Bangkok--Feb 1--eTurbo news
In an emergency World Tourism Organization Executive Council session held here, over 40 tourism ministers, officials and experts gathered to help formulate a response to the Indian Ocean tsunami tragedy.
The delegates agreed by restoring traveler confidence in the region, visitor flows resume as quickly as possible. At the meeting, a draft for the Phuket Action Plan was presented and voted on Tuesday. The plan, divided into four operational areas-- marketing/communication, community relief, education and training, and sustainable redevelopment, is seeking to implement measures to speed up tourism recovery in tsunami-affected destinations.
Helping destinations resume normal operations by maximizing the use of existing tourism infrastructure and by helping small tourism-related businesses and employees survive the recovery period is another key feature of the plan.
Peter de Jong, chairman of Pacific Asia Travel Association, noted that the relief effort should not forget small industry members like the small restaurants, hotel operations, souvenir shops and family businesses affected and others without any real way to get help.
Various tourism officials echoed the same sentiment. "The important message is to show the world that most tourism venues in the effected areas in Thailand, the Maldives and Sri Lanka are unharmed and ready for business," the delegates said. "The biggest help the industry can give is to encourage people to travel to the region."
Maldives' Tourism Minister Dr. Mustafa Lutfi said two-thirds of the hotels in the Maldives operate normally. Mr. Sonthaya Kunplome, Thailand's mister of Tourism and Sports, took the delegation on a tour to Patong Beach and other effected areas, and in effect showing that the rebuilding is in full force.
Officials from France, Germany and Korea pledged to inform and encourage their citizens to return.
International Council of Tourism Partners (ICTP) president Geoffrey Lipman proposed a disaster communication platform. On December 28, 2004, two days after the tsunami hit, ICTP launched a disaster information platform in conjunction with the WTO to provide a central platform for its own members and those in the global travel and tourism community. The purpose was to share relevant information and to hyperlink to participants own information exchanges.
Phuket Action Plan is also seeking to establish systems that strengthen the sustainability of the affected destinations and working with the United Nations system on disaster reduction in the region.
The delegation also attended a candle light vigil in Patong Beach which ended at a dinner at the Andaman Resort.
The WTO will join forces with ICTP and the International Travel Exchange (ITB), the world's biggest travel exhibition, on March to hold a follow up session in Berlin. The meeting is being organized as a pre-exhibition event.
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