefore, we must update our tourism promotional policies in line with the rapid changes in technology,” said Alphonse in his speech.
“Electronic travel visas (e-Visas) implemented by the Government of India are one such step towards harnessing potential of technology in the sector. One million tourists out of the 10 million travelers who visited India last year made use of e-Visas. We hope to raise the number to three million in the coming year,’’ he added.
Kadakampally Surendran, Minister for Tourism, Kerala, said that Kerala tourism has always been a step ahead in utilising technology by becoming the first State in the country to launch an official tourism website and also the first to have social media handlers.
“The year 2017 registered the highest growth rate in international tourist arrivals all over the world since 2010 with the figure touching seven per cent. Asia and Pacific together account for 25 per cent of the global market share in terms of tourists and 30 per cent in terms of income generated. The growth rate in the sub-region of South Asia achieved a growth rate of 10 per cent in 2017 led by India which registered a growth rate of 15 per cent,” said Xu Jing, Director, Regional Programme for Asia and Pacific, UNWTO.
“Growth in world tourism is closely related to the advancement in technology. Therefore, we need to understand and take advantage of the technology to move forward in the tourism sector,” said Yu Byung Chae, Director of Tourism, Republic of Korea.
Suman Billa IAS, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Tourism and Rani George IAS, Secretary, Kerala Tourism, also spoke on the occasion.The three-day training programme will focus on enhancing participants’ understanding about how to maximise the use of technology for the benefit of tourism.
The programme also aims at preparing national tourism authorities for the continued expansion of technology as a tool for destination development, management and innovation; for adapting technology towards supporting inclusive and sustainable growth of tourism in the region; deploying technology and social media support in contributing towards destination marketing and quality assurance; and adopting policy-level decisions so that they can help improve the effectiveness of the use of technology to ensure the competitiveness and sustainability of a tourism destination.
UNWTO’s Asia-Pacific member countries will also share successful good tourism practices in the use of technology, at the event. Kerala Tourism Department will conduct a technical tour on the last day of the training programme on March 22, Thursday.
