Other events planned on "e-tourism" and on attracting foreign investment to tourism sector
UNCTAD will carry out several programmes for Government officials and representatives of the African tourism industry as part of the week-long TourismAfrica 2006 event opening Sunday at Palexpo in Geneva.
On Wednesday, 13 September, UNCTAD will sponsor a one-day forum on sustainable tourism development in least developed countries (LDCs). Experience has shown that despite growing numbers of visitors to LDC destinations, the economic benefits of tourism for these countries remain low. The intent of the forum is to highlight ways of enabling tourism income to spread more widely through the economies of LDCs, thus expanding employment and helping to raise living standards. UNCTAD Deputy Secretary-General Dirk Bruinsma will speak at the opening session of the forum at 10 a.m. The forum is being jointly organized with the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) with the support of the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation.
UNCTAD will sponsor a half-day event the afternoon of Tuesday, 12 September, on "The E-Tourism Initiative: strategy in action." UNCTAD´s e-tourism activities aim at helping developing countries establish effective, self-contained tourism marketing and the basic capacity to develop autonomously their tourism industries.
Wednesday through Friday (13-15 September), the organization will hold a training workshop for African Investment Promotion Agencies (IPAs) and other governmental agencies on how to attract foreign direct investment to the tourism sector. Attendance by Francophone IPAs will be sponsored by UNCTAD. Arrangements are being made to give IPAs a chance to meet potential investors during the TourismAfrica event.
In addition, UNCTAD will participate, along with the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, the International Finance Corporation and other institutions, in a 12 September panel discussion on the "global outlook in tourism investment in Africa." Issues to be discussed will include recent trends in tourism FDI and their implications for African countries.
UNCTAD carries out numerous programmes related to tourism in developing countries, drawing on a mandate in the field of tourism contained in the plan of action of the UNCTAD X conference, held in Bangkok in February 2000. UNCTAD´s Task Force on Sustainable Tourism for Development was established in 2003. The organization participates in an inter-agency coordinating mechanism in the field of tourism; offers courses on such issues as "information and communication technologies and the tourism sector" and "how to attract foreign direct investment in the tourism sector"; delivers field training; provides advisory services in sustainable tourism for developing countries; and performs analytical studies.
TourismAfrica 2006, which will close on Friday, 15 September, is the first international event specifically aimed at promoting tourism in Africa.
