Opening Remarks to the Commonwealth Tourism Ministers Meeting by Winston Cox, Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General
Date: 27 Apr 2005
Sheraton Hotel, Abuja, Nigeria, 27 April 2005
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Mr. Chairman,
Your Excellency President Obasanjo,
Honourable Ministers,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We meet at the right time and in the right place.
The right time, because despite substantial challenges since we were last together in Malaysia, the world generally, and your sector specifically, are in better shape. Growth has resumed strongly across the Commonwealth and tourism is one of its major drivers as well as one of its major beneficiaries.
The right place, because Africa is at the heart of the global effort to fight against poverty. This effort unfortunately is too slowly getting on course for the achievement of the millennium development goals by 2015, and as you know, the most important of them is reducing by half the extreme levels of poverty that existed in 1990. This is the kind of poverty that routinely kills millions of people every year as surely, as brutally and as swiftly as any tsunami. I am sure that in your discussions, Honourable Ministers, you will reflect seriously on this issue for it is clear that tourism can and must play an increasingly central role in national and international efforts to reduce poverty. This theme of poverty reduction in Africa and globally will also be very high on the agenda of Commonwealth Heads of Government when they meet in Malta later this year.
In the past year the world economy has grown at a rate of around 3.5 percent and in tourism - the most dynamic export in the services sector - we have witnessed an increase in international arrivals and receipts by some 5 to 6 percent. We believe tourism in the Commonwealth closely follows this trend. Figures produced by the World Travel and Tourism Council indicate the total demand generated by travel and tourism in Commonwealth countries grew by 5.9 percent in 2004 and at 5.4 percent for non-Commonwealth countries. Even the tsunami in the Indian Ocean with its tragic legacy of death and destruction, or the cyclones in the Pacific and the hurricanes in the Caribbean do not seem to have significantly dampened this recovery.
The tsunami, however, was a traumatic tragedy, hitting 2 continents and 12 countries in 7 hours of mayhem watched across the globe. Eight of the countries affected were Commonwealth states - many more if you include the countries from which the tourists came. Sri Lanka, India, and Maldives were most directly hit.
Recent studies of consumer intentions by VISA International suggest the emergence of a strong inclination to return to "business as usual" once the initial disaster relief effort has taken place. This is coupled with a revival in trips to the region inspired by solidarity and goodwill. It seems therefore that a recovery of tourism in tsunami affected countries will soon be well underway.
The tsunami in the Indian Ocean, an event attributable to no human failing, or preventable by no human virtue, was an awakening in many respects. It was an awakening to the frailty of all states, but especially small states, to the destructive force of natural disasters. Some states are routinely exposed to natural disasters: the hurricane season in the Caribbean and cyclones in the Pacific, the volcanoes in East Asia and the Pacific, the annual floods in India and Bangladesh come to mind. And in all this the uncertain impact of climate change and sea-level rise are compounding factors particularly for small island states. The growth and spread of tourism means that this sector is now more and more likely to be affected by such disasters.
Fortunately there is new work taking place in the international community to improve and increase early warning systems, and to strengthen short-term relief and longer term response mechanisms. We will do our part to ensure that all Commonwealth states are brought equitably and beneficially into any systems that emerge. This is a new and unexpected area of common interest and concern that has been thrust upon us since Malaysia.
But the other items identified in the action plan we developed there are still priorities for us at this meeting. Let me mention a few key ones, some of which require action on our part and others which require more of a monitoring, information sharing and coordinating role.
The most significant action area is on the proposed Commonwealth Tourism Centre to be hosted by the Government of Malaysia. In the intervening period a Task Force of Senior Officials has closely reviewed and refined the proposal which will be our main agenda item here in Abuja. This is an important initiative and we are very grateful to the government of Malaysia for both the concept and the commitment to initial funding.
The Task Force which you set up to examine this proposal wished to ensure three things:
- that there was a real need for the Centre and that it was not just simply a good proposal;
- that it would add value and not duplicate work being done elsewhere; and
- that it was effectively funded.
I am pleased to report that the proposal has passed the test on all counts. The Task Force concluded that the new Centre could, through information and promotion, boost the two way trade in Commonwealth Tourism, as well as encourage a greater flow of tourists from non-Commonwealth countries to Commonwealth countries. The common bonds between large origin markets like Australia, Canada and the UK with the smaller states of the Caribbean, the Pacific or the Indian Ocean and with the Commonwealth states of Africa re-affirm the particular comparative advantage of Commonwealth states in tourism. These bonds seem strongest through the linkages between culture, heritage, and sport which create trade in an area that offers the greatest potential for fair exchange between small exporting and the large importing countries.
In the second area of the needs test, how to ensure that the work is original and does not duplicate that of other institutions, the conclusion was that the Centre can be very effective if it focuses on three important areas: joint promotion; ways of increasing linkages and reducing leakages; and the provision of accurate information for travel advisories. Obviously, delivery of results in each area will require evaluation over time but these are evidently areas of mutual interest to us all. The Task Force underscored its desire that in this and all other activities of the Centre there should be close coordination with other organizations in this field, and in particular with the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
Finally, the Task Force was satisfied that the Government of Malaysia is willing to provide funding for the first three years of the Centre's existence and that together with the private sector, sufficient funds could be generated to ensure its longer term operation. The question of functional and financial sustainability, however, must be a continuing priority once the Centre is established.
The Kuala Lumpur Plan contained three other major priorities - security, capacity building and investment. On security the global framework is being developed in other institutions. The OECD and G8 are the major players at a geopolitical level, and at the sector level the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the UNWTO play the leading role. Any initiatives of special interest to tourism that will flow from the deliberations in these bodies will have to be closely followed and coordinated by sector specific agencies.
There are three important factors, however, which we need to keep in mind as we move forward:
- First, it is important that action on security upgrades is taken in parallel with facilitation initiatives to ensure that clearance at the border does not become a bottleneck. This is even more important with the prospect of very large aircraft on the near horizon. The security need is rightly well accepted; the equally critical requirement of speeding up the flow of people at the border is yet to be given the same priority.
- Second, it is imperative that there be new funding for poor countries to pay for the essential security upgrades if the system's integrity is to be maintained. These states need money for hi-tech equipment and for training staff; without it, they will lag behind and the global system will have life threatening gaps.
- Third, there is the requirement for clear, properly targeted travel advisories and an effective and frequent review process against changing realities. In this respect, dialogue between states issuing travel advisories and those that are the targets should be continuous and considerate, while keeping public safety as an uncompromising priority. The UNWTO Global Code of Ethics on this matter is a sensible point of departure which we fully support.
As regards capacity building, this is a matter, which cuts across almost every aspect of tourism and where some development agencies are already concentrating their efforts. The Commonwealth can and will intensify its interaction with those agencies to ensure that development of human resources for the tourism sector is recognized as an export investment. We will also work closely with UNWTO and cooperate with governments and the private sector at both the national and the regional level to identify and meet human resource needs. Much of this work is already being done through UNDP funded technical assistance and we will lend our support to these initiatives while highlighting the needs of Commonwealth member states.
Investment in tourism is an area we are pursuing jointly with the Commonwealth Business Council. Planning specific seminars for investors to showcase the outstanding potential of member states in this sector is one of the areas in which we expect an inspired discussion here in Abuja. Frankly, the world is full of investment seminars; the challenge is to make those organized under the Commonwealth banner particularly appealing and beneficial. We are considering our first event, in London, at the time of the World Travel Market in November and we would welcome your early input as we make plans.
Let me conclude by returning to an earlier theme. As I said, at the outset some aspects of the Kuala Lumpur action plan can be done by the Commonwealth alone. But most of it already cuts across work you are undertaking in other bodies. You will have noted from the background documents that we will be most efficient if we work in close collaboration with other institutions operating in the tourism field especially where there is an overlapping membership. The UNWTO, with whom we have a very closely coordinated agenda, is a good case in point.
Indeed I see merit in seeking to position future meetings of Commonwealth Tourism Ministers in conjunction with the UNWTO's biennial Assembly. This will hopefully simplify attendance for Ministers and allow for rational interaction and decisions on similar subjects.
Finally Mr. Chairman, let me reiterate that this is the right time and the right place for us to meet. Our global agenda has poverty alleviation at the top with Africa as a point of particular focus and tourism as an activity that can make a real difference. All Commonwealth countries have resources in this sector. We must now collectively see how they can be harnessed to promote development and to alleviate poverty and how the Commonwealth institutions can be harnessed to the same goal.
Thank you
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Opening Remarks to the Commonwealth Tourism Ministers Meeting by Winston Cox, Commonwealth Deputy Secretary-General
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