VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh and UNWTO’s Secretary-General, Deputy Director, Regional Department for Asia & the Pacific, Ministers of Tourism of Cambodia and Maldives

At the meeting, H.E. Dato’ Sri Tiong King Sing, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture of Malaysia, the Chairperson of the 35th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO CAP - CSA, said, travel and tourism is experiencing a rapid recovery post the pandemic. International arrivals have reached 80% of pre-pandemic levels in the first quarter of 2023, according to the World Tourism Barometer.

Tourism, as a vulnerable industry to crisis events, must be geared towards building resilience, as well as responsiveness and preparedness for new or unforeseen challenges, emphasised H.E. Dato’ Sri Tiong King Sing. Therefore, being ready to capture growth opportunities in the short term and investing in the new capabilities and hardware for the long term, are significantly important.

H.E. Dato’ Sri Tiong King Sing, Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture Malaysia, the Chairperson of the 35th Joint Meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific and the UNWTO Commission for South Asia

At the 6th World Tourism Conference (WTC) 2022, co-organised by Malaysia and UNWTO, a number of key takeaways and recommendations from the expert speakers and delegates of the WTC 2022 include strengthening cross-collaboration of tourism with transport, health, security, cities and urban systems for greater livability and quality of life, for both visitors and residents; Tightening ties between government and destinations in offering flexible immigration policies, investing in health and education services, and enhancing economic opportunities for women, among other initiatives which contribute towards strengthening social protection; Focusing on attracting high-quality human resources. H.E. Dato’ Sri Tiong King Sing hopes that through this meeting, member countries will seize the opportunity to cooperate and share solutions for tourism development and recovery.

Stating about Vietnam tourism's current situation, VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh said, the number of international visitors to the region increased rapidly, followed by the return of the bustle of tourism-related supporting services, contributing to job creation and economic growth in general. Vietnam welcomed about 3.7 million international visitor arrivals in 2022, and our domestic visitors have already surpassed the pre-pandemic level.

According to VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh, Vietnam tourism has recovered strongly

VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh stated a number of priorities for tourism development toward sustainability and resilience, including: rebuild high-quality tourism human resources; explore the potential source markets; ease the visa policy; enhance the marketing campaigns; embrace technology in the tourism sector.

VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh stat priorities for tourism development toward sustainability and resilience

He hopes that UNWTO can continue their effective work to support member states in capacity building and training-related activities, technical assistance in designing new strategies for tourism development, and provide updates and recommendations on technology and innovation in tourism. Above all, Vietnam tourism will have many opportunities to cooperate with UNWTO in organising activities, events, and seminars at home and abroad in the coming time.

Asia-Pacific is one of the regions with a dynamic economy and high demand for tourism. According to H.E. Zurab Pololikashvili, UNWTO’s Secretary-General, Asia-Pacific needs to focus on 5 strategic objectives and priorities: Education, investment, sustainability, digital transformation and innovation, competitive & resilience.

H.E. Zurab Pololikashvili, UNWTO’s Secretary-General speaking at the meeting

According to the UNWTO’s Secretary-General, UNWTO organises about 25 tourism training courses for member countries and regional partners every year. Investing in sustainable tourism is also the main theme and goal of the upcoming 16th Advanced Training Programme on Tourism Policy in Korea. World Tourism Day 2023 with the theme “Tourism and Green Investments” will be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. In the upcoming time, UNWTO will continue to implement programmes and initiatives on sustainable tourism such as One Planet, Plastic Initiative, Global roadmap for food waste reduction; Development of a Global Code of Tourism Ethics and training on gender equality in tourism.

VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh and UNWTO’s Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili at the meeting

Reporting on UNWTO's Programme of Work in the Asia-Pacific region, H.E. Harry Hwang, Deputy Director, Regional Department for Asia & the Pacific of UNWTO, stated, 2022 marked a robust recovery of the World’s tourism, during which over 960 million international visitor arrivals (representing 66% of pre pandemic level) travelled around the world; international visitor arrivals in 2023 are expected to reach 80% to 95% of 2019. This notable increase in international visitor numbers is led by the Middle East, Europe, Africa and the Americas. In the case of Asia and the Pacific, it has recovered more than half of the 23% of its pre-pandemic numbers at the end of 2022. And it is set to accelerate even more, now that most destinations, particularly China, have reopened.

H.E. Harry Hwang, Deputy Director, Regional Department for Asia & the Pacific of UNWTO speaking at the meeting

The Asia region will benefit from the influx of Chinese visitors and from the main source markets from many countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Mr. Hwang also gave Vietnam as a typical example on the recovery of domestic tourism. Thereby, destinations in Vietnam that had previously been popular among international tourists, such as Hoi An, turned themselves into domestic tourism hotspots by, for example, adding more local dishes to their menus. Tourism authorities launched a programme titled “Vietnamese People Travel in Vietnam” to stimulate domestic tourism.

VNAT’s Chairman Nguyen Trung Khanh participating in the voting session at the 55th meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific

On the same day, the 55th meeting of the UNWTO Commission for East Asia and the Pacific was held with the voting session for Nominations and Elections to Statutory Organs and their Subsidiary Bodies: Nomination of the Officers of the 25th session of the General Assembly; the chairmanship and/or vice-chairmanship of the Commission for East Asia and the Pacific for the period 2023-2025; 04 members join the Council of UNWTO for the period 2023-2027; and candidatures for membership of the Council for the period 2023-2027.

Overview of the meeting

Tourism Information Technology Center/International Cooperation Department