During the past few years, the tourism industry has faced a number of unprecedented challenges, which have entailed important changes in travel and tourism demand. With business plans becoming increasingly short term, governments start to realize that they can’t leave growth of the travel and tourism industry to chance. This global consciousness has resulted in the establishment of the World Travel and Tourism Council or WTTC to create a new vision for travel and tourism. (The Blueprint for New Tourism 2006)
Formed in May 1990 at the third Global Travel and Tourism Summit by more than 500 of the most influential political and business groups in the world, the World Travel and Tourism Council is the forum for global business leaders, composed of the Presidents and Chief Executive Officers of over 100 world’s leading companies. It was created with the vision that would encourage a partnership between private and public stakeholders to strengthen industry efforts and turn challenges into new opportunities. Currently WTTC is the only body that represents private sector in all parts of the travel and tourism industry worldwide. The Blueprint for New Tourism 2006) Since its launching, the World Travel and Tourism Council has expressed its commitment to realizing the potential of travel and tourism industry for development and growth, as well as ensuring sustainable benefits for all parts involved. The mission of WTTC can be defined in the light of interaction between the economic situation and travel and tourism industry: to raise awareness of economic impact of the largest generator of jobs in the world – travel and tourism.
More and more governments are now adopting Blueprint for New Tourism, the policy framework of the WTTC for sustainable tourism development, aimed at unlocking the industry’s potential. (The Blueprint for New Tourism 2006) The WTTC Blueprint for New Tourism was designed to promote travel and tourism as a partnership by achieving results that meet the needs and requirements of national economies, regional and local authorities, as well as local communities based on business balancing economies with environment, culture and people; governments’ recognition of travel and tourism as top priority; and a onstant pursuit of long-term prosperity and growth. The World Travel Council invites stakeholders to join the Blueprint’s call of action and to pursue the joint task of building the New Tourism, one of the largest industries worldwide, responsible for more than 10% of global GDP. (The Blueprint for New Tourism 2006) New Tourism depends on governments recognizing Travel ; Tourism’s valuable flow through effects for all sectors of the economy and population – and having the sense of leadership to act on that recognition.
Leadership should factor Travel & Tourism into all policies and decision-making; leadership at the highest levels of government should coordinate strategy impacting on Travel & Tourism, and should reorganize structures and funding so as to ensure effective planning and management. Sudden shocks to Travel & Tourism have sharply awakened government leaders around the world to its value to their economies. Coherent strategies can mitigate the negative impacts on the industry and national economies, minimize the risks of further disruption, and ensure long-term sustainable benefits.
Each government can make the choice to encourage investment, facilitate innovation and job opportunities, and guarantee respect for local environments, cultures and social well-being. This approach to Travel & Tourism will deliver its benefits consistently across the country and throughout the year. A top-level perspective of the current scale and future potential of New Tourism can direct policy responses that support Travel & Tourism’s contribution to the economy and promote its planned growth.
The public sector has a special responsibility to ensure the sustainability of key tourism assets, such as the natural and cultural resources that preserve the attractiveness of tourism destinations and the competitiveness of tourism companies. The most effective policy responses are those that focus on key government tasks, such as coordinating infrastructure development and fostering competitiveness, rather than focusing on short-term protectionism or micro-intervention in market mechanisms. Blueprint for New Tourism/WTTC 2003) New Tourism requires the Travel ; Tourism industry to get the balance right between business imperatives and the wider quality of life needs of local communities. Private sector growth can be deployed as a driver of sustainable development and as a contributor to the dignity of the people and cultures it touches. Internally, the sector must adjust business planning, product and service quality, and adopt policies that respect the interests of the people for and with whom it works.
Externally, it must systematically embrace opportunities to spread its benefits – from helping jump-start developing economies to conserving the environment, and from transferring skills to promoting the dignity of people in local communities. Deepening the sector’s commitment to people and their communities and environments can harness this power. And not just for the benefit of those who work in the sector, or use its services, or spend the tax revenues it generates.
The benefits can flow through to people at the receiving end of Travel & Tourism too – local citizens in destinations, entire populations for who Travel & Tourism can radically improve prospects of growth and prosperity. In response to new pressures on the international environment that conditions Travel & Tourism, the industry needs to strengthen its own operations with a longer-term focus – from quarterly financial objectives to building shareholder value, and to ensuring long-term sustainability and security by respecting the communities in which it operates.
There is also business logic to such an approach. Cultivation and respect of local identities and cultures benefit not only the host country and its people, but also correspond to the customers’ desire for authenticity. (Blueprint for New Tourism/WTTC 2003) The Travel ; Tourism sector is ready to play its part in New Tourism. But the private sector cannot do it alone. New Tourism needs new joint strategies, using new mechanisms springing from new partnerships with public authorities.
Industry’s recognition of its broader responsibilities has to be matched by government, and all sides must be prepared to adopt a new form of long-term thinking, and a new degree of openness and cooperation, to develop contingency planning as well as development strategies. With the public and private sectors working together at all levels, growth can be strategically planned to be sustainable and sensitive, not only to develop the sector’s potential, but also to defend it against severe disruption due to external events beyond its direct control.
Long-term objectives for national tourism policy can be set as a vision of how government and the country’s citizens wish to develop Travel & Tourism in conjunction with the private sector. A widely agreed plan will help spread the benefits equitably across the country to all stakeholders, stimulating support and commitment from all sectors. New Tourism means accepting the responsibility to provide a secure and predictable future, where planning relates to the extended time frames into which the private sector has to project its own investment. Blueprint for New Tourism/WTTC 2003) The Competitiveness Monitor is based on a set of social and economic data that are available and comparable across countries. It is useful for governments, policy makers, Travel & Tourism companies, investors, academics and all other interested parties. The constituent data is grouped into eight categories: price competitiveness, human tourism, infrastructure, environment, technology, human resources, openness, and social. (WTTC releases latest statistics from Competitiveness Monitor 2003) Tourism Price Competitiveness Index (TPCI) shows the tourism price index across countries.
It is computed using the Hotel Price Index and Purchasing Power Parity Index. The International Human Tourism Index measures the achievement of human development in terms of tourism activity. The Travel & Tourism Sector takes account of people’s influence in various areas of tourism activity. It includes indices that look at the economic impact of Travel ; Tourism demand, consumption, exports, imports, balance, personal and business travel and the numbers of arrivals and departures. The Infrastructure Index shows the level of infrastructure development, combining the Road Index, the Sanitation Index and the Water Access Index.
The Railway Index is not included because of the limited data available. Source: The World Bank’s World Development Indicators. The environment indicates governments’ awareness towards environmental aspects of development using population density, CO2 emissions and the ratification of environmental treaties as appropriate indicators. The technology index shows the advances in modern technological systems and infrastructure, using data regarding telephone mainlines, mobile phones, high technology exports and Internet hosts. Human resources development is an important part of Travel ; Tourism.
Using data regarding life expectancy, illiteracy rates, education, employment, population, training, skills and gender indicators this indicator shows the competitiveness of the quality of human resources in each country. Openness indices take into account tourism openness using data including: visa requirements, the extent to which a country is open to international tourism, trade openness and taxes on international trade. This information has often been ignored in past research. It accords with the economic growth literature findings that a country’s openness to trade is a further significant determinant of growth. The Social Development indicator uses data from daily newspapers, personal computers, television sets and total crimes recorded. (WTTC releases latest statistics from Competitiveness Monitor 2003)
References
1. WTTC-The Blueprint for New Tourism. 2006. Retrieved Feb 10, 2011 From; http://www. syl. com/travel/wttctheblueprintfornewtourism. html 2. Blueprint for New Tourism/WTTC. 2003. Retrieved Feb 10, 2011 From; http://www. wttc. org/bin/pdf/temp/blueprintfnt03. html 3 WTTC releases latest statistics from Competitiveness Monitor. 2003. Retrieved Feb 10, 2011 From; http://ehotelier. com/hospitality-news
